Reclaimed Legacy

(12) - Homecoming

The car's engine hummed softly, merging with the rustle of the evening breeze as they sped down the winding roads toward Rajgarh. Abhira leaned against the window, the cool glass pressing into her skin as she watched the landscape blur by. They had landed in Ludhiana that afternoon after leaving Mussoorie early in the morning. Rajgarh didn't have its own airport; Ludhiana was the nearest domestic hub, even though it was a three-hour drive. She had been sitting in this car for those three long hours—Vishal Bhai in the passenger seat, and Adi fast asleep beside her in the back.

The silence weighed on her like a cloak, unfamiliar and unsettling. Normally, these quiet drives didn't bother her. In fact, she'd always found comfort in the solitude, but today something was different. The stillness felt suffocating, her mind restless, as though the emptiness inside the car amplified her own unease.

In the quiet she got reminded of Abhira Sharma. That girl had ruined her—always talking, always laughing, like a female version of Adi. How dare Adi sleep so peacefully now, oblivious to her discomfort! She glared at him, still snoring away, and in a fit of irritation, she slapped the back of his head.

"Ow!" Adi jolted awake with a yell, blinking as though he'd just escaped from a nightmare. He looked around, wide-eyed, realizing they were still in the car. His gaze shifted to her, half-annoyed, half-confused. "What?" he asked.

"How can you sleep so peacefully when I'm sitting here bored out of my mind?"

Adi grumbled, rubbing his eyes. "It's not my fault you can't sleep. And how dare you disturb my beauty sleep?" He smirked, though there was a trace of affection in his teasing.

In the front seat, Vishal Bhai chuckled, catching their banter through the rearview mirror. Shaking his head, he smiled to himself, happy to witness this again. Abhira and Adi had always been like this—inseparable, bickering like siblings. In the four years of her absence, he'd missed seeing them together like this. He had seen how quiet Adi had become in those years, pouring himself into helping his grandfather's political campaign. But today, Adi's eyes had that familiar spark again—the spark that only Abhira could bring back.

The brother-sister duo eventually called a truce, and Abhira turned her gaze outside. The sun was beginning to set, casting a golden glow over the horizon. Rajgarh had always been beautiful at this time of day. Despite everything—the years of absence, the turmoil, the heartbreak—seeing her hometown filled her with a sense of peace she hadn't felt in a long time. The children playing on the streets, women in vibrant salwar-kameez and ghagras, men in turbans... it all felt so achingly familiar. Her heart screamed one word: home.

Rajgarh had a unique charm, influenced by its proximity to Rajasthan yet rooted deeply in Punjabi tradition. The people beside the roads stopped whatever they were doing, their eyes following the convoy of Brar cars. They didn't know where the family had been, but they knew the Brars had returned, unaware that their rajkumaari had finally come home.

As they passed through the gates of the Brar Palace, Abhira's breath caught. The palace loomed ahead, its massive mahogany color standing tall against the evening sky. It had a ground floor and three additional floors, an architectural marvel. Her daarji used to tell her stories about his father, her great-grandfather, who had fought to keep this palace from the government's grasp when royal rule was abolished. Even now, decades later, the palace remained untouched—still a symbol of their heritage, of defiance.

Before she could take a step toward the entrance, her buji appeared with an aarti ki thaali, her face lighting up with joy. "Meri raani beti wapas aa gayi hai," she said, her voice warm with affection. The house's daughter had returned.