By the time the soft rhythm of the train had lulled into something almost meditative, the sunlight had shifted higher — diffused, golden, and warm against the curtained windows of our private coach. A faint rattle of trays echoed down the aisle, and with it came the unmistakable scent of delicious morning breakfast.
It must've been around half past ten when breakfast arrived — a tidy silver tray for each of us, topped with a mix of fruit salad, pudding, poha, egg and peanut butter with bread. Nothing extravagant, but hearty enough to warm your soul. And the most important thing the morning tea.
Aaryaksh picked up his tea and placed the food tray aside and without a word put a mouth full of toasted bread and peanut butter along with tea.
He was used to this rhythm — eat, move, rest, repeat. Since he'd travelled enough to find comfort in silence and familiarity in motion. But across from me, the atmosphere was far from relaxed. Rahul, Kiyana, and Vaidehi sat frozen like deer caught in headlights, staring at their food as if it might suddenly start talking.
Aaryaksh glanced up mid-bite. "What is it now?" he asked, voice flat. "You waiting for it to cool down or for it to perform a dance?"
Kiyana blinked. Rahul scratched the back of his neck awkwardly. Vaidehi stared at her toasted bread and butter like it held secrets from a past life.
He set spoon down with a quiet clink. "Are you three seriously hesitating to eat just because we're in front of each other?"
Still no one moved.
With a sigh, Aaryaksh turned toward Rahul. "Let me guess. You feel weird eating in front of these two, don't you?"
The boy nodded sheepishly. "Yeah, kind of…"
"Then just imagine they're your older sisters," he said, without missing a beat. "Trust me, sisters nag less than your stomach does."
Kiyana made a faint, offended sound — a small "hmph" under her breath.
"And as for you two," Aaryaksh added, lowering his voice, more like teasing now, "if you still feel awkward, the doorway's always open. Feel free to stand there and eat if it makes you more comfortable. I, however, prefer not to eat in hallways just to spare a few delicate egos."
That did it.
Both women flushed — not just a little embarrassment, but full-on red, their cheeks blooming like fire under warm skin. No one could tell if it was anger, shyness, or both, but it worked. The ice cracked. They picked up their trays and began to eat.
Vaidehi, seated beside the window, chewed in small bites, her long lashes low as if deep in thought. Her loose ponytail spilled over her shoulder like a glossy, black ribbon, brushing the fabric of her loose white shirt which barely hides the full black bra beneath.
Beside her, Kiyana sat cross-legged, arms folded as she leaned back with mock disdain. Her white cropped t-shirt clung to her frame, exposing the faintest sliver of her waist above her skinny black jeans.
Aaryaksh couldn't help but look at them but he tried not to make it look too obvious — not that he wanted to get caught staring — but the coach suddenly felt warmer.
After the meal, conversation dried up. Everyone retreated into their respective silences. Aaryaksh resumed reading. Rahul, surprisingly persistent, leaned toward him with his book still tucked under one arm.
"Sir… can we continue where we left off?"
Persistent. Naive. But determined. I respect that.
"Fine," he said. "Let's pick up with punch art alignment."
For the next two hours, Aaryaksh walked him through some foundational forms — the flow of energy from diaphragm to wrist, the internal breathing rhythm, and the sun-wukong-derived five-level amplification techniques. Rahul struggled, but listened. He wasn't quick to learn, but he was eager — and sometimes, that's enough.
Kiyana and Vaidehi, meanwhile, watched — or at least pretended to. Occasionally, Aaryaksh glance up to find Vaidehi sneaking peeks from behind her magazine, her fingers turning pages. Kiyana fared worse. She had one of my beginner sadhana books open on her lap that she took casually, but her eyes were somewhere else entirely — lost in thought or maybe studying Aaryaksh rather than the text.
Eventually, Aaryaksh grew tired of teaching. So he stretched out and climbed up to the upper berth, grateful for the soft sway of the train beneath.
He dozed off for a while — maybe two hours.
When stirred, it wasn't the motion that woke him, but the sound of someone whispering below.
"…he's been sleeping like that for an hour. You wake him."
"No, you do it!"
"I'm not waking him! He looks like he'd throw a punch just for fun."
There was a giggle — Vaidehi's.
Aaryaksh cracked one eye open and looked down just in time to catch Vaidehi rising on her toes, gently nudging the side of his bunk.
"Lunch is here," she said gently tapping his shoulder.
"let's see what they would do I'll just pretend to sleep tough" Aaryaksh though ignoring Vaidehi.
After few tries Vaidehi started shaking his shoulder eventually shaking him heavily after a while. And when Aaryaksh couldn't he suddenly gets up with bulging eyes.
"w..w. well, we've been just trying to wake you up." Vaidehi stammered in fear looking at his furious look.
"who would risk waking the sleeping dragon." Kiyana shrugged crossing her eyes.
Suddenly Aaryaksh let out a sharp laugh, then swung his legs down and hopped to the floor.
"So, Vaidehi's the bravest one here," he teased, heading to the washbasin. "Guess I owe you my gratitude… or an apology if I punched you by reflex."
That earned a ripple of laughter from all three.
Over lunch, the tension had eased. They talked more freely now — even Kiyana, who until now had barely said a word without sarcasm.
But just as he was about to start working on his herbal documentation, Kiyana's question surprised him.
"So, Mr. Shail," Kiyana asked with a tricky smile, elbows resting lazily on her seat, "why exactly did you choose to research ancient medicine and martial arts anyway?"
Her tone was playful, but there was curiosity buried beneath it — and maybe a little challenge.
She wouldn't understand the real answer. Not the way he meant it. Not the layers of it. At least for now
"There are things in this world you still don't know," Aaryaksh said, flipping open his notes. "Even if I told you, I doubt you'd understand."
Kiyana's lips parted like she might protest, but she didn't. She just leaned back and rolled her eyes.
"Of course. Mysterious man answers in riddles. Classic."
He ignored her. Let her stew in the mystery. Since he had more important things to do.
Then he started scribbling notes — on the powdered herbs that could mimic qi restoration, on the synthetic energy pills that he developed back in Sikkim. Most of it was dense, coded terminology that none of them could parse even if they tried.
Rahul pulled out his college notebook again, while Vaidehi flipped through a glossy magazine — some fashion issue, though she didn't seem particularly focused.
What surprises most, though, was Kiyana. She had gone quiet — genuinely quiet — and was reading the same beginner martial arts manual that she took casually earlier. Eyes narrowed, lips pressed together, posture rigid. She was actually trying to comprehend it.
Aaryaksh almost smiled at her.
But then from the corner of his eye he noticed something strange.
Kiyana's fingers trembled slightly as she turned a page. Her brow furrowed. She leaned in, reading a paragraph over and over. Her breathing slowed.
She wasn't confused.
She was… really comprehending it.
Her posture shifted subtly. Her gaze lingered longer on a diagram — not with the gaze of a beginner… but of someone who recognised it.
A chill prickled at the back of Aaryaksh's neck.
Something was off. Kiyana wasn't just trying to understand the book. She'd seen it before.
Or worse… she knew exactly what it was.
He begun monitoring Kiyana timely, while working.