The door finally slammed shut with a sharp click. Hrisha slammed the stack of books on her table, sitting down with a tired sigh. She looked at the time, on the grandfather clock that hung above the mantel piece. She took a deep breath and drank long gulps of water from her bottle.

She finally stood up, taking one of the books from the left shelf, a smile blooming on her lips. It was ancient and a bit torn here and there, covered with cellotapes. She sighed and sat on the bed instead leaning again her pillows and sighing again. Afterall, a little bit of leisurely reading wouldn't hurt anyone. This book, of ancient stories was exciting and adventurous, something she loved and after hours of work, she felt she deserved a little break.

As she turned the pages, she remembered that she hadn't eaten anything in hours, and stood up, folding the page that she had read. She walked into the dining room, humming a familiar tune, only to stop short, her eyes widening in disbelief. She took a double take, rubbing her eyes to make sure she wasn't dreaming.

Seated on one of the antique chairs was a young boy, wearing the strangest of clothes and smiling, no, beaming at her happily as if his greatest wish had been fulfilled. He had a glass of lemon juice in his hand, which he was sipping slowly from.

For a few moments, she could only stare, her mouth opening and closing like that of a fish. She shook her head, as if to clear her thoughts and narrowed her eyes at him.

"Did you just break into my house!? You also stole my food! Who on earth are you!?"

Instead of answering her questions however, he looked at her like she had grown two heads. Shrugging, he simply took another sip from the juice.

Her anger faded at little at the reaction. She frowned at the boy, confused beyond minds. She was sure she had never seen this boy before. Then why was she feeling a sense of familiarity and warmth? Why was he reacting like this? Why was he wearing such clothes? She pulled at her hair in annoyance before clearing her throat again.

"Hello." She spoke up, slowly and loudly as if speaking to a young child.

"Um Hello." The boy replied, scratching the back of his neck, almost sheepishly. It sounded strange as if unfamiliar.  "Um, I am sorry for all this but you weren't here when I arrived and I was thirsty." He said in sanskrit of all languages.

It took her a moment to get out of her shock. She scrowling at him again, and when she spoke, her voice was shrill.

"That doesn't mean you get to break in, just like that! Have you no- Who even are you!? Why are you dressed like that!? Why are you speaking in sanskrit!?" She yelled, almost in hysterics. She too had switched to sanskrit seeing that he ignored her words in her mother tongue.

He was wearing something that was straight out of a ancient drama, from Dhoti to his little ornaments, and an armor on top.

"What's wrong with them? It's one of the best out there. And Sanskrit? I've always spoken it." He replied. He paused for a moment, watching her reaction. She simply stared.

"As for who I am," He said up, pausing again. "Are you Hrisha? Did you recently finish your schooling? Are you recently working on-"

"How do you know about all that?" She interupted with a glare. "How do you know so much about me!?" She added.

"Well, I know much more than just that." He replied. He wasn't making it any better for himself.

"How!? Ar-are you going for some drama or something, possibly based on mahabharat? Did you decide to prank me with your acting or something? But then how do you know about me!? "

"A what?"

"You don't know that!? What rock have you been living under?" She asked, shock evident on her face.

"Actually," He scratched the back of his neck again. "I'm not from around here."

"Funnily enough, I gathered that part out for myself. You do stick out. A lot."

"Yeah so about who I am and how I know about you , I actually have to tell you something." Suddenly he seemed really nervous and was looking at anywhere but her. Hrisha merely raised an eyebrow.

"I've been wanting to say this for long. Please don't judge me or anything. " He added. He seemed hesitant to speak again. The longing, love and adoration in his eyes startled her so she chose to ignore it.

"Well? Spit it out." She said, frowning.

He cleared her throat and looked at her expectant face before speaking,
"My name is Vrihatkhsatra and I'm your brother."

"I don't have a brother, kid." She replied, looking at him sympathetically. She was starting to question his sanity.

"You do. Yo don't understand. I've been looking for you for years." He paused and looked at her pleading. "Please atleast hear me out and give me a chance to explain."

"Yeah right." She took a deep breath, running a hand through her hair and sighed. "Alright kid, just don't touch anything," She eyed the juice in his hands,"else. You obviously need a wardrobe change and you stick out either way so just stay here and finish your juice. I-I- need a moment and maybe a drink." She finally finished before running off from the room.
After a second she opened the door again and put her head through it. She paused and added, 'You better not be upto something, cause I assure you you'll regret it."

She slammed the door shut, leaning against it. She knew that if she stayed a moment more, she would doubt her sanity more than she presently was doing. She picked up a glass and filled it with tea from glass near it and took a long sip. She knew that she needed to think clearly. The kid was obviously disturbed and he seemed to believe every word he uttered. The logical explanation was that he needed help because whatever he said couldn't be true but she couldn't help but wonder if there was some truth in it. She never knew her birth parents afterall and all she had of them was a pendant and a scroll.

She rummaged through the trunk at the corner of her room that she never opened. It contained a baby blanket, a scroll and a pendant. Could it be....

She walked back into the room, lost in thought. The kid had stayed where he was left thankfully. She pulled out on of the empty chairs sat down.

"Do you have any proof for your claim?" She questioned.

The kid nodded.
"Yeah, I have a pendant pitashree gave me before I started." He replied.

Hrisha gasped, narrowing her eyes in thought.

"Do you have it with you?"

"Yeah." He lifted a chain which was on his neck and showed it to her. It was identical to the one she had.

She now had no choice but to believe him. His claims defied all logic but she couldn't argue with what was before her eyes.

"What shall I call you?" She asked abruptly, looking at him expectantly.

"What?"

"I can't keep on calling you 'kid' in my mind. I can't also call you Vrih-Vrih-that name and I obviously can't refer to you as you know who. So what should I call you? May I call you Vriha?" She asked.

The kid beamed at her and nodded.
"Ofcourse. "

"Alright then. I'll get you something of this era." She said, then got up and beckoned him to follow her.

She walked into another room, opening a wardrobe and rummaging through the clothes. She finally picked up a small shirt and it's trousers.

"It's one of my old ones." She told him. "You could change and come to the living room. Or call me when you're done if you don't know the way."

The boy nodded. "I'll come there." Hrisha nodded and walked back to her room. She picked up her book and walked to the living room, taking a seat on one of the sofas.

She hummed a familiar tune under her breath and tried to read but she couldn't focus anymore. A grunt of frustration escaped her lips and she closed the book. The boy was a stranger, claiming to be her brother, wearing the clothes she had thought used to be worn by ancient people and speaking sanskrit on the top of that. Any other person would have kicked him out or yelled at him or called the police but she couldn't bring herself to be hostile with him more than necessary. She also had no clue on what to do. She didn't know how long she was lost in thought and the boy startled her when called her hesitantly. "Bhavati?"

She looked up at him. He looked like he belonged here more now. She nodded at him sharply.

"Come with me, let's go for a walk." She instructed him as she put on her sandals, grabbed her mobile phone and walked towards the door. She could see him following. She stepped out of the door and clicked it, locking it too. She sent a quick text to her aunt and one of her friends.

"Can I call you sister?" He asked abruptly.

She hummed in response.

"So. Tell me the reason for your abrupt intrusion and claim that you're my brother. Tell me everything. " She spoke up after a moment of silence.

Vrihatkhsatra nodded, clearing his throat and began his tale.

"It all started with matashree...."