A true friend is someone who thinks you are a good egg even though he knows you are slightly cracked.

Karna's POV:

'The walk home was pretty uneventful, compared to the morning,' I mused, thinking about the girl in the forest.

Well, her acceptance surely shocked me, specifically when she did not mention my caste. I looked up when I reached my house, which was near the outskirts of the town and close to the holy river Ganga. After taking off my shoes, I walked inside, expecting to find my mother in the kitchen.

"Pranipat, Mata," I said with a small smile.

Radha Mata turned around from where she was sitting, cutting vegetables.

"Kalyan Ho, putra," she answered with a smile. I hummed, a thoughtful frown appearing on my face. Radha Ma raised an eyebrow at me, sensing that I seemed to be lost in my thoughts.

"Putra?" she questioned.

"Ji Mata?" I asked.

"You seem lost, putra. Is something the matter?" she asked.

"Not really, I just met a girl..." I trailed off, still deep in thought.

"A girl?" Radha Mata's eyebrows rose.

"Aren't you a bit too young to think about a girl, putra?" teased Adhiratha Pitashree, who had just entered the kitchen.

I blushed and stammered, "That's...n-not... what I meant..."

Radha Ma and Adiratha Pitashree chuckled at my discomfort. I smiled at them, happy for their amusement, even though it was at my expense.

"What is it that you were saying about a girl?" questioned Adiratha Pitashree.

"I met her in the forest. She was lost, and I helped her find her way home. Her mother even thanked me, and the weird thing is that the girl does not care much about the prejudice surrounding the caste system. Her mother seems weird too. She told me to tell you a name 'Aaratrika' and suggested taking the forest route. I did as she suggested, but the name...I have no idea what it means, though," I said to my parents.

Radha Ma seemed to gasp, and Pitashree seemed serious. He immediately asked, "Did you meet anyone on the way?"

"No. Why?" I asked, curious.

Ma seemed to sigh in relief and mumbled, "Bhagwan Vishnu ki kripa hai." (The Lord Vishnu has mercy.)

Pitashree looked relieved. He spoke seriously, "Putra, the woman you met, her name is Aaratrika. She is a friend of your mother and me. She was born to a Brahmin family and married into a strict Kshatriya family. Though she has liberal ideals, her family does not hold such ideals. The girl you helped must have been her daughter. Though I have no idea how she recognized you...."

Radha Ma interrupted, "She has always been good with intuition. I am not shocked she can recognize our son, even after meeting him after so many years."

"Oh..." was the only sound I could utter.

What does one say to that revelation? I had no idea about any friends of my parents, having never met them. It seems this day is full of surprises.

Author's POV:

A month has passed.

Since then, neither Advika nor Karna managed to meet each other. Advika, however, was discreetly searching for him, while Karna had almost forgotten about her. Both of their days passed without any changes.

The same routine over and over.

They had no idea of the change coming their way. The change that was already destined, the moment Advika made her first choice.

Advika's POV:

A month had passed, without much change. I was almost bored. The cooking lessons, though interesting, were not enough to keep me still or my mind from overworking.

So, I decided I needed a project. The topic of my project was to find out about Karna and his location. I needed to thank him after all. But the sad news was that I had no idea where he stayed or what he did. I had to be discreet because news traveled fast in a small place, especially where everyone knew each other at least passingly.

I sighed, and my mother looked at me amused. She said, "That is the fifth time you sighed, dear. What is the matter?"

I gave her a wide-eyed look, and she chuckled. "Okay, don't tell me. I must give you good news though; your father will be back home today."

I looked at her for a minute before my brain caught up with what she said. "Really?" I asked.

She nodded.

That's bad news. As far as I know about him, he has strict traditionalist views, and if he found out about my little project, he will have my head. Literally. I wanted to meet Karna before he came home. This would cause trouble.

"Oh, Putri, today, wear the new dress I got you. Maharaja will be arriving with his second wife, Madri, who is the princess of the kingdom of Madra. We will go see the procession," my mother suddenly said.

"A second wife?" I almost parroted.

My brain was taking time to function. Information overload. First, Pitashree returning, then the second marriage of Maharaja Pandu.

"Yes, a king usually marries more than one time, mostly to create alliances," she replied.

I did not say anything. I simply nodded and walked back to my room. Maharaja Pandu's second marriage made me remember something that I had simply forgotten. A very important task.

The entire fiasco with Karna and trying to find him had distracted me from one very important work: my memories of my past life. They were fading day by day. I couldn't even remember my previous name or my previous parents' names.

I could only remember some parts of that life. I immediately took out some parchments and a feather quill. I wrote in English whatever I still remembered from Mahabharata. Thank goodness for another language. I had managed to relearn the language before it faded from my memories, thankfully. Now no one could read what I wrote unless they knew English, but the chance was negligible.

I looked at the list I made:

Draupadi's swayamvar.Indraprasth.Cheer Haran.Vanvas.Kurushetra war.

These were the only things I could remember clearly. There were some more, but I didn't recall them clearly.

I rolled up the scroll immediately and hid it. I could hear a pair of anklets coming near the bedroom door. My mother must be coming.

As I straightened, I heard her voice, "Putri, we will be going to see the procession soon. Come fast."

I replied, "Ji Mata." I heard the anklet noise die down as she left. Thankfully, she did not open the door. I started to get ready fast, wearing a beautiful yellow dress with a white dupatta.

Mother had an amazing choice. I twirled in front of the mirror before running down the stairs. Mother was standing there with a smile on her face. She held my hand and started leading me towards the procession. I followed her.

There was a huge crowd, and the Chariot of Maharaja was at the very front. I wanted to go to the front, so I tugged at my mother's hand. She looked down at me.

I asked, "Can I go to the front, Mata?"

She smiled and replied, "You can, putri. But please be careful. Return home soon; I will go home now. There are some preparations still left for your Pitashree's welcome. Your Pitashree will be home after so many days. He won't be happy if you are not there."

"Ji Mata," I replied. She had let me roam around alone after the Karna fiasco. I slipped between so many people easily. My five-year-old body was small enough to go almost unnoticed.

I easily came near the front, although I had no idea why I wanted to be there in the first place. I felt excited, oddly. But I failed to notice the slightly older boy who was coming from the front.

In my excited mood, I did not notice him coming my way. He and I collided into each other. Thankfully, neither of us fell.

I looked up, only to be looking at my project. Oops! I mean Karna.

He was looking wide-eyed at me, and I am sure I was mirroring his look.

He came out of his stupor and looked around slightly. Then, he immediately went to move out of the way.

I whispered so only he could hear me, "Wait..."

He stopped as he passed me, but did not turn. I again said, "Please meet me in the forest near the temple, like last time, before evening. I need to speak to you."

He stiffened a bit but turned slowly. He looked at me for a moment and then gave a slight dip of his head and turned, disappearing within the crowd. I probably noticed his gesture because I was looking for it. Otherwise, I would not have noticed.

I sighed in relief. I immediately looked around, hoping no one noticed us. No one did. They were all busy showering flowers on Maharaja Pandu and Rani Madri.

I left the stifling crowd. I was no longer interested in watching the procession.

I slipped between people and sneakily entered the forest margin, going a bit inside but still staying near the tree line.

I found Karna waiting. He stood straight when he saw me.

I smiled at him, and he returned the smile. I said, "Thank you for meeting me here. I did not thank you previously when you showed me home. So, Dhanyavad (Thank you)."

"Koi baat nahi, devi (It is alright, my lady). I must apologize though. I could not talk in the morning properly. That was rude of me," he replied.

I waved off his apology. I said, "I understand. If the people present there found out, they won't be kind."

"Indeed, devi," he said with a grimace.

"I have another thing to say... I hope you won't mind," I said nervously.

How do you ask someone to be your friend in Dwapar Yug? I have no idea.

He nodded, looking curious, and I shifted from one foot to another anxiously.

"Do you mind being my friend?" I blurted out.

There, I said it.

I looked up at him during the silence. He was staring at me, and I opened my mouth to say something when he spoke, "Why?"

Why? What did that suppose to mean?

"There is no specific reason. I just wanted a friend. You seemed like an intelligent person. So..." I trailed off.

He looked at me for a few moments and then replied, "Okay."

"Okay?" I questioned.

"Okay," he affirmed.

A silence fell.

He spoke again, "I hope you know we can't meet together like other friends in the public eye?"

He almost seemed downtrodden, as if I would take back the friendship I had just offered.

I nodded in response. "That's why I thought we could use the forest. We can meet here without anyone knowing."

He looked thoughtful before nodding, a hesitant smile on his lips. I smiled back, before noticing the setting sun.

"I should head home now. Meet you here tomorrow morning?" I asked, still hesitant.

He nodded, and I slowly walked towards the tree line. I turned back to look, and he was still looking at me.

I smiled before calling out to him, "Call me Advika; you can't exactly call your friend 'devi,' can you?"

He chuckled and replied, "My name is Karna."

I nodded before running home. I had made a friend today, and I planned to cherish the friendship. A smile played on my lips for the rest of the day.