Thank you for the email intimation' sorry for the delay in commenting.
A beautiful and touching story of two lonely souls finding love and true companionship! Arnav's and Khushi's meeting and conversations reminded me of Erich Segal's 'Love Story'!
In two places you mention Cambridge, instead of Harvard... could that possibly be an error or is there a Cambridge in USA too, given their penchant for appropriating names of places in England?
Loved the very beginning of your story giving us a glimpse of how content Khushi was with her life and its simple joys till, that is, she was smitten by ASR... the glimpse into the world of ice hockey was nice... made me nostalgic about all the ice hockey I used to watch as a kid... though I prefer the grace and elegance of the Russians in the late1970s to the rough body tackles and slams of the Americans today!
Khushi's infatuation with and dreams of Arnav and her attempts to cure herself of it by giving herself a strong talking to are all endearing! She drooling over a bare-chested Arnav and he feeling her presence was cute... so, looks like their sixth sense is in full working order... am pleased with the character of Arnav here: studious, focused on his passion for ice hockey, aware of the fascination he holds for the female population at Harvard yet indifferent to it all... being chivalrous, and indifferent to his wealth and family name are a bonus!
...her face shining with unadulterated joy. He felt his breath catch in his throat. He couldn't remember looking or feeling that happy ever. She positively glowed with suppressed excitement... a beautiful description of what it is about khushi that drew him to her! Must say your descriptions are masterly' The leaves had just begun to turn and the air had had a slight nip in it. The sky had become an unbearably bright blue and everything had smelt like apple cider and pumpkin and harvest. I felt as if I were looking at a picture postcard, one with the scent permeating it. [if such cards are available, that is]. Also, it's almost as if the scene is being played out before one's eyes: A girl stood talking to another one who had her back to him, laughing merrily at something. Arnav had never seen anyone laugh with such abandon and joy. The late afternoon sun glinted on the smooth waves of her nut-brown hair and on her long lashes which hid sparkling hazel eyes. The creamy skin of her cheeks were flushed and a beautiful natural pink. The striking red jumper she wore lent a warm glow to her entire presence. Somehow, the sight of that uninhibited, joyful laughter had given him a strange sense of peace and had been imprinted in his mind. One gets the feeling that Arnav's life is so regimented and bound by his family's expectations that he hasn't had much fun in life and the only joy and peace he's experienced is on the ice or on hearing Khushi laughing with such abandon. Her uninhibited joy is infectious, no wonder Arnav wants to bask in its warmth!
Your twist to the whole anklet adorning episode in IPKKND is awesome, especially the latent feelings and desire lurking just below the surface! Am a fan of the asides that you pepper your stories with' they are infused with wit an humor and give us an inkling of what's going on in the person's mind! That's it. He is a mind-reader. NO NO NO! That means he knows all about my not-so-appropriate-thoughts in his direction! RED ALERT! RED ALERT! HE'S NOTICED ME AT HIS GAMES! WAIT WHAT? HE'S NOTICED ME AT HIS GAMES! 'Kill me now. That was the WORST justification EVER. Come on Khushi. This was the best you could do? Harvard is going to expel you and then you'll be deported. That's it. It's all his cologne's fault. I should have recognized the trouble he spells from a mile away. Sanka Devi is back with a bang!
Arnav's unholy glee and smug satisfaction at the thought that Khushi has a crush on him, then setting out to fluster her further into a confession, juxtaposed against her attempts at backpedalling, is heart-warming! They were moving together in a beautiful symphony as she stepped forward and he stepped backward at the same time' a premonition of things to come? One thing I noticed in the show was that whenever Khushi was in Arnav's arms, her eyes would immediately zoom in on his lips, and that's what happens here too, yippee! The gentleness and the innocence that permeates their first kiss make one go awww! Nice to see Khushi not holding anything back and being an active participant in that scorching kiss, to the extent that she manages to surprise the more experienced Arnav' the manner in which they cleared things up between them is damn cute
In a nutshell, a beautifully moving story that leaves us with a wide smile on our faces!
Edited by Maddy1270 - 12 years ago
Financial markets and global economy
Ishaani
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