Ruhan

Warsaw didn't know her name, and that was the best part.

Here, Meher was no longer Meher Rathore, no longer a shadow behind a royal name. She was Maya Malik, a single mother, a successful writer, and a woman who no longer flinched at silence.

Her small rented apartment on the fourth floor had everything she needed: sunlight, bookshelves, a desk by the window, and the soft sound of her son's laughter echoing through the rooms.

It was a home she built herself.

She worked as a journalist and blog writer for a European platform-her articles were sharp, honest, and powerful. She wrote about politics, people, and pain with the kind of clarity only someone who had lived through it could offer. And the company paid her well.

So well that she was already looking at listings to buy a house.

But no matter how far she had come, the center of her universe was one small, stubborn, brilliant boy.

---

"Mom!" Ruhan yelled from the study. "Do you know Komodo dragons can eat a whole goat?"

Meher looked up from her laptop. "Ew. That's disgusting."

"That's awesome," he corrected, flipping a page in his animal encyclopedia. "They bite, then they wait for the goat to fall. Drama!"

She shook her head, smiling.

He was four. Spoke only English with a perfect foreign accent. Knew space facts like a baby Neil Armstrong. Wrote short stories in his notebook and corrected her spellings sometimes.

But what made Ruhan truly special wasn't just his brain-it was his heart.

He noticed her moods, her silences, her strength.

Once, when she burned her hand while ironing, he held her palm in both his tiny hands and said softly, "You're too brave to get hurt, Mom. Please don't cry."

From that day on, she didn't.

She carried all her wounds quietly now-because Ruhan couldn't bear to see her fall apart.

---

The bell rang at 6 PM sharp.

Ruhan's eyes lit up. "It's war time!"

He jumped from the couch and grabbed his toy blaster.

"INTRUDER ALERT!" he shouted.

"It's me, General Cookie Commander!" Ayaan's voice rang out.

Ruhan dove behind the sofa. "State your mission!"

"To deliver snacks and spoil you rotten."

"Password!"

"Ruhan-the-Rocket is the smartest boy in Poland."

"...Correct," Ruhan said proudly, popping up. "You may enter."

The door opened and Ayaan stepped in, holding a paper bag in one hand and a tub of ice cream in the other.

"You brought chocolate chip?" Ruhan gasped.

"Obviously. I wouldn't dare show up without it."

"You may now sit on the royal throne," Ruhan announced, dragging a kitchen chair dramatically. "But no speaking unless spoken to."

Ayaan bowed. "Yes, my lord. Shall I also do your homework and taxes?"

"I'm four. I don't pay taxes."

"Well, someone's been dodging responsibility," Ayaan muttered as he flopped onto the chair.

From the kitchen, Meher laughed. "You two need your own show."

"You just wish you were as cool as us," Ruhan shouted.

"I'm the one who lets you both live," she replied.

"Details, details," Ayaan said, waving a hand.

This was their evening ritual. Ruhan and Ayaan-more like co-hosts of a comedy act than uncle and nephew. Ayaan never missed a day. He never asked questions about the past. He simply came. Helped. Stayed.

Later that night, after dinner and giggles, and brushing Ruhan's teeth together in the most chaotic way possible, Meher stood on the balcony with a cup of tea.

The city lights sparkled in the dark like quiet stars.

Inside, Ruhan sat cross-legged on the carpet drawing a robot with wings. Ayaan helped color the background-badly.

"Why is your sky green?" Ruhan asked, horrified.

"I'm an artist, not a rule-follower."

"It's a crime," Ruhan said seriously.

Meher smiled, listening to them.

Her life had changed.

She had money in the bank, articles with her name on them, a child who loved her more than the world, and a friend who showed up every day just to make her laugh.

She wasn't running anymore.

She was standing still.

Rooted.

Safe.

After Ayaan left, she tucked Ruhan in.

"Mom?"

"Yes?"

"When we get our own house... can I have a telescope?"

"We'll get the biggest one."

He smiled, pulling the blanket closer. Ruhan's eyes- The clone part of meher's eyes.

But.

The rest of him was Veer.