The ticking of the clock sounded like music to her ears as Hrisha finalized her packing. She took in each object in the room, the table at the corner, the folded up mat at the entrance, the fluorescent light. All of these which seemed mundane days ago seemed as precious as diamonds as she checked her room one final time.

"Shall we?" Her brother's voiced echoed through the room. She hummed in agreement.

Tears flooded through her eyes with each step she took, away from her home for many years and what it represented.

With each step she took felt herself tremble, as the memories hit her. Now that the time had come she did not want to leave so soon but she knew she'd never be ready. She was pale and gazed at one, thing then another, as if she wanted to fix in her mind how everything looked like.

Tears continued to stream down her face as she walked away, as she left the home, the street and the city. Her brother held her hands in silent support guiding her towards the destination. No words were passed but he squeezed her hands in support whenever she delayed.

They passed the local street, the marketplace and turned into an abandoned road which was less travelled. Unlike the rest of the town, it was filled with grass and the fresh smell of mud and twigs hit their nostrils. The ground crunched with their footsteps and the path was overgrown except for the path cleared for one person.

They did not know how long they travelled, hand in hand, lost in their own worlds. Hrisha's sobs had reduced to sniffles and she walked in silence, an emptiness filling her. As they walked she couldn't help but ponder upon her recent decisions and how her life had changed within a month.

She had planned her whole life out, ambitiously working for her dream job. She had joined engineering a year before with hope to graduate with a rank but none of it will come true. All her hardwork to get into one of the top colleges seemed to be in vain. She wondered what her teachers and friends at school would feel about her disappearance. It had only been months since she joined her college, but she knew she'd miss them all. She wondered how she'd survive without all the people and things she had lived with till now. Now she was a princess of an age old kingdom in her favorite epic mahabharata. She wondered whether she would be able to use her knowledge there. How will her parents be? How will the kingdom be? Will she meet Krishna or the Kurus?

Once again she found herself lost in thought for hours, thinking about her past and future, something she found herself doing these days.

"Where are we going," Hrisha finally found her voice as they reached a stop. She wasn't aware of how long they walked. Her legs felt numb and as she stretched them ,she winced sharply.

"We have to find the cave of Maharishi. He was the one who guided me here." Vrihatkhsatra spoke in a low voice.

"Maharishi? I don't understand." Hrisha looked at him in confusion.

"Didn't I tell you?" Vrihatkhsatra asked, turning towards her. "There is no direct path to Dwaparyug, Bhagini. We have to meditate and please Lord Brahma."

"Whatt??" She breathed, as her eyes widened and she gaped at him. She shook her head, raising a palm, and then took a deep breath.

"What do you mean, we've to meditate and please Lord Brahma? Don't you know how many eons people meditate for achieving this task?"

Vrihatkhsatra sighed.

"Yes, Bhagini. But this is Kaliyug. It's much more easier to pray to Gods and please them." He said.

Hrisha gawked at him in disbelief. She opened her mouth, then closed it, flapping her arms wildly.

Her brother shook his head, and closed his eyes, opened them and sighed.

"You won't get it if I try to explain now," He said. "You do know that we can't travel from one yoga to another without Bhagwan's boon or help, right?"

"Well I suppose we can't travel across time in a normal case. The only possibility is through a wormhole but that too is theoretical. Einstein's equation proves that it is possible but in science there has not been any discovery that let us travel to the past." Hrisha pondered out loud. "But then how did you get here? How will we go back?" She asked, alarmed.

Her brother blinked at her and then shook his head.

"I don't know about all those strange things you said. I've never heard any of it. What I meant to say is, normally we do not have the ability to cross kalchakra. The only way we can come close to accomplish it is by gaining blessings from the Trimurti and the Tridevi. In short, parabrahma. So to return we have to please Brahma. But like I said, I can't exactly explain it to you now. For now we have to meet Maharishi  Mahavatar. The great sage who helped me travel to this yuga had advised to seek help from him."

"But Maharishi Mahavatar is said to have lived in the Himalayas! Do you know where exactly to find him then?"

"Noone knows."