The cold wind swept across the heaps after heaps of old crumpled paper. An uncanny stillness sheathed the surroundings of the truth-seeking room.

'Expect the unexpected' was a common saying Shikar grew up hearing. His mother often instated that things don't always happen according to how we want or anticipate them to. He never bought into these folk tales. He believed in writing his own destiny rather than accepting the one bestowed upon him. Fighting off his bullies as opposed to succumbing to their ministrations was part of it.

I bend the rules according to my convenience, not the other way around.

So it came as a rude awakening when the heavens decided to school his arrogance and show him who was at the wheel. This was definitely not what he and Lakshya expected when they began their expedition to right the wrongs of their father. The result was right in front of him, written in clean bolded alphabets and yet it was surreal. The image seared through his mind and the words played like a broken record.

The table top beneath him was cold and biting, a kiss from a storm he wasn't there to witness.

He blinked again and again before gathering enough courage to ask. "I...this isn't real. Is it?" he questioned Lakshya, uncertain if the words were actually said aloud. His brother's whipping of his head told him the answer.

Anyone who had known Lakshya for more than five minutes could tell that he wasn't a fan of his father right off the bat. The way he spoke so miffed about him was a giveaway. He hated that man. If he was here right now, I would kill him with my own bare hands. That eerie thought spoke in a hushed tone. He wondered if he really meant that and maybe it was best kept as an unconfirmed theory. The difference between the father and son was clear as day. Lakshya controlled his fury and only allowed it to let loose when it served him a purpose. His father, on the other hand, let the darkness take hold. He strayed and Lakshya fought to stay on the path of light.

He gazed at Shikar, the file in front of them and then his brother again. "I don't know. All the kids we've helped so far have proven it to be real and accurate. And Shikar," he looked up to his younger brother for a moment. "The photos match."

"Yea but..." he trailed off, unsure of what to say.

"I think we should call Ragini," he said after a moment's consideration.

"And tell her what?"

"That shit just got serious and it's about to hit the fan." he hesitantly picked up his phone, keeping his vision trained on the paper in front of him. He read it over and over again hoping that the words would change.

Shikar forced himself not to wince and nodded. "This is not what I had in mind when we started this quest towards the rite of passage."

"Neither did I but well life sucks that way I guess."

In hindsight, the obnoxiously loud ringtone Ragini had set might not have been the best option. The sudden ring had sent her hands moving haphazardly and she scrambled to slam on her breaks. Someone at the helm must have not liked her very much since her foot landed on the accelerator instead. The tires screeched manically as they came to a halt right before hitting the pavement. The air around deadened in an instant, swirling around leaves and twigs. She paused for a moment to consider how accurate her family was about her amazing driving skills. "Maybe I should go back to taking lessons." she mused to herself.

She threw the car into park, pulled up the handbrake and picked up her phone that had been ringing ceaselessly. "Lucky, what's up?"

"A Lot. Come to the garage right now," he said breathlessly.

"Okay, " Ragini replied, a little confused by his impatience. "But isn't that where the child trafficking papers are? Did you find something important?"

"Do you really have to ask so many questions? Just get here!"

The pianist knew right off the bat that something was very wrong if Lakshya was snapping at her for seemingly no reason. He was the more composed one among them. "Lucky, what's wrong?"

"Look just," he paused, seeing Shikar haphazardly shaking his head. He took a deep breath before continuing. "Just come here as soon as you can. It's important."

"I gotta find Jaan first. she left earlier this morning and as usual, is not answering her phone. Anjali is worried."

"Ragini, this is serious and we really need you right now," he said practically begging. "I know she is probably at the cliff and is safe."

"Lucky, first of all, breathe. Relax. I am coming there right now, okay? Just breathe."

"Okay," he brought the phone back to his ear before ending the call. "And don't tell Divi."

Ragini frowned in confusion. They didn't hide anything from each other and as far as she could remember they were not planning any surprise either. "Alright. Calm down. I am on my way." she hung up and stared at the screen. Shit. What about Anjali?

Deciding to leave that for later, she dropped a text to her best friend and commanded her to call Anjali and inform her about the rockstar's whereabouts.

Then, she texted Anjali about her change of plans, apologized and assured her that the youngest member of the family would get back to her soon. As expected, Anjali wasn't very pleased with this but thanked her nonetheless.

"Divya Singhania is going to be the death of me." she chucked to herself.

And drive safe, honey. I love you. Ragini smiled to herself.

Adjusting the gears of her car, she sped off towards the Maheshwari mention; blissfully unaware of the Palpatine storm about to demolish the stability they had achieved in life.

---broken promises---

"So,'' Drishti called out in amusement when she entered the almost empty park bar for her flighty student and herself. She was too immersed in the treatment she was currently munching on to take notice of the way Divya jerked. "What was so important that you couldn't wait till school to tell me?" She moved to take a seat beside the heaving girl on the bench and offered her a chocolate bar.

Divya breathed heavily, trying to compose herself. She couldn't reveal what was going on in her mind to Drishti. If this turned out to be nothing more than a coincidence, it would be the most embarrassing experience of her life. If it turned out to be true, she wasn't ready for it. But since when is there a designated right time for a life-changing moment? The second one nonetheless. Subconsciously, she thanked Drishti for offering her the treat because she was no longer tottering with her identity crisis. Instead, she was reminded of the past and swaying in the realms of anger.

"Get that thing out of my face before I dislocate your hands," she growled lowly.

Drishti retracted her hand immediately as if she had been burnt. "Geez. A simple no would have sufficed."

"I hate chocolates." the rockstar stated, as a matter of fact, arms crossed in front of her once again.

Definitely not my Divi. "Your loss. Anyway, what have you dragged us out here to chat about?" drishti grinned in amusement.

Divya stood up and walked up to the little pond adjacent to them. She needed a little distance between them after all the possibilities of who this woman in front of her could be. Drihsti seemed to pick up on her weird behaviour and allowed her moments to resolve what it was. Does she do this with other people or do I own some kind of patent to witness this behaviour?

"I am sorry," turning to her, she finally got out. It was surprisingly easier than she thought. Maybe that's what having an existential crisis did to one. "In my time of respite, I have come to realize that maybe I shouldn't have been so standoffish with you that day. Skipping school, while it is not something I regret, is within your job description. So I'm sorry for being rude."

Drishti's mouth dropped slightly open with the chocolate pieces slowly melting in it. Feeling it drip to the corner of her chin, she quickly closed it and swallowed hard. What?  "I...it's okay. I mean, I guessed it had something to do with Ragini and her parents. In hindsight, I should have been more supportive. I am your classparent."

The rockstar stamped her urge to run away. With the possibility of Drishti being her sister confronting her, the comparisons were onerous to ignore. Still, she did with all the restraint acquired in the past.

That and it was becoming tiresome to hear people say that it was okay. It wasn't. Nothing about all that they have done was okay or remotely acceptable. So then why is everyone claiming that it is?

They should face the consequences of their actions. They should be held accountable for the pain, humiliation and trauma they have caused. They should be punished.

But Divya wasn't stupid. Along with moral connotations, she knew that suffering the consequences of her actions would lessen this guilt eating away at her. It was selfish and in some ways, human. A single manifestation of her crime.

It was almost funny, how Miss Sorry Soul of all people was the one she felt indebted to make amends with first. She snorted in mild amusement. This was the same person she despised for calling out their bullshit in the locker room. Maybe that's what I need. If she could holler at her for a prank, she could very well be a punisher.

"Oh for the love of cows," she spoke loudly, startling the class parent. "It's not okay! Me being an ass to everyone just because I can, isn't okay. Giving someone probably a lifetime of trauma isn't okay. Doing all the shit that I've done and not suffering any consequences isn't okay! Failing all the people I love is no way in hell okay!"

She clenched her fist and stood up in front of the little pond, glaring at the water that was forming tiny ripples. It almost manifested how her own sanity was slowly chipping away, bit by bit- barely tangible.

Drishti considered her young student who was breathing heavily, trying to get her temper in control. Since coming to S.P.A.C.E, this girl has been inconsistent with her behaviour towards her. One moment, she is perfectly calm and composed. The next, she's off the rails, making snide remarks every five seconds. After all of that, today she is standing there, apologizing for being herself. She couldn't figure out what was going on or how she should approach the situation. Taking a quick second to analyze all their previous encounters along with the less-than-stellar reputation of the band, she concluded that this was Divya's way of making it up to the people she wronged. But she didn't deserve all the pain she was putting herself through. Friend or foe- no one should have to face that.

"You made a mistake and lived with its consequences for years. It's time to forgive yourself." she blurted before she had the chance to filter her statement.

Divya snapped her head at Drishti, eyes wide in confusion. "What are you talking about?"

The older woman bit her tongue. She wasn't supposed to bring that up. Redirect. "I am talking about all the guilt that has been eating away at you," she gestured to the empty space beside her. Waiting patiently as Divya contemplated taking a seat. "You look like someone stole your favourite toy that was given by a special person. Which is cute, by the way. But also saddening."

"I can't decide what's worse. The implication that my state and apology are pitiful or your voice," begrudgingly taking a seat beside her she continued. "This is so stupid."

"It is but you know what could help?"

"Hurling myself off a cliff?" she offered with a sarcastic snicker.

The classparent frowned slightly but carried on. "No," she said carefully paying attention to any facial twitches in her student. There was none other than an impatiently raised eyebrow. "forgive yourself." she stated simply.

"Okay, parody version of Ted Bundy, what are you really talking about? Because you know as well as I do that what you said two seconds ago made zero sense."

"Remember what happened in the locker room," Drishti sighed. The way her student tensed left a bone-deep ache she felt deep inside her chest. She shouldn't have said the things she did. But that was forgiven since Aspire camp. Forgotten? Maybe not so much.

"Maybe, what does that have to do with this?"

"That feeling of loss and disappointment. You have been feeling it for years. Am I right?" the lack of any utterances was an answer enough. "I know what it feels like and I know that it's a type of punishment that you live with every day. It sucks. That's what I mean by years. Does it excuse what you guys did as bullies? No. But does it mean that I am a little more lenient? yes."

"That is the whole point. It doesn't excuse anything. So why isn't anyone doing something about it? We should not get away scot-free. Isn't that your whole complaint during the Harshad fiasco?"

"Because you are already repenting. The other students are afraid of what might happen if they try to do something. But the fact that you feel this way, is an indication of being a better person. Sometimes, not doing anything causes more anguish than doing something. So you are being punished just not by who you expected. "

The electric guitarist opened her mouth to retort but found herself shell-shocked and at a loss for words. Her limbs moved as if an inexperienced person was controlling them remotely. she was looking right at Drishti, but not really. "Have you?" she managed to get out, swallowing the lump in her throat.

"Have I what?"

"Have you forgiven me for...everything that happened between us."

"Yea, a long time ago."

Divya didn't understand how this woman sitting in front of her was so understanding. Neither could she stem her thoughts from wondering.

"On the bright side. The midnight spirits still managed to turn out to be halfway decent human beings."

"You are hilarious, Miss Sorry Soul," she snorted.

"Thank you. My point is that getting hung up by the past could literally kill you. It's easier said than done but moving on is a good start," Drishti stood up and dusted off her pants. Divya wasn't going to say anything until she processed that. "I don't know about you but school is going to start soon and I need to be there," she started to walk in the direction she came from but stopped sensing that the student wasn't following her. "You coming?" she asked, turning around.

Divya waved her off carelessly. "I'll see you at school. Maybe."

"Alright then. Bye."

"Miss sorry soul," she called the class parent as she was about to walk off.

"Yeah."

"I...have a nice day," Divya said unable to put into words what she was thinking. Settling for a peasantry instead of gumption.

"You too, kid."

Divya rolled her eyes and a sigh escaped her parched lips. Well, shit. What the hell am I going to do now?

Feeling her phone vibrate in her pocket, she pulled it out, scrolled through her messages and sighed once more. She dropped a quick text to Anjali and began walking back to her car- disregarding all the flashes that flashed through her mind's eye as she crossed the landmarks that were once a place she knew like the back of her palm.

Just when she thought the storm had settled, it ripped up another hurricane.

Dirshti called her name and Divya turned almost instinctively. "When the stars don't show up, let the fireflies lead you to the light." her eyes travelled to the guitarist's left where a small, barely visible in broad light, firefly was resting atop a leaf. They both stared at it, wondering where this path led to.

She could try to ignore it but denial would only lead her so far. Acceptance would bring her farther away and closer to whom was a fate she couldn't control. Who was to say, what I am accepting or denying was a gospel truth?

----broken promises---

"So Frank Einstein. What was so important that it couldn't wait till school," Ragini drawled, sauntering into the garage of the Maheshwari residence. "I had to quit my search party."

Robotically Lakshya's hand raised upward and motioned towards a piece of paper, his eyes almost as still as some billboard poster. An uneasy feeling settled in the pit of her stomach at the lack of utterance by the brothers. It wasn't like them to remain so quiet. The garage interior was much less inviting with the walls covered with stale paint and nicks.

"What's with the promise of silence?" she chuckled, hoping to dissipate the tension. Instead, it resulted in the air becoming heavier. Something was very wrong. She raised an eyebrow and picked up the papers Lakshya pointed to earlier.

The colour drained from her face the longer she scanned through the information written on it. Divya Sharma, daughter of Sarthak and Vidya Sharma, sister of Drishti Sharma.

She was sent reeling, unable to comprehend or process the images that were being transmitted by her eyes - which were nearly bulged out of her head. She looked away, then looked back to see if it was still there when she reread it. It was.

Her looks of utter astonishment and dumbfoundedness resembled the brothers. Her speech silences itself in reverence to the words printed on that piece of paper. Her brain stutters for a moment and every brain synapsis goes on pause while her thoughts straggled behind. After a wash of cold wind, she dropped the paper on the table.

When Shikar spoke his voice trails slowly, like his words are unwilling to take flight. "Our dick of a father was the person behind Divya's kidnapping."

She did know where to begin unpacking this. "This makes no sense," she got out. The bile in her throat made her want to puke. Quickly whipping out her phone, her finger trembled with uncertainty. The old camera Aditya used to take their pictures had started malfunctioning. He had told her to back up the pictures on her google drive, some of which were their childhood pictures. Once she fished out the ones she was looking for, her stomach dropped.

"This is Divya," she confirmed, voice barely above a whisper. "A little younger than five but this is her."

"We have to tell her," Lakshya announced, getting to his feet. That was the logical approach. It was the one thing that spoke to him about this situation. He stormed towards the exit, car keys in hand only to be shoved back by Ragini. "What?" he exclaimed, annoyed at the interruption.

"We can't tell her. Not yet."

"And why not?" Shikar asked, joining them at the door. He crossed his arms in front of his chest, giving her a pointed glare.

Ragini rubbed her forehead looking for the best way to put this in the words. "Because," she started. "If these pictures are accurate," she paused once more.

"Then what Ragini?" Lakshya demanded irritably, shaking her by the forearm. His patience was wearing dramatically thin. This prolonged quiet was acting as a catalyst for his anger.

"Then it means that miss sharma is her biological sister," she shouted, jerking her arm out from his iron hold. "Vidya and Sarthak Sharma are her biological parents."

Shikar looked like he wanted to be anywhere but here. She couldn't blame him. This whole thing was confusing, to say the least. They didn't anticipate finding their best friend's long-lost biological family that she has yanked away from at the age of five because their deranged father decided child trafficking was the best way to earn an income.

"How do you know that?" Lakshya asked slowly, releasing the arm still in his gasp.

Ragini cleared her throat awkwardly. "Remember when Mom and Dad came back from their trip after Musicana," when they nodded in affirmation, she resumed speaking. "After we got into that fight, I ran away from home."

"We know." he nodded. "What occurred after that?"

"Miss Sharma found me walking for the dead. I nearly got hit by her car," again. "Since she refused to let me wander around late at night, I went home with her for the time being. I saw this girl's pictures," she held up her phone for them to get a closer look. "On their walls. I knew she looked familiar. I just couldn't place my finger on it. Now I know that it was Divya."

"It could have been their relative or something. Not necessarily their daughter."

"I wish but Mrs Sharma confirmed that it was her missing daughter I was looking at," she kept her phone back in her pocket and ran a hand through her brunette locks. "Her missing daughter," she repeated. The missing daughter is presumably dead and they are grieving the loss.

"So we are supposed to believe that the people that gave birth to Divi were staying on the other side of the country and she's never encountered them ever? And that thirteen years later, her sister who we've never known about, is now our class parent. The same class parent she got lost in the jungle?"

"The same class parent whose car she crashed into on their first meeting," Lakshya added, speaking for the first time in a while. "Then we pranked her as payback."

"The same class parent she has been growing fond of ever since," Ragini concluded, looking at the papers once more. "While that does sound good, I don't think she'll take the news lightly with everything going on."

"It sounds too convenient for some reason," Sikhar said. Coincidences were one thing but when they start becoming overwhelming in numbers, suspicion is bound to rise. He wondered how they had never once suspected the possibility that the woman whose arrival caused their lives to fly in a fit of paradoxical rage was related to them in more than just teaching.

Lakshya rolled his eyes, clenching his fist. "This isn't a time to apply your Sherlock Holmes spidey sense."

Shikar just shrugged and focused on Ragini who was zoning out.

"Because at the age of twenty-three, I am still learning. Like you. I am still learning to get by what happened to my sister. It's not the same as you but still, similar,"

"Fate had other plans for her."

If Jaan is really the one Miss Sharma is talking about, that means she doesn't know the truth. She probably thinks that her sister is dead.

"Ragini," he nudged her shoulders. "Something tells me you have a plan."

"We have to dig for more answers before telling anyone," Lakshya and Shikar gave her a questioning glance which she understood the meaning of. She went on to elaborate. "If the Sharma's are really her biological family then they deserve to know too."

"Anjali and Aditya won't be so happy about that."

Ragini nodded her head, stuffing the file into her haversack. She slung it over her shoulders and took a deep breath to compose herself. She needed to be calm. "Maybe not, but they understand. Even so, they raised her for thirteen years and made her the person she is today. Nothing changes that. I know for a fact that Divya would say the same thing."

Lashya stroked the nape of his neck thoughtfully. "It's weird that Miss Sharma has never mentioned having a sibling."

"Probably because of the same reason Divi has never talked about it either. It's too painful."

"Did she tell you about the kidnapping? I mean we never really talked about it after we found out." Despite the talk Lakshya had with Divya in the woods during Aspire camp, they never actually spoke about the incident. The topic of conversation revolved around their feelings towards how it came out, not the thing itself. He was mildly regretting not digging further. If they knew more details, this piece of information would have been easier to stomach.

Stupid feelings always getting in the way.

Ragini averted her gaze from them. It wasn't her place to tell them. This was Divya's secret to tell if she ever wanted to. Recalling the events of the kidnapping had been one of the most uncomfortable exchanges they had. She had decided to not bring it up again until and unless the rockstar herself did. It went without saying that she shouldn't be sharing the details with anyone else even if they were Lakshya and Shikar without consent.

"Yes, but it's not my place to share guys. I am sorry."

If there was one thing she loved about her friends, it was how understanding they were. The Maheshwari brothers didn't complain nor irked. They simply gave her a reassuring squeeze.

They came out of the garage, not wanting to be in that place longer than necessary. Lakshya and Shikar were certain their adventure to return these children to their families was going to be delayed. They had to figure out themselves first. Can't help someone else if they themselves are emotionally unstable.

Shikar could feel the pins and needles tickling his skin. He needed to vent out and release some stress. Obviously, he couldn't do it anytime soon because they had school. Bunking classes would mean raining questions from their parents. They would be left unanswered and result in higher scrutiny from them. That was detrimental to their quest of finding out the truth.

He found the best way possible to do it with the restrictions the situation came with. "I'm sorry but what the hell universe." sihkar shrieked to no one in particular looking at the sky. He placed both hands behind his throat looking down. The other too didn't even dare to stop his noise pollution. This was his way of dealing with things. The two older members leaned on the car a few feet away, giving him the space he needed.

And really, what the hell universe?

"Not that I should need to say this but, don't blame yourself for this lucky." the pianist said, closing her eyes. She wasn't exactly thinking, just letting her spent mind have a minute's respite.

Lakshya copied her motions. An ideal life would be, not needing to deal with this stress and complexities. He could almost picture it if he tried hard enough.

"Lucky! Catch." seven-year-old Shikhar Maheshwari called out to his brother, throwing a frisbee across the yard of their house.

Lakshya caught it effortlessly with his right hand and did a little twirl on his index finger. "Nice throw brother."

"Lucky, shikar!" their mother, Aria Maheshwari sat at the beaches of the backyard. She had prepared snacks and refreshments laid out for her sons and husband returning from a long day of work. The boys eagerly dug in, not bothering to wait for their father.

"Little monsters. You could have been patient enough to wait for me."

"We are not dead. Maybe if you arrived earlier we would be having a different conversation." the future guitarist said, munchkin into his sandwich.

"He isn't wrong," Aria piped in from her position, letting out her own chuckle at his crestfallen expression. "Relax, we're kidding."

"Well, I am sure Shikar would have something nice to say about me. Right son?" he asked, looking at his younger child.

The person in question stopped chewing midway leaving his cheeks puffed up. He looked at the three people staring at him and quickly swallowed the bite in his mouth. "Sorry, I was too busy with my sandwich. What were you saying?"

The older son and mother burst out in a fit of girls while their father just shook his head in mock disappointment. Shikar was just confused.

It should have always stayed that way. A small happy family with no trauma or visceral hatred that came with it. That wasn't their lives, however, maybe somewhere out there in a parallel universe, that's our truth. But not here.

"I am not. After visiting the orphanage I stopped doing that. It's not healthy and I know I couldn't have done anything."

The teenage girl turned to her best friend. She had learned to read their faces over the years and she knew which face meant what. The reason wasn't always clear and that's when she had to get them to talk. The midnight spirits had an unhealthy habit of bottling things up. "Then why that face."

"I just wish things could be different. I thought things were settling down. But it's like everything is changing for the worse."

"How does Divi finding her biological family take a turn for the worst?" Ragini asked. "Don't get me wrong, whatever is happening now sucks but maybe this is what she needs."

"I don't know. We've always known that she was adopted. That was one of the first things she was open about. But she's never spoken about her biological family, where she came from or what happened. We can't gauge if she ever wants anything to do with them or not."

"After Musicana, she told me the truth," Ragini recalled sitting on the cliff waiting impatiently for her best friend to open up. "She didn't want to get to know them. Mostly because she was afraid of disrupting the peace of their lives."

"But?" Lakshya turned to face her as well. He knew there was a catch. Ragini wouldn't let it just be at that. "What's the catch?"

"I think she should seek them out. Then it was simply a vague fantasy but now, we have the information. Cold hard facts right in front of us," she pointed out the bag resting on her shoulders. "How can we just ignore it? More importantly, how is she going to ignore it."

"I know and there's only so much we can do. We can't make this decision for her," he took his hand out of the jeans pocket it was nesting and reached out to Ragini. She intertwined their fingers and rested them on the bonnet. "But we'll deal with it together. All for one. One of them."

The pianist nodded, placing her head on his shoulder soaking in comfort from his presence.

Lakshya gestured for them to get into his car when Shikar came back, looking mildly better than a few moments ago. Aria was at home and they didn't need her to overhear them. Involving the adults was a disaster waiting to happen. What are we supposed to tell them? Mom doesn't even know about what's in the garage and why we have been spending so much time there.

Once all the doors were shut and seatbelts fastened on, Shikar in the passenger seat and Ragini at the back he turned out of the driveway, making sure to shut the garage door through the remote control. "We need to speak to Mr and Mrs Sharma to get answers. I highly doubt Miss Sharma would want to talk or give any information."

"Cool but who is gonna do that?" Shikar questioned before turning his head to the pianist in the backseat with an eyebrow raised. Lashya did the same and she caught the look through the rearview mirror.

"Fine. Let the games begin."

"That doesn't suit the context."

"Who cares. I am in shock and in a state of confusion. I should be allowed to make stupid statements."

"That's not..." Shikar zipped his mouth seeing the hard glare the older girl was giving him. "Shutting up now."

"Thank you."

The acoustic guitarist scrunched his eyebrow thinking back to his call with Ragini. "You were going to look for her right? Before coming here that is."

"I was but Anjali texted me a while ago. Jaan is headed to school."

"We are headed to school too. How exactly are we supposed to face her?"

"Wing it."

A/N: Don't forget to R&R! Writer's block sucks but do let me know your thoughts, predictions, criticisms and of course, anything that you liked!