Rogue Heroes - The Awakening

First Meet

SPLASH...

"Aaahhh..." a boy, nearly 17 – years – old screamed, as cold water hit his face.

"Wake up, sleepy head," a girl, same age as the boy, said, holding an empty jug of water. "First day at college, and I don't want to be late, just because of you."

"You are so mean for a sister. Can't you show some respect to your elder brother?" the boy said, getting up from the bed and stretching himself.

"You are only 1 minute older to me, Daksh," the girl said, in a bored tone.

"I am elder, Kimi, how much doesn't matter," Daksh said, pulling his sister's cheek, while she just swatted his hand in annoyance. Daksh laughed and went to freshen up, while Kimi went on to clean his bed. She had already readied herself for the day.

Soon enough, even Daksh was ready and was now standing in front of the mirror, trying to get the perfect hairstyle for his first day at the college.

"How much ever you set your hair, you will still look the same, Daksh," Kimi said, half laid on her bed, one leg on it while the other leg hanging.

"For the first time since our birth, you are right, Kimi," Daksh said, turning to her. "All hairstyles are just add – on to my inborn handsomeness."

Kimi just pursued her lips and walking towards Daksh, kept a hand on his shoulder. She put on a real sympathetic look on her face and said, "One should live a life without misconceptions. What I meant was, how much ever you set your hair, you will still look the same. Like a... Monkey."

She yelled the last word and ran out of the room, laughing, while Daksh followed her seething with rage. Soon the cat and mouse chase began in the living room, and by the time, Daksh caught her, both of them were laughing like crazy. It was just the daily routine for the siblings.

"Daksh... Kimi... what's going on?" A middle – aged man said, standing at the end of the staircase, eyeing the siblings calmly. His face was as expressionless as it could be.

"She was the one who started."

"No, he's lying as always, he started chasing me."

"Only when you called me a monkey."

"But you are a monkey, so I called you one. Accept the truth."

"Enough both of you... Soon you both would be turning 18... Show some amount of maturity," said the man, shaking his head in disappointment. The two siblings looked at each other and smiled mischievously.

"Good morning Mamu..." the two of them yelled and tackled him in a hug. The man laughed at their childishness and patted their heads lovingly.

"Come on now. Let's have the breakfast. You have to be on time for your college."

Saying this, the man went to the dining table, followed by the siblings. The man, Mr. Viren Acharya, was a professor and researcher, by profession. He taught philosophy in the St. Teresa College of Arts, Mumbai, the same college where Daksh and Kimi had been enrolled. He was a palaeographer, one who studied and researched on the ancient scriptures.

"So? All set for the first day at college?" Viren asked, while applying jam on the bread.

"Yes Mamu," Daksh and Kimi yelled in excitement, making Viren smile. He sent a silent prayer to the God to always keep the two of them together, through thick and thin. His eyes subconsciously travelled to the portraits of his late sister and her husband, hanging on the wall. How much happy and proud they would have been, he thought to himself, as he looked at the two siblings bickering again. They bickered like every other brother – sister, but they knew when to watch each other's back as well.