India

State: Uttar Pradesh

City: Ghaziabad

Abhay Khand-1

In a dark alleyway, you could see 4 young boys standing intimidatingly in front of another young boy, blocking his way. He was being held tightly by the other four. The four intimidating boys looked like thugs. The thugs looked at the boy playfully and then one of them spoke, "So, have you brought the protection fee? If not, then you won't be able to go home in one piece today."

The young boy nervously nodded and pulled out two Rs 100 note from his pocket and carefully handed it to them. The four boys' eyes shone as they watched him pull out the money and then they quickly snatched the money from his hand. They looked at the young boy with satisfaction and then said, "You are quite an obedient child. Thanks for the Rs 200. You can go now and don't forget to bring our fees next month too. Otherwise, you know the consequences."

The young boy readily nodded and left that quiet alley without any hesitation. After he came out of the valley, he closed his eyes for a moment and then reopened them. This time the fear in his eyes had disappeared and hate had instead filled their place. His eyes were red and his body was shaking. His name was Saksham Nayak. He was a high school kid but not your average one. He was very intelligent and always ranked in the top 5 in the whole class. He has many friends but little enemies. Who you just saw were some random bullies from his class who had been bullying him for quite a long time. But due to being raised in a middle-class family and being always concentrated in his studies, he had developed a very quiet attitude. Whatever he felt or whatever hardships he had to go through, he didn't let even a single word out to anyone and always faced it himself. But don't take his silence as a sign of submission. What brews in that silence is only known to him.

Due to being raised in a middle-class family, his pocket money was also quite low. He only gets Rs 100 as his pocket money but he had to give Rs 200 to the bullies. So, he always saves up money anytime he could so that he could pay his 'protection fees' every month on time. But this time, due to some unforeseen reasons, he wasn't able to save enough money. So, for the first time in his entire life, he had to steal money from his mother's purse.

He knew what his family conditions were like and how hard his dad works just to let them live a comfortable life. But there he was, stealing his father's hard-earned money. His whole consciousness right now was filled with guilt and shame. He couldn't help but curse at his weak attitude and his weakness. If he was a little bit stronger, then maybe those 4 wouldn't pick up on him. Then, he wouldn't have to steal money. He had been enduring all this for a pretty long time and those 4 boys' faces had been burned deeply in his mind.

He hated those 4 people very much and if he could he would definitely wipe those four guys out of existence. But he wasn't a god or something. So, Saksham just swallowed his anger and gritted his teeth, "It'd be better if some car runs over them and they die very miserably."

He felt a little heat being emitted out of his body and suddenly felt a bit tired but he didn't care enough to understand why. So, he just started walking towards his home. He would definitely have to explain somehow about the money he had stolen from his mother's purse.

But Saksham didn't know that just now, his words had sealed the fates of those four young boys.