The Balcony

David bought a new house in Golden heights, far far away from his old home because he did not want anyone from his past life to re-enter. The house was a luxurious 3bhk with large balcony space. Of course, where else could he throw his money. He no more had a loving girlfriend, caring parents and freaking friends to spend money on. One accident took everything. But he moved on with a feeble smile, teary eyes and liters of alcohol everyday. Yes! He had become an alcoholic and his money and he were going to end together one day.
His home was on the top floor and the terrace was so easily accessible from his very balcony. The balcony which was meant to provide him solitude had become a menace for him. Kids played on the terrace making a lot of noise, kicked balls into his balcony and asked for them sometimes with appealing faces and sometimes in demanding tone. Many a times he had yelled at the kids, refused return and sometimes even damaged the ball. Kids nicknamed him Frustu Uncle. Short for 'Frustrated'.

One day as the fifteen years old Twinkle (new to the building) kicked the ball, it went across the rails of the terrace and landed in that balcony. Hushhh! The kids looked at each other.
Twinkle began to call, "Uncle. Excuse me. Uncle."
Riddhi shut her mouth quickly, "Shhh! Don't call. This person is a freak. He shouts and scolds unnecessarily."
"What about the ball then?" Aman said with disappointment looking at the ball some 12 feet down. He had bought that multi-coloured Cosco piece just a week ago.
"Someone should go and quietly bring it back." Riddhi suggested.
"But who will?" Aman replied hopelessly.
"I will. After all, I kicked the ball." Twinkle was a daring girl. She went to the other side of rails to get to the balcony by stepping on all that was available- heavy flowerpots, hooks, bricks and rails.
"Come back quickly." Riddhi whispered, loud enough to be heard 12 feet below.
Twinkle reached the balcony and while slowly moving to the other side where the ball lay, she could not resist looking in through the glass door and window. There lay a man on the bed in his late twenties. She lifted the ball continuously looking at him, turned and threw it to the terrace and slowly began to return to the other side of the balcony, eyes still on Frustu Uncle. She stumbled upon a bottle and fell down making a sudden sound. She got up and rushed to run up to the terrace but unfortunately lost her balance at the rails itself and fell on the outer side, hanging on the rails, with the land lying some 100 feet below her shivering skiny legs. At the same time, David came out with fiery eyes but as he saw the kid, he quickly went to hold her and bring her to safety. After Twinkle was safe, though still shivering, he shouted, "What the hell was the need to come down to my balcony? You will fall down and they will say, I killed you."
"Y..You...w..wo...won't ret..turn it, so I came m...my..myself." Twinkle replied instantly though stammering still because of adrenaline effect. This statement frustrated him so much that he pulled his hand to slap her, while Twinkle in a reflex response moved her hand on her face. It was then that David saw blood running down her left hand. He quickly took her in, holding the other hand.
The kids on the terrace got worried. Then came painful noise of Twinkle from the room- shouting and crying. Though it was the first time anybody was taken inside the house, the kids were almost sure of Twinkle being beaten. But in reality, the story was different. The glass of the bottle had torn her forearm badly. David quickly wiped the blood, took out the glass pieces and treated the wound. When the ointment was applied, the pain lessened. It was then that she stopped crying and just sobbed.
"What is your name?" asked David smiling.
"Twinkle" she replied still sobbing.
"Oh that's a pretty name. Do you know Twinkle Khanna?" he asked to distract her from pain. He was pretty successful.
"Yes. I have named myself on her name itself. I want to be like Mrs. Funnybones." Twinkle replied with teary yet smiling eyes.
David was shocked, "You want to be an actress like her." he grinned.
"No. A writer like her." she replied with a grin.
"You write?" he asked.
"Little." and then she promised to show him her literature.
In the mean time her dressing was complete.
He asked her to sit while he went in to bring the tetanus preventing injection.
Daring people are usually curious too, so was Twinkle. While David went into another room, Twinkle started wandering around in the house and opened a room to find it full of beer bottles. She looked at it with shock underlined with annoyance. As she heard the footsteps of David, she quickly closed the door and ran back to the living area and sat down as innocent as a kid.
"Pull up your sleeve." David ordered.
"Why?" Twinkle asked with sheer skepticism looking at the injection.
"It's essential dear." he convinced.
"But it hurts." she appealed.
"It won't. I promise." He said with a smile.
Twinkle pulled up her sleeve and closed her eyes tightly.
"Twinkle twinkle little star" he began to sing.
"How I wonder what you are. Up above... Above... Above?" he pretended as if he forgot.
"The world so high. Like a diamond in the sky. You don't know even this?" Twinkle laughingly teased.
"Did it pain?" He asked with a proud frown.
Twinkle was shocked.
"It didn't. Not even a little. How could you?" she couldn't control her expressions.
"I am a doctor." David proudly replied.
"Oh" she exclaimed, but then suddenly added, "Still you drink?"
David was stunned, speechless and immediately changed the topic.
"You should go now. Come back tomorrow, I shall change the dressing."
Twinkle thought not to repeat the question. She nodded and got up.
"Wait." David called.
"Don't come from the balcony. Come from the door." He grinned.
Twinkle laughed and nodded.
When she was gone, he sat quite lost with a feeble smile and wet eyes but the liquid lining in the eyes today reflected love, satisfaction and care instead of disappointment and loneliness.
The next day the doorbell rang.
David knew who it was. He quickly put all his beer bottles and glasses in the cupboard, locked the door of his 'beer room' and then opened the main door. It was the awaited guest.
David greeted with a smile and Twinkle responded with a grin.
"Let's see how Mr. Injury is?" he said removing the cotton and bandage while Twinkle looked around the well cleaned and decorated house searching for the beer bottles just out of curiosity. She suddenly noticed a lock at the door of the room she opened last time.
"You still drink?" she asked David.
No reply.
She didn't ask again and said, "Here are my articles. Do you wanna have a look?"
"Of course" he was excited.
As he read, he kept getting amazed with each and every line.
"You write very well for your age." He exclaimed.
"I love to read also." she responded.
"Oh! Then you must be having a library of yours. Right?" He asked with a widely stretched lips.
"I wish I had." she sighed.
"Oh",David flipped the topic, "Ask your Mumma to buy these medicines for you." And he handed her a white paper with wavy illegible handwriting.
"Mumma won't get time. I would buy them myself."
David was a surprised as to how come a mother can't get time for her daughter's medicine, but then replied, "Okay don't worry. I shall bring them for you."
"How much money?" said Twinkle.
"After I bring them." he smiled.
"How much and how many medicines?" she added in the same tone.
"Will tell u after I bring them" he replied with a little more stress.
"How much time you need to leave drinking?" her tone did not change.
"After I....Wait...What?" David exclaimed, struck by the suddenly flipped question.
"That door is locked. You still drink. Isn't it?" she inquired pointing at the lock, with a motherly harshness.
"I'm trying my best. Gimme some time. Please." He requested with folded hands. Don't know why he felt like doing so even when he owed nothing to this girl. Or probably he did. He owed a change of heart to her, his smile to her, his willingness to wait for someone to her, probably.
"Okay." she replied with a fatherly permitting tone and then suddenly tuning into a daughter's voice asked, "When should I come for the medicine?"
"Today evening before it gets dark."
"Okay." she said and went.
That day was a busy one for David. He had to buy lot many things in addition to medicines. He had to be choosy but quick, an extremely difficult combination. All the time he was shopping, he questioned as to why her mother won't get time to bring medicine? For what else would her mother not get time? Why mother only, even father could do that?
"Well, none of my business." he tried to shrug it away but couldn't.
In the evening, he waited for Twinkle. 5pm. 6pm. 7pm. He began to worry and was even slightly angry. The doorbell rang at 8.30 pm. He jumped to open the door.
Little Twinkle stood with a grin.
"Why so late?" his tone was heavy, though not rude.
"I'm sorry. My medicine?" she said in an extreme low tone with a contracted face as if waiting for another line of scolding.
He handed her the envelop of medicines with a frowned look. She took them and swiftly turned back to go.
"Wait" David exclaimed.
"Oh yes! Money" she too turned.
"I asked you to wait for doses." he laughed.
"Okayyy... But how much money?" she insisted.
"Offo... 50 rupees." he said casually.
"Whaatt?" she exclaimed, "That's all? Had I knew, I would have come earlier."
"Why? You went to rob the bank or what?" David laughed and then suddenly in a serious tone added, "Okay. Come quick. See the doses and go home. It's already dark."
After he told her the doses she asked in her usual tone, "You still drink?"
"You asked me this today morning." he said in an dull tone.
"So what? You got 12 hours to leave it." she had her argument.
He lowered his head in disappointment but then suddenly raised it with a smile and handed her the key of the so called beer room lock.
She smelled of some surprise but not what it actually was. After all, she was a writer not sniffer.
As the door unlocked the smell of pristine books stormed at Twinkle. She saw before her the beer shelves flooded with books, each with alluring names and colours (after all, it was the result of David's quick yet choosy shopping), a set of small chair and table and another set of large ones. A steel staircase to facilitate her reach to the topmost shelves.
She just couldn't blink, couldn't feel her breath, her heartbeat. She could have never expected this from a stranger.
She turned towards David, who was wearing an extremely mischievous child like smile. But she was in tears.
"Thank you." she said in a barely hear-able voice. David patted softly on her head twice and gave her another key.
"This is the key of the main door. You can come to your library whenever you want. But go back home before it gets dark. Quick. Go home now. Mumma must be waiting." David quickly wiped her tears with his sleeves and gave her a chocolate.
"Okay." Twinkle replied and turned and walked towards the door.
"By the way. What's your house number?" David asked curiously.
"317" Twinkle replied and wished him a good night.

(Interval)

The library had slowly become Twinkle's favourite place. The trust factor over David had risen to an extent that she would go home at about 9.00 pm or 10.00 pm. This blessed her with regular scoldings of David, who was very particular about her reaching home before dark and who would be consistently annoyed to find her in, when he returned from his medical duty at night. By the way, yes, he had started his professional life again but still wouldn't actively interact with people.
One day while in the library, Twinkle saw a big box in the corner. Out of the usual curiosity she opened it to find numerous costly photoframes and photographs in it. She thought they have been kept to be placed properly on the empty glass shelves of the drawing area. Thus, as an act of help she wiped the frames, placed in the photos, trying to identify David in each one of them. Then she carefully placed them on the shelf of drawing area, with all the logic she could built- old age people on the top shelf, serious photographs on the bottom most and funny ones in the center. She eagerly waited for David to come. At 10.30 pm the door clicked open. Twinkle rushed from library to drawing area but suddenly stopped with a jerk to hide behind the wall to secretly see him smile. But he did not smile. He just looked at the photos with disappointment blinklessly. Tears flowed down his eyes like a young river- violent and voluminous. Twinkle had no idea. All that she could feel was that she had committed a big crime. She approached David, "I am sorry. I wanted to..."
"Just go home." he didn't let her complete. He did not shout. He just stated in a blunt, suppressed yet harsh whisper, "Just....Go....Home."
Twinkle went with shocked glassy eyes. Down the stairs tears accompanied her. She couldn't sleep that night. It was extremely cold. She decided to apologize again the next morning.
She went up the next morning as soon as she got up. The door was open.
"Oh! Welcome dear. How are you?" David asked with enthusiasm visible in his sleepy eyes.
"I am sorry" said Twinkle in a childish tone.
David smiled with close eyes, affectionately rubbed her head to disturb the already disturbed hairs and said, "Would you like to read my storybook today?" asked David.
"You too write?" Twinkle exclaimed with a happy surprise.
"Hmm" he nodded with a grin and handed her his laptop while a document file on the screen.
She took a complete day to complete it.
The initial paragraphs could be summarized as, "David had a happy family- parents and siblings, friends and a girl whom he loved,  Hazel. David slowly discovered that Hazel's younger sister, Estella was on the path of drug addiction and evil company. He tried to persuade Hazel, who laughed off as she couldn't believe this at all. He asked his own family to help but they suggested him to leave Hazel. He asked his friends to help but they had their own issues. Eventually he took it all to himself. Because of repeated confrontation with Estella, he had slowly become an annoying stuff for her who would then put a nefarious narrative before her sister. Hazel too started doubting David instead of trying to listen to him."
And then came the climax,
"One day while returning from his hospital duty at 11pm he found some guys going with Estella and he could sniff the danger lurking for her. They were all drunk. As his self imposed responsibility,  he stopped his car and pulled Estella in immediately to drop her home. Estella resisted though, because of being intoxicated couldn't do much. The guys tried to confront but David managed to escape. Mid way Estella somehow woke up and at once started behaving violently with David. She pulled the steering, hit him with her purse but he managed to keep safe. Lastly, Estella realized that she had a beer bottle in her other hand and smashed it with full strength on David's head. The car at once went out of control and puckered into a piece of metal stuff after colliding a boundary wall. That accident changed David's life forever. Estella died but he did not. He was charged with her abduction and was alleged to be responsible for her death. Though under law he was acquitted because of the truthfulness of investigation, he was a murderer in the eyes of everyone from whom he expected sympathy. Hazel, believed him to be a cheater who drugged her sister and wanted some undue favour against which Estella struggled and smashed the bottle on him. Thus, she broke up with him. Friends and family made distance to avoid societal disrespect. He was left all alone. And so he decided to move on. Move on with a feeble smile and litres of alcohol. The alcohol that he has left. Left because of an angel called Twinkle. Twinkle twinkle little star, how I wonder what you are. Up above... Above?
Twinkle can you just complete it for me?"
Tears fell on the mouse pad as Twinkle's lips stretched to smile. She quickly wiped the tears and in an attempt to do she unintentionally opened another document that had some mail-ids. Hazel's was also in the list. She immediately devised a plan. David had gone on a free medical campaign. She secretly created a mail-id, twinkleblahblahblah@gmail.com and sent a paragraph of the story to Hazel. The last paragraph. The climax that changed David's life forever. She added a note, "I hope you believe it." and sent. She relentlessly checked after each hour for a reply and finally it came at 11pm.

"Who is it?" the reply read.

Twinkle ignored the question and replied, "If you don't believe, fine. Stay happy wherever you are. But if you do, please visit House no. 777. Golden Heights once. Only if you believe, if even a little."

As she clicked the send button the door opened. David wad shocked at Twinkle doing something with his laptop. He had asked her to just read the story and shut it.

"What are you doing with it?" he wasn't polite.

She couldn't speak. He pulled the laptop to find a mail screen open, a sent message on the screen, "If you.....little."

He checked the receiver's id. As expected?

"Listen, please let me explain." Twinkle begged looking at David's red eyes.

"Just go." David ordered with a very hard voice harder than that which she had heard when she had come to fetch the ball.

Twinkle got up with a hope that she would come back tomorrow morning and everything will be fine, but as she reached the door to leave a voice came from behind, "And don't ever come back." A harsh disappointed voice with an incorrigible pain.

She was stunned and tear-less. Tears weren't sufficient to express the shock. She left.

Next day in the morning she came just to discover that an extra lock hung at the door. At this point she lost all hopes and stopped coming to the House no.777 of Golden heights.

But as days passed David realized his mistake. He realized that it wasn't from his id that the mail was sent. It wasn't such a big crime that he declared such a harsh punishment. He also missed Twinkle a lot. He asked kids about Twinkle but no one knew.

Then, one night at approx 11pm he just recalled her house number. 317. Yes, that it was. He couldn't wait for the morning. He just couldn't. He went to the 3rd floor, walked through the corridor, 314,315,316,318. Wait. What?

"Where is 317?" he thought to himself in utter surprise. He turned and looked again.

316 and then 318. He was confused.

He rang 318, asked about the 317 house no. The person scanned him from top to bottom.

"You live in this building? Really? And you don't know 317?" He was so surprised as if David did not know the table of 2 or the English alphabet.

"No. I don't know. Please tell me." he requested.

"The father of the founder of this Golden heights group of building died on 31st July. Thus in all his buildings House no. 317 is a small covered statue place for his father. It's like a temple. We were told about it the day we bought this house and even on all building fests. I wonder how you don't know this." And he shut the door without even waiting for a reply from David.

David with wide eyes and pounding heart ran to the lift but couldn't wait for it. He ran down the stairs. Out the main building but within the building campus he noticed a statue. He went close to it and found Twinkle sleeping behind it, all alone, clinging to herself for warmth. David stood there like a lifeless body cursing himself for what he had done. Tears couldn't stop. They flowed every time he remembered the way he had pushed her out because it was getting dark, the way he had said, "Just go" and the way he had said, "and don't ever come again". He wanted to lift the tender, sweet Twinkle, up in his arms to take her to his room and cover her with blanket but he could not for the fear of the way, circumstances can take turn. He went back to his room and couldn't sleep for the whole night. Next morning he asked some kids and watchman and others about Twinkle. The watchman told him that Twinkle works in a nearby tiffin provider's shop. She brings dozens of tiffins, five at a time and does overtime when in need of more money but he had no idea of where she lived. David had. And he also realised as to why the innocent girl came late for medicine and why she said that if she knew the medicines were cheaper, she could have come earlier. 

"She was so mature for her age and I acted so childishly for mine." he sadly thought.

The next day while twinkle was going to the top floor to deliver the tiffin to room number 775, she saw a girl weeping badly sitting on the stairs. Twinkle had a tingling feeling in her stomach and a strong intuition of her being Hazel.

"Hazel" she whispered extremely low only to be heard by a person with that name.

Hazel raised her face.

"Are you Hazel?" she asked still in a low voice.

Hazel was surprised, wiped her tears and said in a non so excited voice "How do you know me?"

"I am Twinkle" and she stretched her hands for a handshake.

"YOU are Twinkle?" her voice abruptly changed.

"Hmm" Twinkle nodded, "Why?"

"Oh my god! And I thought..." she threw her palm on her forehead in the realization of blunder.

"What? What happened?" Twinkle was confused.

"Okay. Tell me. Had David scolded you someday?" Hazel was extremely excited.

"Ye....s. But how do you know? You talked to him?" Twinkle was happy like anything.

"Nope. Just close your eyes and come with me." Hazel softly held her hand and took her before House no. 777.

A large card stuck on the door said, "I am extremely sorry for the way I shouted on you. The way I asked you to leave. Please come in my sweetie, Twinkle. I will never ask you ever to go. This house belongs to you as much as it belongs to me. I am all alone and incomplete without you my dearest one. Please come back and give this lock an opportunity to be opened with the key that is yours, forever."

As Twinkle blinked, a tear drop fell which Hazel caught mid way.

"Thank you soooo much Twinkle for sending me that e-mail. I had never looked at the story this way. Please open the door and go in. It's your right." she requested.

Twinkle opened the door. Cards everywhere, In all rooms- in library, in David's bedroom, in the other bedroom. Wait. 

The other bedroom's door had a number plate- "317 (henceforth)". Now, Twinkle couldn't stop crying. The doorbell rang. She ran to the door and threw open the door to hug David with a flood of tears.

The smiling David too couldn't control himself. He took her in, made her sit on the sofa, knelt down on floor, wiped her tears while she wiped his.

"Thank you." she whispered, barely able to speak because of the emotional storm.

David grinned and said, "I have a surprise for you."

"My surprise first." Twinkle insisted like a child.

"Sure" David permitted and jumped to sit on the sofa.

"Please come out." she called Hazel, who stayed in Twinkle's new room.

Hazel came out with eyes immensely shedding tears, not being able to face David. She came and knelt down before David as lifeless as a just bullet-hit body.

"I m sorry." she uttered each word inaudible but deep and true.

"Your Dad's number please." David said with stoic face and voice.

Hazel knew he wanted her to just leave and so would inform her father about it.

"I am sorry please." she repeated, this time louder.

"Yes, I know. But to marry you I need your Dad's permission. Right?" he said with an extremely mischievous smile.

Twinkle giggled. Hazel couldn't believe her ears and hugged Twinkle tight and swang left and right.

"I love you." she said to Twinkle.

"I love you two." replied the grinning Twinkle showing two fingers to indicate that she actually meant 'two' and not 'too'.

They laughingly went to the balcony and their voices were audible from the drawing area.

"You shall call me Dad from now." ordered David.

"Nope. I shall call you dude." Twinkle declared.

"And me?" asked Hazel with excitement.

"Don't call her Mom. Call her Mute? She won't eat up our minds ever." suggested the crookedly laughing David and gave Twinkle a high-five.

"Oh. Really?" Hazel exclaimed with tone of taunt and lightly hit David on his shoulders and tickled Twinkle and the laughter could be heard by the reader even after the story ended.

As for David's surprise, he had already seen Hazel and Twinkle on the staircase, still kept silent to ring the bell just at the right time. Let it remain a secret. Don't tell Twinkle about it. Shhh!!!