~For Eshita (Tikit)~
Happy Reading!
#1: Here let me see
"Here let me see!" he begged for the umpteenth time that day.
"No"
"Lekin kyu nahi?"
"Kyuki yeh bahut embarrassing hai. Main kabhi bhi drawing mein achi nahi thi, aur teacher hamesha mujhe kam marks deti thi." She whined, clutching her 6th grade school drawing book to her chest. "Aur hasogey."
"Dekh itna bhi embarrassing nahi ho sakta. Chal abhi nakhre karna bandh kar aur bata. Aur promise main nahi hasonga" He reaches out to grab the A4 sized book, only to have Twinkle fold in on herself effectively trapping the book in between her torso and legs. "NAHI!"
"Twinkle dekh abhi tu zidd kar rahi hai."
"Haan, main zidd kar rahi hoon, par yeh book main tumhe nahi dekhaogi! Kabhi nahi!" she yells and runs out of the room. With the book of course.
"Main bhi dekhta hoon, ki yeh kaise nahi batayegi. Naam badaliyo, agar nahi ussne nahi bataya."
It was later that evening. Everyone in the Sarna household was gathered in the dining room for dinner. "Kya hua Kunj puttar, tu udaas lag raha hai." Bebe inquired, drawing everyone's attention to the man in question, especially Twinkle's attention.
"Nahi Bebe aisa kuch nahi hai." He mumbles sadly, breathing out a sigh for extra effect, and purposely refusing to meet Twinkle's gaze.
"Arey kuch pareshani ki baat hai, tih huumme bata. Aur humme nahi toh Twinkle ko bata de na, mann halka ho jayega."
Kunj's glum behavior did not escape Twinkle's notice. Of anything, she mentally started going through all of the things that could possibly upset him. Was it that she delayed making him Aloo Paratha until the weekend? Was it work load? Anything problems with colleagues or friends?
"Arey Twinkle ab tujhe kya hua? Tu kyu udaas lag rahi hai ab?" Usha asked.
Twinkle scrambled to find a convincing answer. "Kuch nahi, mummyji. Main sab ke liye coffee banati hoon."
She decided to make the coffee just the way Kunj preferred it. Maybe that would cheer his mood up a bit. Half a cup milk, two sugars and boil. She sprinkled the powered coffee beans in his cup in the shape of a smiley, just in his cup and carried off the coffee to serve everyone.
She first served Kunj, lest anyone see her little coffee art. She kept her eyes on him as she served everyone else. She hoped he would smile after seeing the smiley.
He didn't.
She worried.
Everyone retired to their respective bedrooms early, knowing the youngest couple to have a bad habit of not resolving their problems until everyone was in bed and the house was bathed in darkness.
Twinkle made sure the door to their room was locked before sitting down next to Kunj on the bed.
"Kya hua Kunj?" she asks in a low, hesitant voice.
"Kuch nahi." He responds dejectedly.
"Baatne se dard kam hota hai." She places a hand upon his. The encouragement she knows he always responds to.
He turns to look at her. "Tu mujhe par trust nahi karti."
It shocks her, his statement. She ransacks her minds, searching for any incident in the recent past that might have led him to feel so. She came up empty handed. "Tum aisa kyu bol rahe ho? Kunj I do trust you. I trust you a lot."
"Prove kar."
She squared up her shoulders, ready to do anything he asks her to, in order to prove her faith on him. Would he ask her to sit in a dark room alone, knowing how she hated it? She would gladly sit hours on end, if it proved anything to him. Would he ask her to jump off of the roof? She would jump it, climb up again and jump once more. Would he ask her to kiss him? She would, a million times over.
She trust him, more than she trusts herself. And she is willing to go to any lengths to prove it.
"Kaise?" he voice is confident. She is determined.
"Apni drawing book dikha ke?"
Was this some kind of joke? Here she was, willing to kill herself for him, and all the man wanted was to see her 6th Grade drawing book, just so he could have a good laugh about it? He went through all that drama just to get a peek at her poor artistic skills?
Damn his determination and damn his manipulation skills.
"Kunj, yeh galat hai."
"Dekha, you don't trust me."
"Meri drawing book aur trust ka kya relation Kunj? Yeh cheating hai!"
But Kunj, look down at the floor and keeps chanting "Tujhe mujh par bharosa hi nahi hai"
Twinkle sighs. And he called her childish! The irony.
"Fine. Dekho!"
She gives up and pulls out the book out of her socks drawer. She hands him the book and goes to make her way to the bathroom, so that she could hide there while he laughed. But Kunj grabs her hand before she can take a step and pulls her to sit beside him.
Great! No escape.
Twinkle closes her eyes tight as Kunj opens the book. She counts down from three before she hears the first chuckle.
But as the seconds pass by she realizes the chuckles weren't as bad as the LOL she was expecting. So she chances a look. She first looks at the book. He was currently on the page titled Aquarium', the one where Twinkle had a poorly drawn star fish in the front. But the funniest part was that there was a frog in her tank. Because apparently 6th grade Twinkle thought frogs too belonged in an Aquarium.
She chuckles at the memory. She next glances a look up at Kunj. And she is surprised to find him not-laughing. Rather he was merely chuckling in delight. His eyes were also filled with admiration. She thinks to herself that this wasn't as bad as she was expected.
"Tum has kyu nahi rahe ho?" she asks, bewildered. These were absolute horrid drawing and he wasn't laughing. What is wrong with this man?
"Because it's cute."
"It is horrible."
He halts the flipping of pages and looks at her. "Cute hai. Kyuki I can image an 11 year old Twinkle drawing this. Yeh uski imagination hai, uske colors aur uske characters hai. Kyuki main imagine kar sakta hoon, ki kaise woh, apni choti si zabaan ko daaton ke beech dabaye, purre concentration ke saath yeh, elephant ki drawing banayi hogi. Kaise who puri raat bait kar, yeh Mother's day' picture ko complete kiya hoga."
He never fails to amaze her. Every time she thinks she can't fall more in love with him, he proves her wrong. And every time she finds herself faller harder and harder in love with him.
"Yeh sirf teri drawings nahi hai Twinkle. Yeh tera dedication, tera determination bhi hai. And I love that about you. Aur agar teri art teacher ko yeh nahi samajh aaya, then yeh uska loss hai. Tera nahi."
She had tears in her eyes. No one ever thought of her drawings in that way. And yes despite his reassuring words they were yet awful pictures, but he saw more than the weird color combination and the elephant with five legs. And that was all she ever wanted.
She hugs him and he hugs her back.
Maybe he will tease her for it another time. Right now, he wants to catch glimpses of the little Twinkle that grew up to be the lady he loved.
THE END.
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