This chapter focuses on Vikram's side of the family.

Bua - father's sister

Mama - sister's brother

-ji - a sufix added to a name to denote respect, often for elders

Pitaa - Father

If you've known Hindi and I've done something wrong, please feel free to shoot me a pm about it! Google can only take me so far.

Thanks to Amerlia Cahill for finding an error and correcting it!

Ian was five years old, approximately. A few months added here and there, perhaps, nothing too specific. He was the youngest at the gathering, save his sister. He didn't know where she was right now, probably sleeping, so he didn't count her. She was annoying, anyway, always having nightmares and coming into his room for comfort.

He sat on a stool, swinging his legs back and forth to an imaginary rhythm. His older cousins, Ekram and Indira, were watching over him. Making sure he didn't do something stupid (he argued that he was not stupid, he scored very highly on his last exam, thank-you-very-much). Ian didn't understand why Ekram and Indira always had to watch over them, his father was much older than their mother. So what if they were fifteen? It's not that big of a deal...

Indira walked over to him, a warm smile on her face. It reminded Ian of her mother, his bua. She was a warm, motherly woman. "Raja," she said softly. Ian eased at the use of his second name. They never called him by his first name - his father's family - but that was fine. He liked Raja quite a bit. "Why don't you and I go to the living room, huh?" He reached out to grab around her neck, so she could carry him.

Ekram, who was mixing some kind of batter over by the oven, chuckled. "Oh, c'mon, he's gonna learn someday."

"Yes, well," Indira whispered, despite the fact that Ian's head was just below hers, "he doesn't have to learn it at five!"

The older boy clucked his tongue.

"I don't think Mamaji would be very happy to have you cooking that in his kitchen."

Ian rested his head on Indira's shoulder, his vision suddenly obscured by her dark hair. He reached a hand up and placed it on her collar, where her shirt came down to expose a small bit of skin. Hers was darker than his, but only by a little. Indira shouted one last thing at her twin brother before stomping out of the room with Ian. The older boy grinned, his brown eyes sparkling with mischief.

Indira took Ian into the living room, where multiple cousins were lounging around. Some had children clinging to their legs, others were free of such burdens. Indira carried him over to their distant aunt Mitra, whose belly seemed to be swelling again.

They spoke in a dialect of Hindi that Ian didn't quite understand, he was only able to grasp a few simple words. They seemed to be speaking of some kind of baby, probably the reason for Mitra's swelling. He heard his sister's name in there somewhere - her second name, not her first - but he couldn't figure the context. Maybe it wasn't even Hindi.

Another cousin, Ian decided it was Sanjay, came over to say hi. He joined the conversation, further frustrating Ian by the fact that he couldn't understand the conversation. He decided to ignore it, deciding to find his father. He tried to wiggle his way out of Indira's grasp, but she held tight. "I want Pitaa," he said.

"He's busy," She whispered. "Please, Raja, hold still, Mamaji is busy. You'll see him later, I promise."

He stopped wiggling, though now insisted on seeing his mother. He was assured that Isabel was visiting friends in North America, she wasn't even in the house. Ian gave up, going back to clinging to his cousin. She was rather impressive, holding him for so long.

Ian must've dozed off, because Ekram had called Indira back to the kitchen once his concoction was complete. She wrinkled her nose at it. Ian lit up, it looked just like the brownies his mother's friend made for him.

Ekram cut out a square and waved it in front of Ian's face, asking if he wanted some.

Indira jerked him back, almost yelling, "You cannot give him those! He's five!" Ekram just rolled his eyes, placing the brownie on the counter as he assured his sister that he knew better than to give his younger cousin whatever-it-was. Ian had stopped listening.

He wiggled once more, actually managing to be released from Indira's grip. Probably a combination of being tired and being occupied by yelling at her brother. He looked towards them, making sure that neither of them were paying attention to him. He reached up towards the counter, feeling for the single piece. He grasped it in his hand, bringing it down to eye level.

He raised it to his mouth right as Ekram noticed him. "Raja, no, no!" He cried out.

But Ian had eaten it.