CHAPTER FIVE.
"Yuvi, jaldi kar! Class ke liye late ho raha hai!" Twinkle yelled impatiently standing outside his bathroom door. It had been three quarters of an hour since he had locked himself in the bathroom, getting ready.
"Haan, bas do minute! Bas baal style kar raha hoon..." One would think it would be Twinkle who would take a time getting decked up for college. But no! Here she was ready in her skinny blue jeans, her cream oversized sweater and hair immaculately French braided to the side, standing outside his bedroom door, half an hour ago.
Sometimes she thinks sharing an apartment with him was the worst decision she made. He always wakes up late. He takes way too long to dress up for college. He is perpetually hungry, he eats her food and he watches Bollywood Saas bahu drama, even obnoxiously cries with it.
Twinkle was about to continue her mental rant when the door swings on its hinges and out comes a dashing Yuvraj. He flashes her his signature smile causing Twinkle to shake her head in defeat. No matter how annoying Yuvi can be, he was by the end of the day a good friend. A very good friend.
Everything with him was so simple and impersonal. He knew his boundaries well and never in their short friendship encroached her about her worries or troubles. Instead he would often take the impersonal approach, cracking jokes and diverting topics. He was impulsive too. No, no, that's not the right word. There was a difference in being impulsive and-Spontaneous! Yuvraj was spontaneous! He was spontaneous and lively.
And she hates to admit it but he wasn't that bad of a housemate.
"Oye, ab tu kaha kho gayi? Ab late nahi ho raha?" He questions and then before she can shake of her train of thoughts or answer him, he loops her hand through his and drags her to the door. "Chal ab!"
Yuvi became her housemate just a little over two weeks ago. He was in trouble with his landlord and apartments in New York were expensive. Twinkle needed a flat mate, who could contribute half the rent. And after a series of butterfly effect, Yuvraj moved into his new apartment with one huge suitcase and two cardboard boxes to his name.
Of course they stop for coffee on the way to college. No matter how late they were for classes, her Vanilla Latte and his White Chocolate Mocha were a must. And of course being the teenage brat Yuvraj was they had to stop to Instagram their coffee cups, captioned But first Coffee', very original Twinkle sarcastically thought and rolled her eyes through the whole process. They reach the class just a little over two minutes late, a small miracle in the eyes of Twinkle and both huff a sigh of relief noticing the lack of Professor in the class. They take their accustomed seats on the far right of the class, Yuvraj throws his feet on the desk, hiding his glee behind the Styrofoam, while Twinkle a little more civil among them, bites the insides of her cheeks to hide her smile and glances at the wall clock.
Class was cancelled, well sort of. The professor failed to show up even after a good fifteen minutes and the students under the University's policy were free to leave the class under the circumstances.
"Sooo..." Yuvraj rubs his hands together, pulling on the syllables of the word. "Lunch?" he asks as they walk out of the class.
She looks at him, then at her wrist watch and then back at him again. It was lunch time and Yuvi was giving her that childish eager smile of his and really there was no denying him when he did that.
"McDonald's Please, please, please, please, pleaseee!"
"You are impossible; you know that?"
"Impossible is basically saying like I am possible."
"Yuvi, please chup kar."
There was something different about the authentic American McDonald's that the Indian franchise just couldn't get right. The proof was obvious by their bill. 6 burgers, 2 Large sodas and 2 Large fries and 2 Sundaes. Just for two people.
"Toh what's your story?" Yuvi initiates between mouthful of succulent burger patties.
"Matlab?" She replies, mouth equally full.
He holds one finger up asking her for a minute and sips on the bubbling Orange soda. "Matlab yeh Twinky Twinks. Tere kapde highly coordinate hai for someone who can't even see colors."
"Coincidence." She lets him know with a sly smirk.
"Har din?" he isn't amused.
"I am a lucky girl maybe."
He is amused now. Twinkle is this absolute mystery that he wants to unravel one question at a time. She is a paradox in the most delightful of ways. The way she likes her coffee, sweet and frothy in the morning but then she relaxes with Green Tea in the evening by the nook near the window with a book or her laptop. She acts like a tomboy some days, all tough with her black combat boot and ripped jeans. But then he wakes up on other days and she is flitting about the kitchen in her floral yellow skirt and green cardigan. She works hard on getting straight A's in all her classes but she also likes to pull all-nighters catching up on all of SRKs movies. But what he like most about this puzzle called Twinkle was that she was mature and yet she was so childish, it was endearing. But he knows that there is something that holds her back from unchaining herself completely.
He doesn't realize he was staring at her intently until she bows her head down and speaks words so soft he almost misses it. "Sorry, kya?"
"I am iridescent."
"Iridescent." He tastes the word on his tongue a couple of times, sure that he is unfamiliar with the vocabulary she just used. "Woh kya hota hai?"
"It means ke mujhe mera soulmate mil gaya hai. I can see colors, therefor I am Iridescent." She explains finally looking him in the eye.
"Oh. Toh issi liye madam har roz Model ki tarah lagti hai. Nice word by the way."
She smiles, eyes all effervescent just like the Pepsi she shyly starts sipping on.
"Toh kaha hai tera yeh soulmate?" he couldn't help asking.
She looks at him for a moment, wondering if she should open up the cobwebs in her heart. When she notices that his eyes reflected simple curiosity she decides that she could let him in. "Woh apni Soulmate ke saath hai."
It takes Yuvraj a minute to connect the dots. "Oh." That's all he says. Twinkle stared at him for another minute.
And then "Thank you." Her voice firm and content.
"Thank you, Kyu?"
"For not pitying me. I appreciate that," She truly did. Because she was more than sad novel story, she was more than a lonely sad girl who wasn't lucky enough to have her feeling and love reciprocated.
He passes her a dazzling smile, stuffing fries into his mouth. "Acha lekin iska matlab yeh nahi hia, ki main aaj tujh par taras kha kar, tujhe Sherlock' dekhne doonga. Aaj main Bhool Bhulaiya, dekhne ke mood mein hoon."
"Not fair!"
"Dark!'
As promised Yuvraj didn't allow Twinkle to watch her favorite program, rathe he obnoxiously munched on his buttered popcorn and dimmed the lights for effects to watch his movie, leaving Twinkle to her own devices.
He had fallen asleep, clutching the Grey throw on the couch, just as the credits began rolling. Twinkle knew his sleep was an uneasy one, because he was murmuring incoherent words like Dur reh," again and again. And there was also the fact that halfway through the movie he had switched the lights back on and called out her name just to reassure himself that he wasn't alone in the apartment. In short, he was scared.
That gave Twinkle a wicked idea. Letting her hair free from the confines of the rubber band, she quickly smeared some mascara around her eyes violent and wore the reddest shirt she owned. She tiptoed around the living room, to dim the lights before sitting cross legged in from of the couch Yuvraj was sleeping on.
"Ami je Tomar." She began in a low lullaby. "Shudu Je Tomar"
The song it had its desired effects. Yuvraj started to stirring in his sleep, pulling the throw around him tighter. Twinkle barely manages to stifle her laugh.
"Ami Je Tomar. Shudu Je Tomar. Ami Je Tomar." Now for added effect she gently runs her hands down the contours of his face, disturbing him more.
She placed herself closer to his ear after she sensed that he was awake enough to be mightily scared. "AMI MANJULIKA!" She screamed. Yuvi's eyes popped open in horror, and all he could see was the red fabric in front of his eyes. He doesn't know why he looked up, but he did and now he wishes he didn't.
MANJULIKA WAS HOVERING ABOVE HIM! HE WAS GOING TO DIE. SHE WAS HERE TO DRINK HIS BLOOD! And so he did the only logical thing that any man scared shitless might do. He screamed.
"TWINKLLEEE!!!!! BACHAAAOOO! TWINKLE" He fumbles with the blanket tangled around his leg, desperate too free himself. "TWINKLLLEEE! AHHH"
That was the limits of Twinkle's control and she bursts out laughing.
Well it did play to her advantage because the sight in front of Yuvraj was even scarier now. A hysterical Manjulika laughing her head off, taking some sick pleasure in torturing her victims like so. He calls out for Twinkle again, louder this time and upon receiving no help, he starts chanting the Bhagwat Geeta. He thinks it makes Manjulika mad because she is laughing harder than before. Oh, and she is also gasping for air.
And that is when he notices the resemblance between this Manjulika and his housemate. "Twinkle?"
Twinkle takes in another gulp of much needed air, unsuccessfully though. Because Yuvi was yet scrambled against the back of the couch for dear life.
"TU?" He yells again, finally gathering his senses. He rubs a hand down his face, willing his heart to slow down and to make a journey back up from where it had fallen in the pits of his stomach. "I almost died. Good one." He pats on her back after both of them had significantly calmed down. "I almost dies but okay."
The fact that he doesn't yell at her, makes Twinkle feel a tad bit guilty. She was sure if it was anyone else, she would be the one who would have been dead. But here, with Yuvraj everything was so easy and fun. She liked it. He was the quote Expect the Unexpected' personified.
She compensates the scare by cooking him dinner.
They sit down on their round dining table, forking through the spaghetti. "Mera heart rate abhi tak neeche nahi aaya hai." He admits, taking a gulp of the orange juice.
"You deserved it. I don't like missing my episode of Sherlock."
"Sooo, you almost killed me for Sherlock?"
"Maybe."
"Tu bilkul Pagal hai, you know that?"
"Haan haan, pata hai. Par woh sab chod. Tu bata. Teri soulmate kaha hai?" She asks him the question that had been playing on her mind, since lunch that day. And she thought about it more when Yuvraj was busy watching his movie.
He dressed up quite well. Too well, for someone who can't see colors. And his room was well color coordinated too.
"Tujhe kaise pata?"
"Well, Sir roz Calvin Klein ke model ki tarah tyaar hote hai, so I just assumed. Lekin tu ne mera shaq sahi sabit kar diya. Toh ab sab sach-sach bata."
"Waah, mere saath reh kar, tu badi smart hone lagi hai." Yuvi smirks, popping up an imaginary collar, earning him a good had whack on his arm.
"Chal ab zyaada footage mat kha. Bata na!" Twinkle was eager and it was palpable in the way she pulled her chair closer to the table and laced her hands in front of her.
"Hmm, Well, for starters she is studying in London."
"London kyu?" She butted in before he could continue any further. "Toh tere saath yaha kyu nahi hai?!"
Yuvraj was used to her butting in. "Aur woh Architecture padh rahi hai. Aur woh bahaut pretty hai with her brown eyes and -"
"Par woh yaha kyu nahi hai!?!"
Yuvraj sighs, this girl and her incessant butting in. "Par usse yaha kyu hona chahiye?" he counters her.
"Kyuki tum dono Soulmates ho! Tum dono ko saath hona chahiye!" She yells like it was the most obvious thing in the world.
It makes Yuvi smile, because these were the glimpses of innocence that Twinkle let slip every now and then. She lived in this dream castle she had conjured up and he felt like protecting his imagined of hers forever. But he also wanted to open her to the real world, gently albeit. Because in his humble opinion the real world when looked at from the right perspective was way more beautiful than dreams.
"Kyu ki my darling Twinkle, we are individuals before we are mates." It was that simple. And yet seemingly not that simple from the expression Twinkle had on. "Dekh, you only meet your soulmate after you turn 18. So just because you met your soulmate doesn't mean you erase those eighteen years that made you who you are today. Those eighteen years made you who your soulmate fell in love with. So you don't get to erase that! Don't turn Me' in to a We' so quick that you cease to exist as I'."
It was refreshing this perspective of his. Twinkle had never thought of it that way. She always imagined that life should drastically and dramatically change after they become Iridescent, that your self-identity vanishes and you become one entity. Two bodies, one soul in all essence.
"Clearly tu do jism, ek jaan soch wali ladki hai." He says almost reading her mind.
"Par usse bura nahi lagta? Tujhe bura nahi lagta ki tum dono itne durr ho?"
"It's our choice Twinkle. Woh hamesha se Europe mein padhna chahti thi and I was in love with New York. Why stop dreaming just to be together." He says through mouth full of Marinara Sauce. "Iska matlab yeh nahi hai, ki I don't miss her. I do miss her every day. Dearly. Par phir main sochta hoon, ki agar ussne ya maine apne dreams to sacrifice kar ke saath mein ek jagah rehte, toh shayad hum khush hote. But sirf ek ya do hafte, zyaada se zyaada ek mahine ke liye. Par phir ek din ek aisa time aata jab hum soch te ke kaash humne apne sapne sacrifice nahi kiye hote. Of course love is powerful. But sometimes love isn't enough."
Sometimes love isn't enough. That was an impactful statement. It tasted bitter and hurting to her but it echoed symphonies of truth that was unavoidable.
The rest of the dinner passes in thoughtful silence and soon they bid each other good night.
Twinkle replayed Yuvi's philosophy in her mind over and over again, unable to sleep. And the more she thought about it the more beautiful it sounded to her. Sometimes love isn't enough.'
TO BE CONTINUED...
I stopped this chapter here because the word count was 2552 and I liked the number. Also because I couldn't think further and this was good sub plot, don't you think? Let me know through your lovely comments below.
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