The world returned slowly, like the tide creeping in after a long withdrawal.
Beeping. A soft, rhythmic beeping.
Then the sterile scent of antiseptic. A scratchy sheet beneath her fingers. White light filtering through the hospital blinds.
Chaya stirred, her limbs heavy, as though weighed down by centuries. Her lips were parched. Her throat, dry as the desert air she still remembered vividly.
Was she… back?
"She's awake!" someone exclaimed.
A blur of motion. Familiar eyes. It was Anika—her fellow research colleague from the Cairo team—leaning over her, relief flooding her face.
"Oh my god, Chaya. You scared us all. Don't move too much—you're in the hospital."
Chaya blinked slowly, her voice a rasp. "What… happened?"
Anika took her hand. "There was a massive sandstorm two days ago. You'd gone off alone to survey a nearby site, and before anyone could stop you, it rolled in—like a wall. The storm lasted for hours. The local team couldn't get to you until the next morning."
Chaya's heart thudded.
"I was… there. In the temple. The palace… Thutmose…" Her voice cracked. "It felt real."
Anika gave her a gentle, confused look. "You were unconscious when they found you, buried under a collapsed dune. They think you hit your head. You've been out for over thirty-six hours. The doctors said it might cause disorientation or even vivid dreams."
Dreams?
Chaya frowned. Her mind still clung to the memory—the weight of the Pharaoh's gaze, the smell of incense, the soft rush of silk robes. It had felt too real.
"Anika, I swear I—"
But the door flew open, slamming against the wall.
In stormed Rajendra, his tie askew and eyes blazing. Right behind him came Arvind, face pale but composed, followed by Vijay, whose jaw was clenched so tight it could cut glass, and Suresh, the youngest, his worry written plain on his face.
"CHAYA!" Rajendra's voice boomed.
"Oh god…" she whispered, suddenly more afraid of her brothers than the storm.
"What in the world were you thinking?!" Arvind shot at her, striding to her bedside. "Running off alone into the desert?! Are you out of your mind?!"
"You could've died," Vijay muttered, trying (and failing) to sound calm.
"We were halfway across the world when we got the call," Suresh added, eyes glistening. "Do you have any idea what that was like?"
She blinked at them, her throat tightening. They all looked exhausted. Their suits were wrinkled, eyes red from worry and sleepless flights. Rajendra's hand was clenched in a fist on the bed rail.
"I'm sorry," Chaya said quietly. "I didn't know the storm was coming…"
"You shouldn't have gone off alone, dream or no dream," Rajendra snapped.
She flinched.
But then his face softened. His hand unclenched.
"We're just glad you're alive," he said hoarsely.
There was a beat of silence before Arvind sat beside her and reached for her hand. "You gave us the worst scare of our lives."
She let out a breath, unsure whether she wanted to cry or laugh. "I… I saw things. I was there. I think I time-traveled. Or dreamed I did. I met someone…"
Her brothers exchanged wary glances, but none of them interrupted. Not yet.
Anika quietly stepped out, giving the family space.
"I know it sounds crazy," Chaya murmured, "but it wasn't just a dream. It meant something. I can't explain how, but I… I felt it."
"You've always believed in magic and myths more than most," Vijay said, arms crossed.
"Maybe this is your brain's way of processing something," Suresh offered gently. "Maybe it's… more."
Chaya stared at the white ceiling.
Was it a hallucination?
Or had she truly touched another world, just for a moment?
All she knew was this—something inside her had shifted. A connection had been formed, across centuries and sands.
And she wasn't done chasing it.
Not yet.