TWINJ OS : TERI MERI KAHAANI

Teri Meri Kahaani

"Papa, papa, papa!" Five-year-old Chahat chanted, running circles around the dining table.

Her father looked up from the newspaper he was reading on the couch, a smile on his face. He shook his head as he folded the paper and set it down on the coffee table. He stood up, allowing himself a moment to stretch before he broke into the path of orbit that his daughter was making, scooping her up into his arms. She shrieked before bursting into giggles.

"Tum abhi tak soyi nahi? Mamma tumhe bauhat daantegi,"he told her.

Chahat grinned up at him. "Aapne mujhe story nahi sunayi," she said.

He smiled back, heading to her bedroom. "Ah. Toh tumhe story sunani hai?"

She nodded.

"Kaunsi?"

She scrunched up her face, thinking. "Aapki aur Mamma ki!" she finally chirped, her eyes bright.

His smile widened. "Chalo," he said, laying her down on her bed. He pulled her unicorn-printed blanket over her and sat down next to her. "The course of true love never did run smooth," he began.

"That's from Shakespeare," his well-read five-year-old stated.

He looked down at her and raised an eyebrow. "You read Mamma's Shakespeare books?"

Chahat shrugged, snuggling against her father. She looked up at him, silently imploring him to continue.

"The course of true love never did run smooth," he began again, "nor was it painless."

So Kunj had found out the hard way.

-||-

The first time he had laid eyes on her, he had fallen off the table.

What exactly was Kunj Sarna doing on a table, one might ask. Well, Kunj Sarna had been on a table, rocking out to Maa Da Laadla blaring out of a cell phone after his darling brother Yuvraj had dared him to. Of course, he hadn't realized that there was a wet spot on the table from where Yuvi's ice coffee had been, and he had slipped and fallen straight on his bum, somehow winding up on the floor.

She had been passing by and had come to an immediate stop when Kunj had landed at her feet. Her light brown eyes had widened in shock, and they had stared at each other for a moment while everyone at the table (meaning Yuvi, Anand, and cherry) laughed at Kunj's mishap.

"Um, are you okay?" she had asked, breaking the silence that appeared to have lasted an eternity.

Kunj had no idea how he had managed to break away from the spell she had cast on him. "Um," he had uttered. "Leprechaun."

Her brow had instantly furrowed, and she stared at him curiously, turning a little red. (At the table, the three had started laughing even harder.) "I'm...sorry?"

Kunj knew he had turned as red as a tomato.LEPRECHAUN?! He forced a smile. "Do...you...like...leprechauns?" he asked slowly.

She gave a small smile. "Leprechauns...are...interesting?" she replied.

Kunj nodded. She smiled awkwardly.

"If...if you're okay, then I'm, um, I'm going to go," she said.

She turned away.

"I'll see you around school!" he blurted out.

She glanced back at him, smiling. She gave him a little wave.

Kunj unwittingly let out a sigh.

The three around the table, who had fallen silent, started laughing again. Kunj immediately turned twenty-five shades of red.

"Leprechaun?!" Yuvi sputtered, clutching his sides, "Have Cherry bhai and I taught you nothing?!"

-||-

The very next day he had seen her as she came out of a lecture theatre.

And Kunj had walked directly into a wall.

The sound of his books dropping had caught her attention, and she gave him a curious look as he bent down hurriedly to pick up his books.

-||-

The next time he had seen her, he had been going down the stairs, heading for another one of his law lectures.

He had spotted her passing by the staircase, busy texting on her cell phone, and he had somehow missed a step.

That had resulted in him tumbling down the stairs, winding up...directly in front of her.

She had let out a gasp, her cell phone slipping from her grasp. Luckily for Kunj, it had landed on him.

"Are...you okay?" she asked.

Kunj nodded, trying to untangle the mess of limbs that was Kunj Sarna. He held out her phone.

"Thank you," she smiled gratefully. She slipped the phone into the pocket of her jeans, then held out her hand to help Kunj up.

Kunj took it gratefully, though she struggled a little in helping him get up.

Eventually though, she managed to pull him up.

"Thanks," he mumbled.

She smiled back at him. "I'm Twinkle," she introduced herself.

"I'm Kunj."

They shared an awkward silence for a moment.

"So. Leprechauns?" she asked.

Kunj grimaced as she grinned. "I'm...not the smoothest talker," he admitted.

She nodded. "And you fall down a lot," she added, still grinning.

Kunj blushed. "And...I fall down a lot..." But only when you're around, he added silently. He glanced up at her, shoving a hand in his pocket shyly.

"You wouldn't happen to be doing anything on Saturday night, would you?" he asked after another long awkward silence.

"That depends on whether you're asking me out to dinner, or if you want me to babysit your two-year-old cousin."

Kunj frowned slightly.

Twinkle turned a little red. "It happens!" she said defensively.

Kunj nodded slowly. "What if I'm asking you out to dinner?" he asked, struggling to make sure the words didn't get caught in his throat.

She smiled slowly, still red. "Then I guess I'm going out to dinner."

For a moment, Kunj thought she had said no. He stared at her blankly, very slowly comprehending that she had said yes. He smiled, letting out a breath he hadn't realized he'd been holding. "So it's a date then?"

She nodded. "It's a date."

-||-

"...aur phir dheere-dheere pyaar ho gaya," Kunj ended, looking down to see his daughter's eyes closed, her thumb in her mouth. Smiling, he kissed her forehead before tucking her in again.

He stood up and turned to the door, not at all surprised to find Twinkle standing there, leaning against the door frame, a smile on her face.

"Do you know she reads your Shakespeares?" he asked softly, enveloping her in his arms.

"What's so bad about that?" she shot back half-defensively. "At least she'll be smart!"

He nuzzled her neck, smiling. "When we have another child, he's going to stay away from books and become a cricketer."

She rolled her eyes. "What makes you think we're going to have another child?" she questioned him, looking up at him with a raised eyebrow.

A devilish grin turned up the corners of his lips, making Twinkle wonder if he'd been spending too much time with Yuvi. He whispered something into her ear, and watched in amusement as she turned bright red.

"Kunj!" She squirmed free from his grip and stuck her tongue out at him. "You'll have to catch me first!"

Grinning, Kunj accepted the challenge, chasing after her.