The conference had ended for the day, the glow of Geneva's streetlamps washing over the city with a golden warmth. Mukul and his four cousins—Liya, Rishika, Diya, and Rhea—sat together with Aralyn Nyx, their laughter soft against the quiet hum of the evening.
For the first time, they were not delegates, scholars, or leaders-in-training. They were simply young souls trying to understand one another.
The Question of Origins
It was Liya Moreau who asked first, her voice carrying both curiosity and warmth."Aralyn… your name feels like it carries two worlds in it. Nyx is Greek, isn't it? But your features, your aura—it feels… Indian. Are you half Greek, half Indian?"
Aralyn blinked, momentarily surprised. She was used to others making assumptions, but rarely had anyone asked so directly with such gentleness.
Her lips curved into a soft smile. "You could say I am caught between two worlds. A part of me belongs to India, though I have little memory of it. And yes, Nyx comes from my Greek guardians… people who sheltered me when I had nowhere else to go."
Her voice trailed off, shaded with melancholy.
The Cousins' Revelations
When Aralyn asked quietly, "And what about you four? You share a bond deeper than colleagues, don't you? How do you know each other?"
It was Rishika Raichand who answered, her tone carrying both pride and intimacy."We're cousins. But more than that, we're sisters in spirit. Our family is scattered across nations, cultures, and legacies, yet we grew up bound together by duty and affection."
Liya Moreau explained with a playful smile: "I'm half Indian, half French. My mother is Malhotra, my father French. It makes me a hybrid of diplomacy and defiance."
Diya Knight chuckled softly: "I'm half Indian, half British. My mother is Malhotra, my father Knight. They say I inherited both the stubbornness of my father and the heart of my mother."
Rhea Malhotra leaned forward: "I'm half Indian, half European as well—my mother Elena is a political leader, my father a strategist. It means I was born into conflicts and taught to turn them into solutions."
Finally, Rishika Raichand smiled and added: "And I am Raichand—purely Indian bloodline, though raised under Europe's shadow. But with all of us together, it doesn't matter where we came from. We're family. Always."
Aralyn's Silence
Aralyn listened, her silver-gray eyes shimmering under the lamplight. A strange ache stirred within her chest. Their words, their laughter, their bond—it was something she had always longed for but never truly known.
She whispered, almost to herself, "Family… you speak of it as though it's both armor and light."
Mukul, who had been silent until now, finally looked at her, his voice calm but deep."That's because it is. Family can wound you, yes. But it also heals you. And sometimes… it finds you when you least expect it."
For the first time, Aralyn Nyx felt as though the walls she had built around herself were not impenetrable.
The threads of identity were weaving, binding her closer to Mukul and his cousins than she could ever have imagined.