Take Me Home Tonight - Page 19

Originally posted by: ssafiyaa

Fab update! U've conveyed d emotions so well.. Loved it... Arnav describin his feelings... Nd d nature also conspiring to bring thm togeda.. Just awesome! Hope khushi forgives him, lookiin fwd to d next part..

Take Me Home Tonight: Part V

... this love had breathed once for sure... and had breathed so strongly... that it shook the earth with its force...and changed his whole world ... yes, unquestionably and absolutely, he had fallen in love once... with this lovely, charming girl... who, with her radiant smile, and darling playfulness, stole his heart with such ease, that he didn't even realize when it happened'. didn't realize when she dragged him into her crazy world and made him a part of it... and now... life without her simply makes no sense... his child like wife... and his mature companion...who captured this heart in such a way... that... that the heart didn't have any restraint anymore... and now she wanted to leave him? Leave him after changing his whole world? Leave him alone and by himself?... But Arnav didn't remember how to live just by himself anymore... he had become too accustomed to her being part of his life... he had become much too used to seeing her first after returning home every day... much too used to telling her off, and then making up with her... laughing with her, and sharing her pains... holding her hand, and holding her close to him...taking care of her and staying in her embrace... of looking at her... of seeing her every day... of longing for her every moment... got too accustomed to it all...got much too used to her...and had become much too attached to her... she had become just a bit too close to his heart... how could he let her go now?

Arnav had reached the eye of the storm that was passing through his head. He took a moment to orient himself. He looked at her. Khushi was hugging herself tightly. He went near her. Then he put a hand on her shoulder.

"You're gonna leave? Where do you think you're gonna go?"

Khushi looked up. He looked into her eyes in return.

"So... you think I don't love you. And what if I say I do, then what are you going to do?"

Khushi's tear filled eyes widened a little. She didn't speak.

"Khushi..." he said softly, "If you had the slightest idea... of exactly how much you mean to me... then you would have never even thought about leaving". His hand gently touched her face first, and then he cupped her face with both of his hands.

He was about to tell her why she couldn't leave... why she couldn't be anywhere else except right near him, always and forever... but something choked up his voice and he couldn't speak. Why couldn't he speak? He had thought his disorientation had been resolved. He needed to tell her now! Needed her to know now... before she left... before he lost the only source of brightness in his darkness-cloaked life...his only incentive to keep breathing, and his only reason to smile. Out of ideas, Arnav desperately hugged her, so she couldn't get away. He buried his face in her hair and a couple of tears rolled down his cheeks as he squeezed his eyes shut.

The thunder kept battling their invisible enemies in the mean time. Trying to keep them safe. They were all around them, and it was trying so very hard. To give them the time, to give them the space they so desperately needed, they so completely deserved. It has been way too long, the wind whispered to the rain. And we have been far too silent, the rain whispered back. Today, let us have no boundaries. Today, let us not be shy, let us not be silent. Today we fight. Fight for what is ours to protect. Fight for what is closest to our hearts. And so the wind took off again to join the thunder. And the rain spread its wings to embrace Khushi and Arnav. Arnav and Khushi. The two lost souls. To guide their silent hearts into becoming one. To help the silent souls to finally merge.

Khushi would have been less surprised if she had witnessed two oopmpa loompas beat Shyam into a pulp elsewhere in the galaxy. She felt a drop of tear fall on her shoulder where Arnav had buried his face. She couldn't understand what was going on. What was he doing? Why was he so upset? Her arms went around him protectively.

"Arnavji... Arnavji... are you alright?" Her voice cracked. Was he crying? Why was he crying? She felt like crying again. What is she doing?!... Wasn't it enough that tears accompanied her own emotions? Now she must cry with him as well? And what was that he just said? Did he say she shouldn't leave? Did he say he... he... loved her? Did she hear him right? What was going on? Khushi was lost.

Arnav didn't say anything. He just held her tighter.

"Arnavji..." Khushi instinctively needed to comfort him. It didn't matter that she didn't understand why he was upset. Didn't matter what the circumstances were. She needed to comfort him because his distress was almost physically hurting her.

Arnav tried to steady himself. Khushi loved him. His wife loved him. He wasn't afraid of anything anymore. He could take over the world now... and with ease too. He said while holding her close, "Khushi I can't let you leave... I can't let you go... because... because... I have completely forgotten... forgotten what it's like to live without you." He let out a sigh.

It took her several seconds to process what he had just said. Khushi felt dizzy. She definitely wasn't hearing things right but she didn't know how to focus. She would have lost her balance had her light frame not been supported by Arnav's body.

And in the background, all hell was breaking loose. The roar of the thunder was being fueled by the flashes of the lightning. But around them, just along the outlying radius around them... the Universe maintained a calm and neat little bubble, undisturbed by the raging war, unperturbed by the warriors' cries. Inside, it was serene. Inside, it was beautiful. Inside, the flowers grew in peace. And inside, the fairies wove their tale. A tale of eternal love. An epic of opposing forces. A saga of courage, hope and affection; of shock, betrayal, and heartbreak; of passion, desire, and longing; of serendipity, fate... and destiny. And of a love so overpowering, so overbearing, and so demanding, that it transcended mere human lives. A paragon to be remembered with fondness for ages, a legend to be reiterated to many generations to come.

"Khushi," he said while holding her close, "I had lost all traces of happiness much too early in my life...so early... that I had forgotten entirely what it felt like to be happy", Arnav tried to remember.

"Then something strange happened..." he continued."This peculiar girl came into my life, and everything changed. The atmosphere around me suddenly seemed a little different... she seemed a little different. She was absolutely insane, that's probably why..." Arnav's expression was a mixture of a smile and a sob... "One day, everything was normal... and the next day everything had changed! That ordinary girl suddenly seemed so distinct from the rest of the world! All of a sudden, everything about her seemed so extraordinary! The girl who was a complete stranger even yesterday... felt like the closest thing to my heart! I was so shocked... and she used to irritate me so much! Oh god she used to drive me insane...I thought if I stayed away from her, I'd be able to get rid of her and get rid of these feelings... but couldn't get it done... couldn't succeed with it... do you know why, Khushi?... it's because whenever I was away from her...I would cease to breathe..." Arnav explained.

And as soon as these words were delivered, for one millisecond, for one very minute moment, the earth took a break from its constant journey. Took a quick pause to listen. To listen to the words that have never been spoken out loud, to the thoughts that had been so carefully concealed, for so long. And to those unnamed feelings... the feelings that with every attempt of suppression had only intensified in fervor. The earth eavesdropped, and the atmosphere held its breath, and they both focused. Focused with all their attention, and all their heart.

"And that's why we had to meet again... and had to keep on meeting again and again... and in the process of it, we ended up in a place so close to each other... that... that.. everything else in the world became blurry... only she was in front of me, and I near her...only the two of us remained in the whole world, and nobody else... you know... when she would...when she would laugh out loud spontaneously.. the sky would light up in joy... when she would start dancing without a reason, even the waves would stop for a moment to watch her...I was left completely speechless...and all of a sudden, that long lost happiness returned to my life... fun and laughter came back to my life... it felt like... like... no matter how great today has been, tomorrow would be even greater, even brighter... and even that started happening... do you know why, Khushi? It's because all of my days and every one of my mornings started beginning with you..."

Khushi felt like she was in a dream. She felt like her mind was out of her body, watching them from a distant location. Was she dreaming? Arnav slowly raised his head to meet her eyes. Khushi could not believe what she saw in his eyes. She had been waiting for so long. So long... that she thought that she had imagined it all...fabricated things that didn't exist... but what was this she saw now?

"I never fully understood what love was... In fact I never believed it truly existed... how does it make sense that someone would care for another person, a completely unrelated individual... more than their own selves... and always? It didn't seem very logical to me. And this world runs solely on logic, I had thought...But one day, something very unusual happened... I began to feel the presence of another heartbeat, even before feeling my own...someone else's distress started troubling me, more than my own... When I looked into it, I found out that heartbeat belonged to none other than you... I couldn't believe it... I was so embarrassed... I tried to ignore it... tried to forget it, but failed miserably... and gradually, everything started to change... I started to change...the random moments of life that I used to ignore entirely, began to give me joy... tiny fragments of happiness began to fill my days... I started smiling without a reason..." He lightly traced her cheeks. "...Flowers began to seem more lovely because you loved them... colours began to seem brighter than before because they made you happy... but most of all, you began to seem like the loveliest of them all, the sweetest of them all, and the fairest of them all... you became the dearest, the most precious object, the object of all my affection... the center of my little universe... everywhere I looked, I saw you... in every thought of my mind, I found you... If we didn't meet for even one day, my eyes would exhaust themselves looking for you... my heart would pine just to exchange a single word with you... and that's why I had to make excuses... to be near you, and to keep you near me..."

"You were always in my thoughts... Whenever we met, I couldn't take my eyes off you... and even when we were apart, all I needed to do was just close my eyes...and you would be there again in front of me, all around me... I was going crazy Khushi, and I didn't have a clue why... then one day when I saw tears in your eyes, I found out. Because my first thought was that... everyone and everything else can go to hell, but you should never have to shed a single drop of tear from your eyes. It felt like... it felt like if you are not happy, then there is no way in this world for me to be happy... and I finally realized."

"Realized that I am not alone anymore Khushi... someone else has become an inherent part of my life... and now life was incomplete without her... I realized that I had fallen in love, Khushi. That absurd concept that I never believed in... but at the end, I had to accept that very thing... because I was tired of the thousand questions that my mind kept pestering me with... to which I didn't have a single valid answer... except for this... had to finally accept that I was in love, Khushi... that I was in love with that mysterious girl, getting to know whom suddenly became very important... fell in love with that fascinating girl, who left me with but one choice... to become utterly and completely intoxicated by her charm and grace... I fell in love with her innocence, and her mischievousness, her sparkling eyes, and her mesmerizing words. Fell in love with her every look, every gesture... absolutely fell in love with every aspect of her... when she would worry for me, and when, in her fear or annoyance, would only return to me... when she would try to act all mature and grown up... and when she would read my every need, my every desire, simply by looking at my eyes... I fell in love with you, Khushi... fell into this unreasonable love... the reasons of which was slowly becoming very clear... and then it became difficult to stay silent... and impossible to stay away... I was left with just one desire... that all my mornings from now on began with you, and all my nights from this day forward ended with you." Arnav let out a long sigh. Finally, he felt like he could breathe again. So many nights and days had passed, with these words weighing down on his chest. She knew now. What she needed to know. What he needed to know.

"Don't go," he added softly. "Please don't leave now... don't leave me... because... because you are the only joy of my life Khushi... don't leave, because I need you, Khushi... don't leave because I love you, yes, I love you... endlessly and immeasurably... always have and always will..." He finished.

The last of the enemies had been slain. The thunder god put down his battle axe; the lightning retreated back to the heavens. Their work here was done. The rain goddess sighed. Sighed with relief, with affection, and with joy. Her cousin the wind appeared beside her; she had transformed into her other avatar, the calmer breeze. They watched in silence, and rejoiced. They had won. Because they had won. Finally, after so long. The unsaid words have been uttered. The unheard songs have been appreciated. Their heart swelled with pride. The wait is over. And the new day has begun.

The soft breeze brought along with it a long lost melody. Never knew I could feel like this... like I've never seen the sky before... want to vanish inside your kiss... every day I love you more and more...someone sang quietly far away. Khushi was numb. She thought her head was going to explode. Suddenly the world seems such a perfect place... suddenly it moves with such a perfect grace... suddenly my life doesn't seem such a waste...it all revolves around you...One side of Khushi was dying in bliss. Was feverish with joy. Was light as a feather. Was dancing with the wind. What did he say? What was that he said? Can someone repeat it please? Because she didn't think she heard it right... But if she somehow did, and it was true, then she could die happily now. Knowing what she knew. Feeling what she felt. Let this moment freeze, Khushi prayed, and never let time flow again. Because she could stay here forever. She wanted to stay here forever. She wanted to never think again. She wanted to never encounter reality again... Listen to my heart, can you hear it sings... telling me to give you everything...

But the other side didn't give her that luxury. The other side was still trying to piece things together, and something was amiss. As a matter of fact, nothing made sense. It needed answers. She needed answers. As much as she wanted to stop thinking and just float away to Neverland, she needed to know. Come what may, come what may... I will love you until my dying day... The voice insisted. Khushi chose to ignore it. "Arnavji... Arnavji what are you talking about..." she was desperate... "I thought you hated me? Then what kind of joke is this?"

She looked like a lost little girl, Arnav thought. He wiped her tears gently.

"I don't hate you, Khushi. I never did. I tried for a while, but failed every time..." He looked at her closely... "And we have both made many mistakes... done things we are not proud of ... but if you need me just as much as I need you, Khushi... if you love me just as much as I love you, Khushi," Arnav gasped for air, "then... then I'm willing to forget everything that happened... I'm prepared to start again, start afresh... from scratch... only for you Khushi... and only for us..." Arnav was losing control again.

And so was Khushi. All of this was just a big joke to him, wasn't it? How easily he claimed that they are going to forget everything... are going to start afresh... Really? After putting her through everything that he put her through... he wants to start from scratch? On a clean slate? But how are they going to achieve that? Who is going to wipe the slate clean? How easily he proclaimed love for her! What kind of love? What can he possibly know about love? He doesn't know the first thing about love... but then... then why did he describe it in such vivid details? How did he depict it in such rich colours?

"We are going to start from scratch? How are we going to do that Arnavji? ... And what did you just say? You love me, Arnavji? Really? If you loved me so much, then why did you never say anything? In all this time, you couldn't have told me even once? That's how much you loved me? Why did you torture me so much? Why did you torment me so? Every day? Every moment? And what was your punishment for? Your so called love, or mine?! What had I done wrong? Did you love me so much Arnavji, so very much that you had to force me to marry you? If you had just said once, Arnavji, just once... only once if you had said to me... those words... for which I was waiting so eagerly..." Khushi looked away in pain "Arnavji, do you even know that I was waiting one day... that I was waiting one day for you... waiting to hear these words from you... and waiting for you to clasp my hand for a lifetime... you did end up holding my hand, and you sure did apply this sindoor on my head... but in such a unique way Arnavji... that I was left speechless... we got married, that we did for sure, and as my wedding present, I received a big bouquet of hate... and an even bigger one with indifference... from none other than you, my dear husband... tell me, was that your way of showing affection? Is that how much you loved me Arnavji? That breaking my heart on a daily basis became you favourite hobby? That making me cry became you only goal? Tell me, Arnavji! You kept silent for all these days, don't you think you owe it to me to speak up at least today?! Is this what the meaning of love is to you?! Is this what you love is?! You never said anything, never breathed a single word... for God's sake, say something today!" Out of anguish and desperation, Khushi's hands caught Arnav's shirt pulled him toward her. Her tear-laced eyes demanded answers.

Arnav was silent. He couldn't form a response for several moments. He thought about what had really happened that night. The night of their marriage. What he had seen. What he hadn't seen. The excruciating, penetrating pain of crushed hopes, and the loud crash of heartbreak. He tried to push the thoughts away. He couldn't relive through the horror. Not again. Not now. Whatever happened, he could forget it all, and he had to forget it all. He didn't have a choice. He simply couldn't let her go now. It wasn't possible anymore. And if what Khushi said was true, none of that mattered anymore. If she cared for him even a little, they could live through it. Live through anything. Because god knows he cares enough for the both of them. He would protect them, he wouldn't let anything happen to them. For his sake... and for hers. And for the sake of this love that demanded priority over everything else, and rightfully so. But how could he make her understand that?

Tell her the truth. The voice urged. No, that is the last thing I want to think about, the last thing I want to bring up. Not today, not now. This moment was too precious. I will not taint this moment. I will not lose her again. She will never realize otherwise, the voice continued, and if she truly loves you, she will understand, just like you understood. She will accept you, just like you accepted her. Because both she and you know very well, that there is no one else for the either of you. There was no one else, and there never will be anyone else. Only her, and only you. For each other. Forever and for always. Everything else is just details... Let her know because she may not realize. Guide her, because she too, has been through a lot. Hold on to her Arnav, because she may slip away in her agony. Let her in Arnav, because life carries naught a meaning anymore, without her.

"Arnavji..." Arnav's trance was broken. "You are not going to say anything, are you? Alright... don't... I am used to this anyway by now". She let go of his shirt and turned around. She had to walk away. She had had more than enough, and she needed to get away, needed some space to vent, away from him, away from all of this.

"Khushi, wait..."

His voice pulled her from behind. Khushi stopped on her track and turned slowly to face him.

Arnav took a swallow.

"Khushi... I never... I had wanted to..." He didn't finish.

"Khushi on the night of our wedding..." he tried to continue "I was there... and I saw..."

Khushi waited silently, her eyebrows raised in apprehension.

"Shyam." Arnav finished with just one word.

***

Part 6 (English): 56136893

Originally posted by: angellovergirl

this was AMAZING!

I am speechless - arnav's confession the weather everything was just perfect

thank you so much for the pm and giving us the pleasure of being able to read this

Originally posted by: lara3110

Awesome piece of work. Brilliant.⭐️