Family among strangers

'So how did you hear about Manjipoor?' our ever-smiling taxi driver asked, turning down the radio.

'Our eldest daughter's husband is from there,' Mum replied. 'We always wanted to visit but could never find any information about the country or how to get there and Kuru, our son-in-law, always insisted we wouldn't like it so never provided us with information, until a few months ago.'

Yohan nodded as he turned off onto a quieter, and significantly bumpier, dirt road.

'Manjipoor has been rather self-sufficient, independent of the rest of the world for many years, 700 in fact. We only recently reopened our borders and are making ourselves known to people. You still can't find us on a map, and we only recently acquired electricity and things like cars and canned goods, all thanks to the Queen. She wants us to be able to make a difference in the world, and we can only do that if the world knows about us.'

'She sounds like a lovely person,' Mum said.

Yohan's grin widened.

'Indeed. In fact, I'm quite sure you'll get to decide that for yourselves.'

'What do you mean?' I asked, as I leant on Mum's shoulder.

'Well, you are some of the first outsiders to visit in centuries. She'll likely want to make a good impression.'

My eyes widened in surprise. We were going to meet a queen?

'Oh no,' Mum said quickly, 'We wouldn't want to impose.'

Yohan waved an arm.

'Nonsense! She will love you and consider you family, I'm sure.' He had a strange glint in his eye, but it seemed more humorous than dangerous. Of course, it could have just been light reflecting in the rear-view mirror.

'But she's a queen,' Mum said as Dad punctuated the sentence with a snore from the front seat.

'Yes, but your son-in-law is one of our own.'

The thought warmed me so much that I felt my eyes growing heavier, though it was likely just the jetlag. The two Manjipoorians I'd met so far had been so welcoming. I had no doubt the rest would be too.

'How much further?' I asked, with a renewed eagerness to finally see Kuru's homeland, even if it was without him and Alex.

Yohan seemed to concentrate for a minute before apparently coming to a conclusion. He waved his hand, and I must have been more jetlagged than I thought because green light seemed to shimmer before him. I closed my increasingly heavy eyelids to clear my vision, but they didn't want to reopen.

'We should be there any moment,' he said.

I found myself wishing I'd tried to sleep on the plane instead of watching Lord of the Rings as I drifted off, angry that I was going to miss the first glimpses of Manjipo...

I stretched only for my arm to bump something hard. Opening my eyes, I realised I was in a car- or rather, one of Anala Mook's taxis. We were driving to Manjipoor. But the car wasn't moving, and I was alone inside.

Movement caught my eye from the front, and I almost screamed. There was an elephant. And Mum and Dad were… petting it?

I hesitantly climbed out of the car, surprised by how refreshed I felt after my powernap.

'Ah! You're awake,' Yohan said before motioning me towards the elephant. 'This is Anala,' he said smiling at it. 'Anala, meet Zoe.' The beast trumpeted and Yohan grinned. 'She's happy to meet you.'

I smiled nervously before realising something.

'Is your taxi service named after her?'

He nodded and smiled at Anala, seemingly sharing an inside joke. 'You could say she was the original taxi.'

Made sense if they only got cars recently.

'Well, we'd best get you to the house. Anala, we would appreciate it if you would kindly move.'

Surprisingly, she obeyed, and we got back in the car.

'How long did I sleep?' I asked after buckling in.

'Only a few minutes longer than me,' Mum said as we started moving again.

I turned around to look at Anala, but she was already gone. I also realised that it didn't look much later than when I'd fallen asleep. I guess it really was a powernap.

'I can't wait to eat more Manjipoorian food. Kuru always made the best dishes, it's not the same when we try to make it,' Dad said, looking at the brochure Kuru had emailed us when he sent us the tickets and invited us over. 'We should try the Jaldi Jaldi Inn.'

I rolled my eyes before turning to look out the window as we entered the stunning town.

'Dad, we're literally staying with Manjipoorians. And they're Kuru's parents. They're going to feed us if they're anything like him.'

Mum clapped her hands. 'I can't wait to mee them.' Her face fell.

'What is it?' I asked.

'When Kuru first had a meal with us, he cooked, even though we were the hosts. He said it was their custom. We need to make sure we do the same for his parents- maybe we should stop at a grocery store and buy some ingredients.'

'No!' Yohan said quickly. 'Your son-in-law would have done that because you were of a higher social standing. If you did that to his family, they would feel ridiculed, as though you didn't trust them to meet your standards.'

Mum's eyes widened.

'Just accept what they give you and don't offer to help in any way. You can tell them that the food was delicious, or your rooms were comfortable but don't directly thank them. You are family, and family doesn't need to say thank you.'

Mum nodded and Dad seemed to be taking notes.

'Thank you, Yohan,' Mum said.

'What did I just say?' he asked with a raised eyebrow and a smirk.

'That we shouldn't thank family?' Dad asked.

'Exactly. And that's what we are now. So, what could you say instead, Anitaji?'

Mum thought for a moment.

'The ride has been very pleasant, and you have been wonderful company Yohan.'

He nodded approvingly.

'You're going to fit in very nicely,' he said grinning.

'What's that?' I asked noticing a large, elaborate building a few streets away on the left.

'That is the Palace,' he said before turning the car towards it.

'We're not going there, are we?' I asked, wondering for a split second if Kuru's parents were actually the queen and king, but then I remembered what Yohan was just saying about Kuru and his social class and I couldn't see my brother-in-law keeping something like that from me.

'No, we're going…' he turned off onto a nice street just before the palace, 'Here.'

It was a beautiful stone house with a lovely little vegetable garden out the front.

Mum was basically buzzing with excitement and Dad seemed to be quickly scanning his notes and muttering to himself, probably to make sure he remembered all the customs.

We exited the car and Mum got her purse out to pay the fare.

Yohan held up his hands and shook his head.

'I was paid in advance.'

'Than-' Mum caught herself, 'We really enjoyed the ride.'

Yohan smiled and Dad and I echoed the 'thanks'.

We unloaded the car and the front door opened. A woman hurried out with her arms open, and a man followed behind.

'Anita bahan, Jim bhaiya, Zoe, it's so lovely to finally meet you!' She embraced each of us tightly and the man smiled and shook our hands.

'We're so happy we finally made it,' Mum said. 'We can't wait to get to know you Jaya bahan and Suresh bhaiya.'

Dad and I nodded our greetings. I turned to wave goodbye to Yohan, who was stealthily making his exit, and he gave a subtle nod to Jaya chachi before noticing me and waving back.

I didn't have time to think about it though because another, younger, woman and two children came out each holding flower garlands and some food.

'This is Geet, our daughter-in-law and her children Anushka and Farhan.' They each smiled at us.

Jaya chachi put a garland around each of our necks and fed us a sweet, round yellow ball.

'Welcome to our home, our family is now complete,' she said smiling. I fought the frown threatening to take over my face.

It would be if Alex and Kuru had bothered to come.

I shook the angry thoughts away. They were doing important things. They were helping people. I had no right to be so bitter about it. I just wish they could have been here, for Alex's sake. She'd never met her in-laws either.

'Come in, come in.'

As we reached the door Dad took off his shoes and left them in line with the other pairs of footwear. Mum and I followed suit. Neither of Kuru's parents said anything but Geet nodded approvingly. Thank you, Dad.

The house was filled with ornate furniture, bright colours, and delicious smells. I didn't think even the palace could be this beautiful. I certainly doubted that it would feel as homey.

'Sit, sit,' Suresh chaacha said motioning to the mattresses on the floor. In the dimmer lighting he looked a like what I suspected an older Kuru would.

At that moment another man walked in and I actually thought it was Kuru for a moment.

'Viraj, come meet Kuru's relatives,' Jaya chachi said eagerly. 'This is Anitaji, Jimji and Zoe.' She turned to us, 'This is my eldest son, Viraj.'

'It is a pleasure to meet you,' he said starting to bow before his mum gave him a look. He looked uncomfortable but his wife, Geet, came to the rescue.

'Could you please run to the market to fetch some more onions and potatoes for dinner?' she asked.

Dad perked up.

'Market? Could we come?'

'Jim,' Mum hissed, 'It would be rude to leave so soon.'

Jaya chachi just beamed, 'Nonsense! That's a wonderful idea. We shall all go. I've been meaning to buy some more candles.'

Geet was smiling to herself, but she looked at me innocently when she noticed I was watching her.

Something was going on.

The closer we got to the marketplace, the more the air bustled with life. I was surprised that most people were speaking English, but they still made it seem foreign, the way they interspersed words from other languages and even just their enthusiasm. People in Australia weren't this excited about anything but footy and The Bachelor.

The market was a burst of colour and sound. There were animals, jewellery, clothes, fruits, baked goods, buskers, I think I even spotted Anala by some pumpkin scraps, though I suppose it could have been another elephant.

'This is amazing!' Mum said, her eyes bright.

Jaya chachi nodded with a knowing smile.

'It's the queen's birthday in a few days. Everyone is getting ready to celebrate.'

A pang went through my chest. It was Alex's birthday in three days. She would have loved it here.

A silver chain with an elephant pendant caught my eye and I picked it up to have a look. I turned to show Mum but bumped into someone.

'I'm so sorr- Kuru?'

I was shocked. It must have been someone else who just looked like Kuru, maybe Viraj, but his expression said it all.

He glanced at Mum and Dad and back at me, panic taking over. Meanwhile, his parents and sister-in-law were watching with amused expressions.

'You came!'

Dad threw his arms around his son-in-law, but something told me Kuru had no idea what he was talking about. The market around us had grown strangely quiet.

'Papa?' came a small voice from behind Kuru, 'Who are these people?'

Kuru turned, revealing two young children. His gaze flicked between us and them and I finally registered what the child, it must have been the boy, said. Papa. A barrage of thoughts flew threw my mind but what I really noticed was the feeling of betrayal and confusion in my chest.

'Rajah, this, these people are… What are you doing here?' he finally asked, barely more than a whisper.

'What do you mean?' Dad asked. 'We got your email and the tickets. We just arrived…' Dad finally seemed to catch onto the strange air around us, 'You didn't invite us, did you?'

Kuru shook his head.

'Is Alex with you?' Mum asked, brows furrowed.

Kuru tensed.

'She's not with you?'

I frowned.

'What is going on Kuru? You and Alex were supposed to be in North India doing relief work but now you're here and you don't know where she is, and you seem to be a father?'

Kuru's eyes widened as he must have realised what I was insinuating.

'No, you don't understand. I can explain.'

'What's wrong Papa?' the girl asked. Kuru patted her shoulder.

'Nothing beta, I'm just surprised, that's all.' Then without warning he turned and glared at all the vendors and finally his parents.

'You're behind this, aren't you?'

No one met his gaze, but they were all grinning.

'You think this is funny? It's not! Does…' he glanced at us before facing down the crowd again, 'The queen know about this?'

'Not yet.'

Mum frowned again, with worry in her eyes. She was probably worried about upsetting the supposedly lovely queen.

'Whose idea was it?' he demanded.

I was surprised by the authority he commanded. This was nothing like the quiet boy I remembered living in our garage. Then it dawned on me.

His concern about the queen. His new-found confidence. The fact that he could afford to come to Australia. He called his son rajah which means king.

My mouth dropped.

'You're the king!'

Kuru flinched and Mum and Dad gasped.

'But what about Alex?' I said, my heart breaking, tears in my eyes.

'Please,' he said, 'If you just wait for the queen to come back from her trip everything will make sense.'

Someone caught his eye.

'Omar,' he said, pain in his eyes. 'You organised this, didn't you?'

The man seemed to have pity on Kuru because he came and gave him a hug.

'There, there, son. It's not the end of the world,' Omar said. Son, was he the queen's father?

'Yes, but they don't know that,' Kuru said gesturing to us.

'Anala!' came a loud cry and Kuru sagged with relief. 'I have had it with you! You left me halfway across the kingdom and made me walk all the way back- what's going on? Why are you all so quiet?' The voice was strangely familiar.

A woman, dressed in the most beautiful clothes rounded the corner with a frown on her surprisingly recognizable face.

'Alex?' Mum said with notes of disbelief.

The woman did a double start before looking around.

'Yohan, I thought I told you to stop playing tricks. I gave you that magic to help people not give me a heart attack.'

Yohan appeared with a grin on his face.

'It's not magic… your majesty.'

Our jaws dropped and Alex's eyes widened, darting around the marketplace.

'This is real?' she asked before focusing on Omar for confirmation.

'It was time,' he said simply.

'Mummy!' Kuru's son said running to Alex, who froze and looked back at us.

'How much do they know?' she asked Kuru, who seemed much more relaxed, almost like he was enjoying himself even.

He grinned and said, 'I think they're putting the pieces together, Princess.'

'So, your mother was the Queen of Manjipoor,' Mum said.

Alex nodded.

'And Omar there is your father,' Dad confirmed.

Another nod.

'And whenever you said you were going overseas to support rural communities with the Nefari Foundation, you were actually here, ruling a country,' I said.

'Yes.'

'And you have two children, I have two grandchildren?' Dad asked, tearing up.

'Yes.'

'And you have magic,' I said.

Another nod.

'And you found out about this all on your 16th birthday when Kuru came to bring you back here,' Mum said.

They both nodded.

'Aw honey,' Mum said, pulling her in for a hug, 'That must have been so hard for you. Why didn't you tell us?'

Alex looked away.

'I didn't want to be a princess at first. I just wanted to be ordinary Alex Wilson. I wanted to be in a band. I just wanted to make it through high school.' She laughed and looked at her husband fondly, 'Kuru had a hard time convincing me that I couldn't run from this and that I was, in fact "special".'

She looked at us.

'I'm sorry I didn't tell you. I just liked having a part of my old life to go back to every now and then and since I didn't tell you for so long, I felt like I'd missed my chance, like I should have told you straight away, or the day I became queen, or when Kuru and I got married, or when we had Nita, but I kept chickening out.'

She looked at the garden where Omar was playing with my niece and nephew.

'I'm glad he orchestrated this.' She took a deep breath, 'It feels good.'

I smiled.

'What's got you looking so happy?' Alex asked.

'This suits you,' I said. 'I don't think I want to ever go home.'

Alex grinned.

'Well, Manjipoor could use an occupational therapist, if you're up for it of course.'

'Really?' I said, beaming.

'I think we've been separated for too long. And hey,' she said, looking at Mum and Dad, 'You're both retired now. There's plenty of room in the Palace if you want to stay, even for a little while.'

Dad teared up again.

'We'd love that honey,' Mum said.

'I'd better go get the kids in bed,' Kuru said, standing up and Alex stood too.

'I'll come too,' she looked back at us, 'If you'll excuse me. I've had a long day of walking and I'm exhausted.'

We gave them both a hug and they left with Nita and James, who we now knew were named after Mum and Dad. (Apparently there was a palace cat named after me).

Omar joined us once they'd gone.

'Thank you for taking care of Alex all those years,' he said, voice thick with emotion.

Mum stopped him.

'We're family, and family doesn't need to say thank you.'

Omar smiled, and at that moment, as I stood in the land of my new family in the fading light of the most brilliant sunset I'd ever seen, I was home.