Within the Ashram, near the shore of the only lake that existed within, a child was digging up a trench.

The child features were plain with skin dark, hairs black and eyes brown. His height was nothing impressive either and he was clearly short for his age of 12 but perhaps he would grow taller in the future. Mayhap, it would even dissolve the chubbiness in its cheeks and roundness of his belly.

He was dressed in the robes that had once been white. Unfortunately, they no longer retained their original brightness and instead, mud-caked the clothes and the filth had turned it into a murky brown piece.

Beads of sweat dripped down the child’s face while the sweat-soaked robes clung onto his plump body as the boy laboured. His muscles protested the movement and his back told him to rest. All the while, his soft palms sported various burns and calluses from a week of hard work.

The child had a scowl etched onto his chubby face as the shovel bit into the earth once again.

“Oh, this is nice!”

The child stopped mid-strike at the sudden sound and looked up at the newcomer. The boy was light-skinned and a lot thinner than the one who had been digging. His features were sharp with big eyes and a straight nose that made him seem quite elegant.

The newcomer also wore white robes but his robes were much cleaner than the chubby one’s.

“What…” The child put down the shovel and sat down as he panted. “…do you want?”

“Nothing.” The newcomer’s eyes shined as he took in the scenery. The lake, the trees, the plants, the flowers, the birds and the very sound of life made the area seem like a small slice of heavens above. “Can I build here too?”

The chubby boy waved his hand as he struggled to breathe, agreeing with the other boy. The newcomer smiled brightly and almost skipped forward. His eyes then fell on the trench dug by the chubby boy.

“Are you building a big hut? But Guruji said not to do so.” The newcomer frowned as he tilted his head.

“I know,” the chubby boy breathed with difficulty, “now.”

“Tch.” The lighter-skinned child eyed the dark-skinned one. “How many rooms were you making?”

“Three.” The chubby boy made a face. “One for me. One for the kitchen. And one for the toilet.”

“And how many will you make now?” The newcomer’s voice contained an unhidden glee. The dark-skinned boy huffed and put out its tongue at the other boy.

The newcomer giggled. “I just want to make one room.”

“Me too.” The chubby preteen sighed. “But I want it big.”

“Tch!” The other boy clucked his tongue. “Guruji said to make small huts.”

“Well, I am making a big one!” The chubby boy snapped. “I can’t live in a small room. Back home, I had slaves waiting for me all day.”

“You are your only slave here.” The light-skinned boy rolled his eyes. “So, you better plan what you can make.”

“…I know.” The chubby boy sulked.

0.0

“Is it…” The thinner child panted as he fell on his back. “…supposed to be this difficult?”

The chubby boy scoffed. “You have worked for just two days. Stop whining!”

“But it’s so hard!” The light-skinned boy cried out in protest. “My arms hurt! My back hurts! My whole body hurts!”

“Tch.” The rounder boy continued to dig as he looked at the thinner boy shiftily. “Who was it telling me off two days ago? I can’t find him.”

The other boy sat up and glared at the one who continued to dig. “Well, I didn’t know it would be this hard!”

“Did you think it would be easy then? What nonsense.”

The thinner boy glowered. “My dad is the biggest merchant in my city!”

“And mine is the inspector.” The chubbier boy retorted.

“I had slaves doing all this work!” The other child replied hotly and the chubby boy’s mouth fell open in disbelief before he smirked.

“Oh, what was it that you said?” He cleared his throat and made his voice thinner as if mocking the other child. “You are your only slave here. So, you better plan what you can make.”

“Don’t use my words against me!” The light-skinned child snarked. “Come up with your own taunts. You copycat!”

0.0

“What are you doing?” The skinner child asked as he peered curiously as the chubby boy, who had changed the direction of his trench.

The dark-skinned child threw a shifty eye at the other boy and didn’t respond. This caused the light-skinned child to smile in in mischief. “You are making your room smaller, aren’t you?”

The dark boy grunted and threw a fistful of mud at the other boy. “Go away! Don’t you have to complete your own hut?”

The other boy giggled as he moved to dodge the mud but he wasn’t fast enough and the mud hit his robes with a spalt. “Hey!” The boy squawked in indignation.

“Go back to your own plot!” The dark-skinned boy shouted back. “How are you still digging your fist trench? You slowpoke!”

“Don’t tell me what to do!” The other boy’s indignation, from mud being thrown at it, had yet to fade. He bent down and picked up a fistful of mud himself and threw at the fat boy. “You are not my mother!”

“I am not your mother, you little kid!” The boy got splattered with the mud too and threw several fistfuls of mud back. “I am your dad!”

“You!”

“Tch. What will you do?”

What followed after was a mud fight with both the kids throwing mud and clay at each other as they laughed and threw insults. When the mud fight finally ended, the boys were left panting and utterly drenched in clay.

As a result, they spent the rest of the day washing the mud off of their clothes and by the time they were finished, they were so tired and sore that they could do nothing but end their day and fall asleep.

-X-

Within a desolate desert, inside a dilapidated shop, on a simple chair, a youth seemingly slept.

-X-