This chapter is dedicated to a special someone, who recently found out about my stories. She is a pillow pal (She knows what I mean) of sorts, a person whose expressions while reading these stories restored faith in me about my writing. Dear 'Midnight Companion' here's to you. I trusted you with this secret of mine and I don't regret it. Hope you like it.
CHAPTER 2.
It was one of those nights were Twinkle curls up on the chair by the balcony, nursing a steaming cup of hot coco wondering how she got here. Her imaginations were so different than this reality that she was living. Of course she always wanted to study in NYU but she wanted to study in NYU with Kunj more. And it was going to be that way until, things changed. But now he was halfway around the globe living with a girl that wasn't her.
Twinkle traces her fingers around the rim of the cup, welcoming the warmth it provided. Her eyes were trained on the view her apartment provided of the Central Park. The leaves were dazzling in hues of oranges and yellows and red, looking almost like a wildfire waiting to be burn the whole city down. And she smiles. It was verging to irony but it was a smile. She always thought her soulmate would be here with her, next to her, admiring all the colors that nature had on display. But he wasn't. And it made things bitter sweet. Like a paper cut.
But these days the paper cuts were running a bit too deep and she was left bleeding a little too much.
It was just another day in college. Well at least that was what it was supposed to be. But that day turned out to be the most memorable day of her life for Twinkle.
She never thought a bunch of eve-teasers could elicit such a reaction from Kunj. Honestly as a girl she was somewhat used to such cat calls and she had learnt early on to ignore them. But then a group of guys took it a little too far and blocked her way to the class room. The looks they were giving her were of the most indecent kind, almost like stripping her down with their eyes. And she had her hand raised ready to smack the living day lights out of them. But they really didn't get the hint. Instead of shamefully backing away, they got hold of her hand and made some comments that had her blood boiling in fear and disgust. She opened her mouth, ready to scream and draw the professor's attention, but before she could get her vocal chords to function, a loud thud resonated through the empty corridors. The guy in front of her stumbled back with a bloody nose. The guy to her right received her well placed punch to the eye. He yelped out in pain, and the two other men surrounding her scurried away like the rats Twinkle thought of them to be. She heaved a sigh of relief before turning around to face her savior. "Kunj, kya zaroorat thi unhe peetne ki? Main handle kar leti unhe."
Kunj was fuming. In a comical situation she could imagine the grey-black smoke emanating from his ears. Alas, this wasn't a comical situation, and while Twinkle shrugged away the whole incident away without a care, Kunj on the other hand couldn't. "Koi tere saath aise zabardasti kare, yeh mujhse bardash nahi hota. Espeacially jab aise lafunge tujhe pareshaan kare!" He says with clenched fists, his eyes still trained on the corridor those guys escaped through.
It made Twinkle's heart swell for some reason, and the butterflies in her tummy were unignorably annoying too.
"Chal," he laces his fingers with hers "Class ke liye late ho raha hai."
And just like that, with one single touch of his, she was Iridescent.
A rude honk of a truck from the streets below break Twinkle out of her trance. She lets out a sigh before deciding it was best to catch up on her college assignments. She boots up her laptop and gets on with it. Unfortunately, despite her best intentions she finds herself stalking Kunj on Facebook. Of course it wasn't stalking if they consider themselves to be each other's best friend, that's how Twinkle justifies this. She was merely catching up, right?
Well at least that's how she convinces herself. The past week has been hectic for the both of them. College was back on for both of them and the 10-hour time difference kind of sucked. She would wake up and he would be preparing for bed. She would return home dead tired from University and he would be having his breakfast.
But that didn't mean that they didn't talk. Quite on the contrary, they managed to catch up-a lot. And if catching up meant that she would be late for her classes the next day then be it. He was worth it. Their friendship was worth it.
Friendship...
How she always wished that they were more than just friends, has been wishing the same since she was 15. But she wouldn't be sitting here alone in New York, if they were anything more than friends. It isn't meant to be' she tells herself repeatedly, hoping that if she says it enough number of times then maybe, just maybe her heart will be fooled.
Ping. A message.
Kunj: You online?
Twinkle: Hi! :)
Kunj: Ab tak soyi nahi??
Twinkle: Assignments... Kill me :(
Kunj: XD Enjoy!
Twinkle: Please...
Kunj: Acha okay! Okay! What's the assignment about?
Twinkle: Customer and Manager conflict in Event Management.
Kunj: Ugh! Why?!
Twinkle: If only I knew! Kuuunnnjjj! Help ME!
Kunj: Acha yeh sab chod, have a break, have a KitKat XD. Tu kaisi hai?
Twinkle buries her head in the pillow on her lap, letting out a groan in frustration. She was supposed to do her assignment! Damn it!
And here she was chatting with her best friend at 1 in the night! And he wasn't helping!
Ping.
Kunj: You there?
Twinkle: Yea...
Kunj: Acha listen, I have just linked you a couple of articles that could possibly help you with your assignments. WELCOME!
He always does this, teases her, mocks her, frustrates her but by the end of the day he is the one who ultimately stands by her. Twinkle finds herself biting down a smile, knowing how he knows just to push her to her to her limits and then make her laugh.
Twinkle: Idiot!
Twinkle: Thank you.
Kunj: :D Chal ab jaa, apna assignment complete kar
Twinkle: You mean assignment start karu right?
Kunj: Tu kabhi nahi badlegi na? Ab tak start bhi nahi kiya? Chal All the best anyway.
They bid each other goodbye. Twinkle yet can't focus on her studies. She sighs, getting up and making her way to the kitchen to grab herself a glass of chilled water. It clears her mind, jolts her awake and she gets back to work.
.
.
.
Halfway around the globe, Kunj was faring slightly better than his best friend. He flipped his laptop shut, and opened the menu of the Chinese restaurant down the street.
"Maya!" he yelled out, trying to grab the lady's attention. "Lunch mein kya khaogi?"
"Chicken Lo Mein, aur fried rice. Oh, gravy mat bhool na!" she yells back from the bedroom.
Kunj smiled. She ordered exactly what he knew she would.
The past six months were bliss and Kunj often lays awake in bed thinking how moving to Mumbai with Maya to pursue their studies was the best decision of his life. They had rented a 2 BHK apartment in Mumbai, half an hour's walk away from their University and about an hour away from the beach.
Mumbai is magical. And maybe it has something to do with the company he has with him and also a lot to do with the fact that he was with his soulmate- Maya.
He remembers the day when he became Iridescent perfectly.
He had stupidly agreed to a race with a few of his friends through the corridors of the college. The race was simple. The first one to each the college library on the third floor, and grab the last copy William's book was the winner. The losers were to pay for the week's canteen expense of the winner. Simple.
So, On your marks, get set, GO!' was called and Kunj was leading, until she popped in between the corridor out of nowhere.
Well, technically she had just come out of the computer lab, totally unaware of the race had stopped in the middle of the corridor when she felt the strap of her heel come undone. And then
BAM!
Kunj crashed into her, the books she was holding were dropped mercilessly down on her foot and she let out a pained yelp.
Kunj being the perfect gentleman he is, stopped and decided to help the woman up. And their fingers touched...
It sent a shot of electricity through his veins, from the tip of his fingers to the dendrites of his nerve cells. And he watched in utter amazement as colors starting seeping in. First from the point of contact, and then from the corners of his peripheral vision. His eyes shot up in surprise. And so did hers.
"YOU!" They both exclaimed at the same time. Rosy hue taints both their cheeks and they lower their gaze from each other, unsure how to proceed.
Surprisingly it is Maya that extends her hand first, "I am Maya."
"Kunj." he reciprocates with a firm shake. He helps her pick up her books, the race long forgotten, "So...Coffee?"
Maya hides her blush behind the curtain of her cascading hair and answers with a small yes.
The coffee date went exceptionally well. They got along right off the bat and the shared the same sense of humor. She was just the right combination of childishness and the maturity. She was the perfect soulmate for him and this was only their first date!
Kunj, fondly smiles at the memory. He had never been the one to completely agree with the Theory of Soulmates' but then he met Maya and well he had a change in perspective.
.
.
.
Kunj's phone had a bad habit of ringing at 2 in the night. And the aggravation on his face for being woken up in the middle of the night would soon be replaced with a sloppy smile when he read the caller ID with squinted eyes. Siyappa Queen'.
He swipes his thumb across the green button, and places the mobile against his ear. "Guess what?!" she says before he can even get a hello' in. Typical Twinkle.
"What?"
"Nahi Kunj! Guess!"
"DDLJ phirse TV par aa rahi hai?" he says the first thing that comes up in his mind.
Twinkle murmurs something along the line of him being a Excitement Spoiler' and then clears her throat to let him in on the real reason for her mirth. "I got an A on that freaking assignment, woh, Customer and Manager conflict wala. Professor Miles bahut khush the mera assignment padhne ke baad!"
He smiles because he can practically hear the happiness in her voice. But damn him, if he is letting go of his opportunity to tease her. "Toh tu indirectly yeh kehna chahti hai na, ki mujhe A' mila hai. Dekh tujhe woh reference articles maine bheje the, so technically tujhe A' mere wajah se mila hai."
"Oho, Mr. Sadoo Sarna, itna bhaav khana sehat ke liye acha nahi hota hai okay? Mana ki tumne who articles bheje, par jaise tumne kaha, woh sirf Refernace Articles' the. Sari mehnat toh actually mein maine ki hai, samjhe?" She retorts back, but she knows how he is pulling his tongue in between in teeth to refrain from laughing out loud. "Acha, who sab chodo. Tum so rahe the?"
"Nahi Twinkle, of course not! Raat ke do baje maine toh Banjo bajane ki practice kar raha tha!"
"Acha, phir theek hai. Agar tum so nahi rahe the, toh hum abhi aur baat kar sakte hai." She answers his sarcasm with cheekiness. "Toh bolo, tumhara college kaise chal raha hai? Professors kaise hai? Maya kaisi hai? Mumbai kaisa hai?"
"Dheere dheere, meri Rajdhani Express!" he halts her train of questions.
Hearing him call her Meri' just did things to her tummy, and it made her cheeks heat up in a scarlet blush, even though the Meri' was followed by Rajdhani Express'!
But before he could get a word of response in after that, he heard someone calling out for her from the other end of the line.
"Kunj, I have to go, Yuvi bula raha hai. I'll call you later okay? Sorry, bye." And the line goes dead.
It irks Kunj for some reason, having Twinkle abruptly cut their conversation like that. She had never done so before, not even her mom used to ask her. But, now this Yuvi, whoever he may be had the power to make Twinkle end a call with him. Who was this guy?' Kunj wonders, all traces of sleep being vanished from his eyes.
TO BE CONTINUED...
Well, how is it? I am experimenting with a non-liner vignette style of writing, how are you guys liking it? I sit any good? Please do drop down a comment. They are my biggest motivation...Please and Thank you!
Edited by neverlandspirit - 8 years ago
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