Keiran stirred awake to the faint warmth of morning light streaming through half-drawn curtains. His head throbbed with the dull ache of too much beer, and his tongue felt like dry sandpaper.
"Ugh… Where the hell am I?" He muttered, forcing himself upright.
He blinked, the unfamiliar room tilting slightly as his eyes adjusted. It wasn't his dorm, nor the hideout, nor any place he remembered being in last night. The walls were decorated with small plants on shelves, books stacked neatly in corners, and picture frames scattered across a tidy dresser.
Keiran squinted, dragging himself closer to one of the photos. It was Aarti. His sister, smiling alongside a few other young people he didn't recognise. Friends? Colleagues? Her life, one he hadn't been part of for years, stared back at him through glossy prints.
The realisation sank in slowly.
"…This is her apartment," he muttered, rubbing his temple.
The sound of a door opening pulled his attention. Keiran turned just in time to see Aarti step inside, a tray in hand carrying a glass of water and something that smelt faintly like bread.
"You're awake," she said calmly, her eyes flicking to him. "Drink this before your brain melts out of your ears."
Keiran grabbed the glass gratefully and downed it in one go. "Thanks," he croaked, wiping his mouth with the back of his hand. "Uh… how did I get here?"
"You don't remember?" Aarti asked, setting the tray down on the table.
He frowned, shaking his head. "Not after I got… louder, I guess. The last thing I remember is the streetlights."
Aarti's lips curved slightly, though it was closer to pity than amusement. "You were too drunk to argue, so I dragged you here. You nearly faceplanted into the canal, by the way."
Keiran groaned, dropping his head into his hands. "Great. Just great. Some younger brother I am."
"You said a lot of things last night," Aarti said quietly, pulling out a chair but not sitting down. "Things I didn't expect you to say."
He peeked at her through his fingers, grimacing. "I didn't do anything… embarrassing, did I?"
Her expression softened, almost sad. "Not embarrassing. It was honest."
Before Keiran could respond, she hesitated, then stepped aside, glancing toward the door still cracked behind her. Her voice lowered, careful, as though she'd been building to this moment.
"…There's someone here who wants to talk to you."
Keiran blinked, confused. "Someone?"
She gripped the door handle and opened it fully. And then he saw her.
A small figure stood in the doorway. Younger, softer features than Aarti's but unmistakably similar. Her dark eyes widened the instant they met his.
Keiran's breath caught. His heart slammed against his chest. It didn't hurt; it ached.
Mira.
It was like the years collapsed in on themselves all at once. Memories he'd buried, shoved into the farthest corners of his mind, far away, Mira's small voice calling for him not to leave.
He staggered to his feet, almost tripping on the edge of the bed, his lips parting but no words coming out.
"Mira…" His voice cracked on her name, raw with disbelief.
Her face was unreadable, but her eyes shimmered with something he couldn't place. Could it be anger, longing, or maybe both?
For a long moment, none of them moved. The silence pressed heavy, filled only by the faint tick of a clock on the wall.
Keiran's throat tightened. "…It's really you."
"Mira…" Keiran repeated, the name sticking in his throat like broken glass.
Her lips trembled, but she didn't move closer. Instead, her hands tightened into fists at her sides. "You… still remember me?"
The question stabbed him straight through the chest. He stumbled forward, shaking his head in disbelief. "Of course I do! How could I forget you? You're my little sister… I…"
"Then why didn't you come back?" Her voice cracked, sharp and trembling all at once. "All these years, Kieran! All this time. You left us. You left me. You said you'd come back to me right before you left, but you never did. Do you know how many nights I cried, wondering if you were even alive?!"
Kieran froze, guilt flooding his chest like ice water. He tried to speak, but his throat locked up. Mira's tears welled, and for a moment she looked every bit the little girl he remembered. Hurt, abandoned, and desperate.
"I waited," she whispered. "Every single day. I told myself, 'My big brother will come home. He has to.' But you never did. Why?"
Keiran's hands shook. His voice came out hoarse, broken. "Because… I was weak."
Mira blinked at him, stunned by the honesty.
"I ran," Keiran admitted, the words spilling out as though he'd held them in for too long. "I couldn't take it anymore. The pressure, the fighting, the way everything at home felt like it was crushing me. And I thought… maybe if I left, I'd find something. A place where I could actually breathe." He pressed a hand over his chest, his head bowing. "But leaving meant leaving you too. And that… that's the one thing I'll never forgive myself for."
The silence that followed was suffocating. Mira's tears finally slipped down her cheeks, but she didn't look away. "You don't know what it was like without you," she whispered. "Aarti tried to be strong, but she was drowning too. But Mom and Dad…" She cut herself off, her voice trembling. "It was like the whole family fell apart when you left."
Keiran's knees buckled, and he sat heavily back down on the edge of the bed, burying his face in his hands. "I know… I know. And I hate myself for it. I should've been there, for you, for Aarti, for all of you."
Mira wiped her eyes roughly with her sleeve, her voice rising again. "Then why didn't you come back? Even after everything, why didn't you try?"
He looked up, meeting her gaze with eyes raw from regret. "Because I was scared. I thought… I thought you'd all hate me. That even if I walked back through the door, I wouldn't belong anymore."
The room went still again. Mira's chest rose and fell quickly, her hands trembling at her sides. She stepped forward, then stopped, like she couldn't decide whether to hit him or hug him.
Finally, she whispered, "…You're an idiot."
Keiran gave a choked laugh, dragging a hand through his messy hair. "Yeah. I've been called worse."
And then, slowly, Mira closed the distance. She sat down beside him, their shoulders brushing. For a moment, neither spoke, just the quiet sound of her sniffles and his uneven breathing.
"I hated you," she admitted softly. "I hated you for leaving. But… I never stopped wanting to see you again."
Keiran turned his head, stunned. "…Mira."
She looked at him, her tear-streaked face pulling into the faintest of smiles. "So don't you dare disappear again. Not now."
For the first time in years, something warm broke through the storm in Keiran's chest. He let out a shaky breath, his lips tugging into a small smile. "…I won't. I promise."
From the doorway, Aarti leaned silently against the frame, watching them. She didn't speak, but the faint glimmer in her eyes said everything. For the first time in a long time, the family's broken pieces were starting, just barely, to come back together.