TwiNj FF: The Storm in our Soul (Chp11 Pg22) 03/09 - Page 6

Hello guys, here is the next chapter. I am fairly happy with how this turned out to be. I hope you all liked it too.

Also hugs and kisses to all those who liked and commented on the previous chapter. Thank you all for all your love and support.

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CHAPTER 5

The deadline of a month that Kunj had mentally imposed come to an end and nothing had changed for the better, though many things had unfortunately changed for the worse.  Twinkle had made an attempt on her life again. This time she decided to be a little less merciful on herself and to drown in their bathtub. Unlike last time, Kunj knew the signs to look out too and acted whenever his instincts told him that something was awry.

He found her sooner than she would have liked. He thinks he could have always been faster.

He slips across the slippery tiles of their bathroom and his knee caps come crashing down on the floor right next to the tub. He swiftly leaned in and pulled her spluttering frame out. Her body was spent due to the lack of oxygen and all she could do while Kunj held her tight in his arms was breathe.

There hadn't been a mad rush to the doctors this time. She didn't need the medical attention of that sort, Kunj figured out for himself soon. He was sure she had coughed up all the water lodged in her lungs. They sat there, on the bathroom for the longest time, just breathing. Inhale and exhale, again and again.

No one was made aware of this matter. Twinkle kept mum because it wasn't something she wanted the others to know, didn't need their sympathy or their pitying looks. Kunj didn't utter a word because he had decided they weren't genuinely concerned about her anyway.

The next day during breakfast, Kunj presented his move. Twinkle was absent from the dinner table, having herself a day in bed. He looked around at his family, licked his lips in determination and then cleared his throat to grab their attention. He knows that while Twinkle was his first priority now, he couldn't hurt his family by being bluntly obvious. So he played his words to soothe everyone.

"Dad, maine company ki files study ki, aur pata chala ki humari company ek profit plateau par rook gayi hai. Toh mujhe lagta hai ki ab best time hai, humara empire expand karne. And I am talking about International markets and foreign headquarters. Aap ko kya lagta hai."

And while Manohar mulls over it, Anand is the one to speak "Idea toh acha hai Kunj, mujhe bhi lagta hai ki humari company International competition ke liye ready hai, par headquarters set up karne ke liye bahut time lagega aur humme se kisi ko toh waha par har waqt supervision ke liye toh rahna hi padega."

"Aur hum first foreign headquarters kaha set up kare?" Manohar added.

Kunj internally smiled because everything was working just as he wanted it. The idea had been planted into their minds and they were optimistic about the whole prospect. They decided to settle the entire matter at work.

By the time Kunj returned from work in the evening, matters had been smoothed over, every aspect of expansion of the company had been considered and advised upon. And it was decided. Kunj and Twinkle would move to Italy where he would help set up the company headquarters.

The truth couldn't be hidden for long and ultimately there had been a quarrel among all. But Kunj had decided-he had promised-to take Twinkle away. Eventually Manohar had figured out that sending them away would be the best option. Twinkle could get the space she required away from the mess of their family and recover while Kunj could actually set up their business. The business set up would approximately need 2 years to be comfortably and successfully done.

Leela and Twinkle had reconciled a week before they were due to leave. It resulted in a lot of tears but it also resulted in a relationship that was evidently stronger than it had ever been. Twinkle had spent two days back at the Taneja's mansion and Kunj swears she looked a teeny tiny bit happier.

And then came the day of their departure. Usha had shed bitter tears and Twinkle had cried too but this was for all their benefit. He assured Usha that they would visit them every year and it was the era of technology-skype and frequent calls were promised by both to both Leela and Usha.

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Tuscany, Italy.

The flight had left them beyond exhausted. Time-zones were a nightmare to deal with and honestly jet lag should be illegal, according to Kunj. Oh but once he stepped out of the airport, the Tuscany wind hit him like a revitalizer and took his breath away. It was sheer beauty, everywhere he looked and he thinks he can stay here with Twinkle all his life. And this was just a foot outside the airport.

They had rented a little villa there, right in the heart of a local market place. Turns out Twinkle was just as excited as he was because, she hadn't looked at him since the time they had got into the taxi that was taking them to their place. Instead her face was stuck to the window of the taxi and her eyes glued to the scenes in front of her.

The sun was just a minute away from kissing the orange-pink horizon when they arrived home'. All Kunj wanted to do at that point was flop down on the bed and sleep for a day or two. Twinkle had other plans. They greeted the landlord who stayed door villas away from them and the old man, provided them with the keys to their house. Twinkle could squeal in glee right then and there if she didn't have the self-control she did. As soon as the landlord was out of their sight, Twinkle rushed into the villa, leaving the lugging of their luggage to her husband.

The villa was a two story one, the ground floor consisting of the hallway, living room kitchen with ample open space for whatever the tenant desired to turn it into. There was a small backyard that Twinkle could see herself spending her evenings lounging in. The staircase, like the house was narrow but very welcoming, led to the top which floored their bedroom. In fact, it housed 3 bedrooms.

The cranks in Twinkle's mind were already turning, imagining the dcor and purpose of each room and the type of furniture and colour schemes. She ran from one room to the other, taking in every nook and cranny in the house. Sometimes stopping and folding her arms, rubbing her chin in deep thought, trying to visualize the perfect piece of ornamentation or colour or whatever.

Kunj had a hard time pulling in all the bags into the house. And by the time he was done with that task, Twinkle was in their bedroom, or the room she claimed would be their bedroom. He doesn't know why, but Kunj really expected a mattress to magically appear there. All he wanted to do was fall flat on his back and sleep for at least to 12 hours. The lack of the magical mattress was a big bummer.

It took a lot of coercing from Kunj for Twinkle to agree to go for a nap, to sleep off the obvious jet lag. Twinkle had other plans. She wanted to just grab a shower to re-freshen herself and be out the door for furniture shopping. Approximately 20 minutes of compelling and negotiating, Twinkle reluctantly agreed.

"Par bas 3 ghante okay? Phir hum shopping ja rahe hai." She made it clear and he agreed, thought that meant he had to compromise on his 12 hour sleeping plans.

So they laid out the blanket Twinkle had fortunately carried with her on the floor of the biggest room (our new bedroom, she claimed), pulled on their thickest coats because of the obvious lack of any other blankets and snuggled close to combat the chill. They fell asleep faster than they had imagined.

They had also under-estimated their jet lag because, it wasn't 3 hours later that they woke up but 10! It was 8 in the morning, the next day. And Kunj is pretty sure they only woke up because they were hungry. A quick shower for each of them, and they were out the door. Hunting around for a breakfast caf. They found a little caf not far from their new home, later they figure out Italy has cafes on every street corner apparently.

Chocolate croissant for the lovely lady with a side of caramel coffee and a blueberry muffin and espresso for him. They took their place at a table by the window. Kunj made a show of pulling out the chair for her which in turn made Twinkle blush crimson. Kunj could take his eyes off of her. She looked ethereal in her white sundress and black leather jacket. Her hair cascading past her shoulders in waves he wanted his fingers to surf.

"Sei bellissimo" thier waiter says as he drops off thier order and kisses Twinkle's hand. Kunj quickly pulls out his phone and quickly translates the words the waiter had said. Upon figuring out that the waiter had merely complimented his wife on her beauty he decided to relax. If wasnt for the twinkle in Twinkle's eyes or the genuinty and respect in the waiter's eyes Kunj would have highly objected the whole scene. But intentions were pure on either side and Twinkle deserved to know how beautiful she truly is.

The waiter took his leave after depositing their food on thier table. "Hold up, tum blush kyu kar rahi ho?" he asks after an after thought. "Tumhe kaise pata ussne kya kaha?"

And Twinkle cant help biting her lip and squinting her eyes close now, she is caught now but she deciddes to try her luck anyway. "Woh, ussne mera haath kiss kiya isliye."

But Kunj was smart and he knew when mischief was afoot. "Twinkle." He threatening but its all in a mock. Twinkle breaks out in a laugh.

"Mujhe Italian bolne aata hai." She confesses

Kunj looks on dumbfounded. Who tries and learns Italina. If anything girls would attempt learning French, the language of love and that jazz. "Aur tu yeh baat mujhe airport pe nahi bol sakti thi, jab main cab driver ko humara address dene ke liye suffer kar raha tha." He catches the bridge of his nose upon remembering the scene played at the airport. "Mujhe mime jaise act karni padi pagal."

"Isiliye nahi kaha. Waise tum mime bahut ache se kar lete ho, maan na padega."

This time they both end up laughing.

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Furniture shopping turned out to be a nightmare for Kunj. Twinkle on the contrary was in a dream world. She had so far dragged him into seven furniture stores. She had examined their curtains a million times, often going deep into the recesses of her mind to imagine what shade would suit the best and in which room. Mattresses were sat upon, laid upon and even jumped upon to be tested. Kunj didn't mind this and neither did the store owner, if anything they all had a good laugh when she fell.

"Nahi, Kunj, yeh beige hai. Mujhe off white coloured sheets hi chaihiye." And off they were to the eighth store.

This time Kunj paid more attention, finally getting the look she was going for. She fluently spoke to the store attendants, asking and getting precisely what she needed. Couch, cushions, rugs, decorative mirrors and the likes.

The bed took a bit longer than the rest to find. She wanted a low level bed, nothing fancy like the one they had in Amritsar. Quite the opposite in fact. It was the eleventh store where she fell in love with the bed of her dreams. She examined it from every side, weighed up the pros and cons of having such a low bed and then made Kunj examine it too.

She asked for his likes, dislikes and opinions on very purchase reasoning that it was their home and he should have a say in it too. He ended up agreeing with almost everything because this, their new home, is a masterpiece in the making and he wanted Twinkle to hold the brush. He was curious about the streaks she would adorn their rooms in, like an insight to the working of her mind. It was a privilege watching her choose the fabric of the curtains with utmost care and love, because this was their house and she wanted it to be perfect-a little of their own.

The general theme so far, from what Kunj could gather was bohemian chic. There was whites and crme and pastel to neutrals.

Exhaustion was creeping up his spine again by the time they had their furniture delivered back to their villa in the evening. They manged to shop for basic grocery and cutlery too. Dinner consisted of modest ravioli and tiramisu.

And then they settled to assemble the furniture. Twinkle tied off her hair in a low bun, that left a few strands of hair to break free and frame her face. She had changed her attire to match Kunj's in loose sweatpants and an old tee.

"Toh, tere Italian seekh ne ke peeche story kya hai?" he asks, making small talks as he tightens one of the screws to their dining table.

She looks up from the paper that she was calling out instructions from to Kunj and gave him a sly smile.

"Well, jab maine 10^th boards mein top scores laye toh maa ne as promised mujhe vacations ke liye Sicily laya and I instantly fell in love with the place." She says looking up as if recollecting the entire event again. She hands him the drill machine and continues. "Maine tab thaan li thi ki main Italian seekhugi. Toh jab sab ladkiya French seekh rahi thi, main Italian padh rahi thi." They both smile looking at eachother. "Main hoon hi na, thodi si ajeeb si."

There was no denying the fact. Twinkle was a paradox. She was the black in the rainbow. The fire in the ocean. She was the rain that bought salvation on the quenched land and the rain that washed everyone away in floods. She was beautiful.

And boy Kunj was about to find out just how beautiful she was.

TO BE CONTINUED...

GUYS CHECK OUT PAGE 10 FOR A LITTLE SURPRISE I HAVE FOR YOU ALL. HOPE YOU LIKE IT!😉

Well guys that's a wrap to chapter 5. I hope you all liked it. Please comment and let me know. I tried going slow on this chapter but be assured the coming chapters and TwiNj filled too.😃😉