Chapter 2 (continued)
The next morning, Aira woke Krishna. They teased each other as they always did — light, familiar flirting before the day began.
"You look really beautiful today," Krishna said with a grin.
"You seem to be in a good mood," Aira replied, smiling back.
Aira went to wake the children. She opened Rishi and Laxmi's door, shook them gently and called, "Get up, kids. School today."
They rubbed their eyes, sat up, and began getting ready. Krishna was getting dressed downstairs while Aira prepared breakfast. Soon the whole family gathered at the dining table.
"Is the food ready?" Krishna asked as he took his seat.
"Yes, come eat before it gets cold," Aira answered.
After a quick breakfast, Krishna went to check on Rishi. He was already in his school uniform.
"Papa," Rishi asked as he tied his shoes, "were humans really real? Did they make us?"
Krishna paused for a moment. "We don't really know," he said. "Some people say they did. Some say they looked like us. I don't know where they went. There's an old book in the library — something like Project Human: Origin. People say it was written by a human."
"Really? A human wrote that book?" Rishi's eyes widened.
"Old people talk about it," Krishna said with a small shrug. "Your grandfather used to tell stories like that. But it's time for school now — go, and we'll talk more later."
Aira called from the kitchen, "Rishi, Laxmi! The bus will be here any minute—hurry!"
Krishna laughed, "See? The house can't run without their mother."
They found Laxmi sitting at the table finishing her milk. Aira teased, "There you are. Ready at last — your father and brother are hopeless without me."
Krishna chuckled, "Alright, alright. I'll take you shopping one day. Don't be mad."
They finished breakfast and Krishna stood up with his bag. "I'm leaving now," he said.
"Be careful," Aira replied. Krishna leaned in for a quick kiss.
Aira pretended to scold him. "Not in front of the kids."
"What's wrong with kissing my wife?" Krishna answered, smiling.
"Don't do it or I'll cut all your wires," she joked.
"Got it, madam," he laughed, and they shared a soft little kiss.
He put on his shoes and left. The house settled back into the usual morning sounds — zipped school bags, the rustle of uniforms, and the distant hum of the street.
Later, while driving, Krishna's thoughts drifted to the past footage he had seen — the wars since 2060, how every country had been at conflict, and how the world had nearly destroyed itself. He kept thinking that the same thing must never happen again. If humans returned and things went wrong, the chaos would be unimaginable.
His phone buzzed. It was his friend Nirbhay. Nirbhay sounded angry. "Boss is furious," he said. "You don't need to come into the office today."
"What are you talking about?" Krishna asked.
"You teased his daughter yesterday, didn't you? He's really angry today," Nirbhay snapped. "My job's on the line because of you. You'll get fired."
"Don't say that. I didn't do anything wrong," Krishna protested. "She provoked me."
Nirbhay was anxious. "What about me? My kids… don't make this worse. Go apologize, tell her you'll do whatever she asks. Do you understand?"
Krishna sighed. "Are you crazy? I won't apologize for something I didn't do. My wife will kill me — and maybe you too."
"Fine, I'll sort it out. I'm coming over. We'll talk."
They ended the call, both tense.
Meanwhile the school bus arrived and the children got on. Rishi chatted with his friends about the news from yesterday. "Did you see the report?" his friend Kenji asked.
"When did you start watching the news?" another kid teased.
"I'm not a kid who only watches cartoons," Rishi said proudly. "I'm older now."
His friends laughed. "Yeah, you're such a big, serious kid."
Then, without warning, something strange happened. As the bus rolled along, a boy suddenly fell in front of it — he seemed to appear out of nowhere, like he had come through a time hole. The driver slammed the brakes. Everyone gasped and ran to see. The boy was bleeding from his head. The driver looked stunned. "How can a person bleed like that?" he muttered.
The children crowded around, curious. One of them blurted out, "That's a human! That means those humans are real — they made us."
Rishi approached and froze. The fallen boy looked familiar in a way — big, muscular, like an older version of the adults Rishi knew. Laxmi whispered, "He looks like Dad, doesn't he?"
Rishi fumbled for words. "No, Dad's got six-pack abs. This guy looks like a college student." They both stared at the stranger.
Someone suggested taking the boy home to learn more about humans. The driver, rubbing his head, said, "I think I know him — he's the son of my friend, someone who works at a college exhibition. They were doing an experiment, trying to recreate a human. Maybe this is part of that project."
Laxmi added, "At the college they're trying to create a human. They've made the oils and materials look like blood, and they're trying to make something that moves and looks real."
People murmured and argued as they helped the injured boy. The discovery — a living, bleeding figure — confirmed something the children had only heard of in stories: humans might not be just myths after all.
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