“This is your new classroom.” A man wearing a traditional Indian white dhoti and white kurta pointed at a room. The man was already in his sixties, but he had the looks and posture of a man in his thirties, the result of the strict body-building regime he went through in his teens. With still glowing skin despite age, neatly combed white and black hair, and straight back, he could still draw attention from people. But none did. The reason being, even though the man and his wife were earning enough money to wear good cloths, he was wearing a pair of cheap sandals and his clothes were patched in many places, evident that he had been wearing the same cloth for many years. He nudged the little boy beside him and asked, “Do you understand, Roy?”

“Yes baba, I understand.” Roy answered. Then he walked inside the classroom designated for 1st standard and chose a seat at the front row. Of course, he didn't like sitting at the front row. But his parents wanted him to and threatened to beat him if he didn't sit at the front row.

* * * * *

Days went by and soon it was time for final yearly exam. Roy did quite well in the exam. Maybe not perfect, but he had answered most of the questions flawlessly. After all, he had a good head on his shoulder. After two weeks, it was time for the result. As expected, Roy did quite well and ranked second only by a difference of 3 marks. He went home in high spirits while clutching his grade card, proud of what he had achieved.

But all of his pride snuffed out when he handed his grade card to his parents and disappointment cloud their faces. His mother spoke first, “You ranked second? You think we work all day and make sure you have enough time to study for this? Look at our neighbor’s kid. He ranked first in his school. What are we going to tell the people when our neighbors brag to everyone that their kid ranked first? We are going to be the laughing stock of the whole neighborhood.”

Roy was confused. Why people would laugh at him? So he asked, “Why would they do that? They didn't help me to study, why would they care about my grades?”

Roy's father was angry, “Of course they would care. You are my son. Your grade must be on top of everyone. When I was at your age, I supported my family with the tailor shop during day and studied under the road light during night. If you have any shame, then study harder rather than going out to play every afternoon.”

“But I love to play. I study in the morning, in the noon and even in the night. Why can't I play in the afternoon?” Roy complained. He didn't care much about ranking first or second. What difference does it make anyway?

“This is not a discussion. From now on, you are to play for one hour in the afternoon of every alternate day. That much play time is enough.” His parents stated with a stern voice. Roy didn't dare talk back since he knew he would be beaten if he didn't agree. They turned around to leave indicating the discussion was over. His mother grumbled, “Ranked second. How are we going to live down the shame?”

* * * * *

Years went by and now Roy was in 5th standard. One fine afternoon, he was playing soccer with his friends in a nearby playing field. A man was watching the game from a corner of the field with rapt attention. The game ended and Roy's team won by 3-1, two of those goals scored by Roy.

The man watching the game clapped and whistled loudly. “Well played kid. Where do you take coaching classes?” Asked the man as he approached Roy and knelt down in front of him.

“What's a coaching class?” Roy asked while tilting his head, not understanding the question. He never heard of this coaching thing.

“Who taught you that move you were using very frequently during the whole match?” inquired the man.

“You mean the move where I fake going to one side, but I actually go to the opposite side?” Roy asked with giddiness in his voice.

“Yes that one.” the man confirmed.

“No one taught me. I was watching a football match on TV some time ago in school and I saw a player do that. I liked that move and it seemed pretty easy to do, so I started practicing whenever I played.” Roy puffed out his chest in pride and explained.

“You taught yourself how to do a football move after watching it on TV?” the man asked incredulously. Was this kid serious?

“Yes.” Roy was practically shining.

The man was intrigued. “Alright kid. I am gonna show you a move. I want you to see it closely and try to do it.” He took off his coat and got ready with the ball.

Roy watched his feet attentively. The man performed an elastico move once and asked, “Did you get it?”

Roy shook his head in denial and sat in a different angle, “No. Do it one more time.”

It took two more demonstration while Roy watched the move from two more different angles before he got it. He took the ball and tried to do the elastico, but failed miserably. He stared at his feet for a few moments and tried some shadow movements. The man was shocked to see that Roy is already having an idea on how to do it.

'This boy is something. He understood how to do that move only by seeing me do it. Sure, he lacks the proper training necessary to actually do it, but this level of observation and comprehension skill is not something you expect from a 10-odd year old kid. If trained properly, this boy could become a star player in the future.' a look of determination flashed across the man's face.

Roy tried to do the move for some time before the man stopped him. “That's enough kid. Let's go home.”

“Just give me a moment, I think I almost got this.” Roy didn't even look at the man before answering. The man chuckled and snatched the ball away from him, “Don't overdo it kid. You don't have to do it today. Keep practicing and you will eventually be able to do it. Now let's go to your home. I have some things to discuss with your parents.”

The walk back home was a mere 5 minutes’ walk. Roy called for his parents and told them that the man wanted to discuss something.

Roy's father, Bipu came out and asked the man. “You wanted to see me?”

“Yes sir. I am Riju, president of the local youth club and a football coach.” The man politely introduced himself.

“Oh, a vagabond. So what's this about?” Bipu asked condescendingly. To him, if one didn't work a government job, then they were trash.

Riju frowned at the blatant insult thrown at him so openly but kept his calm and started explaining, “Your son has an excellent observation and comprehension skill. I believe he will have a great career in soccer if he starts training as soon...”

“No.” Bipu rudely cut him off in the middle of his explanation. The man stopped explaining and asked, “beg your pardon?”

“He won't be becoming any soccer player, or cricketer, or any of those hillbillies. They neither earn any money nor respect. I won't accept that for my family.” Bipu spoke with such conviction that Riju thought for a second that he was hearing things. A good player who don't earn money and respect? Doesn't this man see any news? Is this man just pretending or does he actually believe what he just said?

“If you just open any newspaper sir, I'm sure you will see that sports players are highly respected and are very well paid.” Riju tried to convince Bipu. It was not every day you come across a highly talented youth.

“You want me to believe that a soccer player is more respected and paid than a government employee? Listen boy, go and try to scam someone else, not me. I know everything you unemployed scums cook up to deceive good people like us. My son will become something which is fitting for my family. He will become a respected IAS officer.” Bipu seemed pleased with his decision. “Instead of trying to scam people, go and try to get a respectable government job. I know how this will go if I agree with you. Now you are saying he needs to train. You will later ask for money with the pretense of training material and things. And then you will deny ever taking money from us and will go scamming some other people. You better leave while you still can or else I will call the police.”

Riju clenched his jaw trying to suppress his anger. This man had a very narrow view about the world and a god sent gift of openly insulting people, “I daresay players are more respected and paid than any government employee.” He took a deep breath and calmed down. “But it's your decision I guess. Thank you for your time.”

“Baba, couldn't I just join the club and practice?” pleaded Roy.

“Roy, you are still a kid. We are adults and we have more life experience than you.” Bipu said it in a matter-of-fact tone, “You don't know what you want to do with your life. We know what you want to do with your life.” Riju did a double take hearing the man talk. He couldn't believe that the man just said that they know what the boy wants to do. “You don't want to play and waste your time, you want to study more. Now go inside and clean up. Those books aren't gonna read themselves.” Bipu concluded sternly and made it clear that he won't budge from his decision.

“Yes baba.” Roy hung his head and headed inside.

“Is there anything else?” Bipu's tone told Riju that he should excuse himself immediately.

“No sir. I will take my leave.” Riju nodded and left while muttering. 'Damn man. Another talent got trampled because of typical Indian parenting attitude. Only thing they know is engineer, doctor or government job. Nothing else. I feel sorry for you kid. You are going to have a very, very tough future with parents like that. Stay strong and I wish you best of luck.'

Roy became depressed after this incident and stopped going out to play in the afternoon. His parents were overjoyed that he stopped wasting his time playing. They didn't notice his depression and that he even sometimes showed suicidal tendencies. After all, they only cared about his grade card, like most other typical Indian parents.

* * * * *

A year went by and Roy finally got over his depression. He didn't return to playing soccer though. Rather he picked up a new sport, badminton. His parents weren't at all happy that he again started wasting his time playing. They conveyed the same to him. They also got other relatives and neighbors to tell him that he should study more instead of playing. Roy stubbornly ignored them, even when his parents threatened to beat him. Somewhere in the back of his mind he already concluded that if he would get beaten for everything he loves to do, then why not just do it? At least that way he will be able to what he loves to do for a time.

Some months went by and the same pattern repeated itself. A badminton trainer took interest in the play style of Roy and tested him by challenging him to a one-on-one match. Satisfied with Roy's comprehension ability, he asked Roy if he could talk with his parents. But this time Roy clearly told the man that his parents would not approve and he better try his luck elsewhere. The man was persistent, but after Roy explained what happened last time, he gave up.

And this is how Roy grew up. His every life decision taken by his parents. His every step watched by his parents. Wherever he went, whatever he did, there were people assigned by his parents who would relay everything back. If there weren't such people available, his parents would repeatedly visit or call up his friends to check up on him. As a result, his friends started to avoid him. Parents of his friends forbade him from coming to their house because Roy's parents will call them repeatedly and quite rudely tell them that they are wasting Roy's time to study.

In the end, he was supposed to become another victim of irresponsible parenting, but fate had other plans for him.

* * * * *

One fine morning, Roy woke up after the familiar alarm tone went off and an unfamiliar ceiling greeted him. He panicked for a bit upon seeing the unfamiliar room and hastily sat up on the single bed he was sleeping on. He was going to jump out of the bed and scream in fright, but fortunately for him, he remembered what was happening.

Yesterday he came to this city which was quite far away from his village. He got admitted to the college here and moved into a public hostel. And he bitterly also remembered that the owner of this public hostel was an acquaintance of his father. His father told the owner to update him every week on Roy's activities.

'Even when I am away from my home, my family finds a way to make my life hard.' Roy thought bitterly. After that, he got off the bed, brushed his teeth, and got ready for college.

His whole day was uneventful and he came back early from college since there were no classes scheduled yet. He thought of going to some nearby super market with his roommates and get some things he will need in the future. But surprisingly, none of his roommates were in the room even though they said they weren't going to college today.

He messaged them asking where they were. They responded by saying they were in their neighbor’s house. Then they again messaged that the neighbor wants to meet him.

Roy hesitated a bit. Should he go and meet the neighbor? Because if he did, this was definitely going to be reported to his parents and the same pattern of his parents harassing their neighbors will occur. Thinking it over a bit, he decided not to drag his neighbor to his parent’s attention. He messaged them that he is not going because he is tired and that he will meet their neighbor later.

Roy lied down on his bed and tried to relax, however, he got a message saying that the neighbor knows that he is lying and insists that he comes over. He again got a message that his neighbor says he will be able to handle if his parents complain. Roy sighed and decided to meet his neighbor since he was insisting on it so much. At this moment, little did he know that his decision of meeting his neighbor will change his life forever.

He went up to the house and rang the doorbell. One of his roommates opened the door and guided him to a room on the 1st floor. A man in his forties was sitting on the sofa and stood up when Roy entered the room.

“So you are the newcomer, yes? I am Frank. You can call me Uncle Frank.” The man introduced himself in a polite manner and extended his arm for a handshake.

“Yes sir. I just moved in yesterday. I am Kaushik Roy. You can call me Roy.” Roy took his hand and shook it firmly.

“Are you really 18 years old? You look older than 18.” Inquired Frank in a jolly tone.

“I have been asked that same question many times sir.” Roy answered with a smile.

“Hope you can forgive my rudeness then. Come on, take a seat. Do you prefer tea or coffee?” Frank motioned him towards an empty chair. “Rani, come to the living room for a minute.” A girl around his age came into the room wearing a track suit.

“Roy, please meet Rani. She is my live in maid. Rani, this is Roy. He started living in the public hostel next to us.” Frank introduced the two of them. Roy smiled and nodded towards her showing that he acknowledged her. She also smiled and nodded back.

“Could you make Roy here a cup of tea?” Frank asked. “Without milk, less sugar please.” Roy quickly added. 'Huh? Did I mention I prefer tea? I don't remember.' Roy suddenly noticed. 'Oh well. Maybe I did.'

“Of course. Give me five minutes.” Rani smiled and went into the kitchen.

“So, tell me about yourself, Roy. Just a brief introduction will do.” Frank eased into the Sofa he was sitting and initiated a conversation. They continued to chat and laugh until evening. All in all, Roy had a good time.

Soon it was night and it was time for dinner. Frank told Roy before he bid all of them good night, “You have a brilliant mind Roy. Make sure you come back tomorrow. I have several books and tools here which I think you will find interesting.” Roy nodded and left.

Next day, Roy went to Frank's home as soon as he came back from college. Frank had a large collection of books. Roy particularly liked the story books. He also liked the large collection of computer games Frank had.

Two years had passed. Roy had made sure to come to Frank's house every evening in these two years. Frank was a very caring person and Roy took his lessons to the heart. He became more confident in himself. Roy never noticed it but Frank was steadily breaking him out of the mental barrier his parents instilled in him.

On one such fine evening, he got a call from his mother that his father got involved in an accident and currently in hospital with a serious head injury. He immediately informed Frank about the situation and set out.

On the way to the hospital, Roy felt that there was something wrong with himself. Like something he should do but forgot to do. But he couldn't quite put his finger on it no matter how much he racked his brain. So, he decided to think about it later.

On reaching the hospital, he found out that his father didn't make it. He was coming back from grocery shopping on his bicycle and slipped while turning a corner. He hit his head on the road very hard. By the time, people got him to the hospital, he was in critical condition due to severe internal hemorrhaging in his head. Doctors tried everything they could, but it was not enough.

Roy's mother was crying her eyes out while holding onto him, but there wasn't a drop of tear in his eyes. As if he was unable to feel sadness. People around him thought he was holding himself together for the sake of his mother and didn't question why he wasn't crying. Of course, Roy didn't notice that he wasn't crying. He was busy taking care of his mother and the paperwork.

He became aware of this fact when he was alone in his house next day. And this fact worried him greatly. It was his own dad for goodness sake. He should at least feel sad, right?

He returned to the city after a week after taking care of all the legal issues. But instead of going to the hostel first, he went to Frank's house. Frank was quite surprised to see him with his luggage, but didn't ask any question. He got Roy settled in and got Rani to make them some tea. Then he patiently waited for Roy to speak.

“Uncle, am I a psychopath?” Roy looked at Frank after some time and asked very seriously.

“Perhaps.” Frank calmly answered him. Roy even cracked a small smile at the concealed joke from an overused meme. “Tell me what happened.”

He recounted everything. His lack of panic, lack of tear, lack of sorrow. He spoke with great worry in his voice. However, he failed to notice the glint in Frank's eyes. Roy finished his explanations and was quite surprised to see Frank smiling.

“You know Roy, I remember the first day we met very clearly. You were ignorant on a lot of the things in life, but you also had something none of your peers had. Believe me when I say this, you have a mental fortitude much stronger than anyone, and trust me I have met numerous kind of people in my life. Adding to that, you have a comprehension ability most would be envious of. You have understood SOMETHING. What you described to me, is your logical side fighting off your emotions using that SOMETHING. As for what is the reasoning, I have an inkling. But I think it would be better if you figure that out yourself.” Frank explained while smiling, the glint in his eyes never fading.

“Yeah I guess you are right. My parents never allowed me hang out with my friends much, so that left me with a lot of time to myself.” Roy sighed solemnly, “I had to listen to their insults, bear with their beating, so yeah, I guess I have a lot of mental fortitude. Maybe someday I will figure out my reasoning. Thanks Uncle Frank. That helped a lot.” Roy got up from the couch and left.

Frank watched him leave and muttered to himself, “Better figure it out fast Roy, you're the only candidate I could find after all these years.”

“Candidate for what? Are we going to some competition?” Rani just entered the room and heard Frank speak. But she couldn't remember any competition.

“It's not a competition Rani. It's responsibility.” Frank sank into the sofa and smiled at Rani, who could only tilt her head in confusion.

Again two years have passed and only a month is left before Roy graduates. He came back from college after the last exam ended and as usual, went to Frank's home. There he had found someone he didn't expect to see.

“Hey Rani, fancy seeing you here. Did something happen? Is everything OK?” Roy asked with concern in his voice. Rani had gotten married just last month and retired from Frank's maid duty. From what he was told by Frank, she returned from her honeymoon only last week. Unless it was something grave, she shouldn't have visited Frank this fast.

“He didn't tell you?” Rani was surprised. “Judging by how close you two are, I thought you'd know.”

“Who didn't tell me wha” Roy stopped in mid-sentence when he spotted Frank with a suitcase. “You're going on a vacation uncle?” Roy asked with a frown.

“I should take my leave. Stay safe Sir Frank. Thank you for all those years you have taken care of me.” She bowed towards Frank and left.

“Ok what am I missing? Can somebody please tell me what's going on?” Roy was seriously agitated.

“I am leaving.” Frank stated it as a matter of fact-ly.

“Why didn't you tell me that? And what's the problem with you going on a vacation?” Roy was still agitated.

“I am not going on a vacation Roy. I am leaving. As in, without the intent of coming back.” Frank stated with a smile.

“Wha-what do you mean you're leaving?” Roy was very, very shocked. “Why didn't you tell me?” He looked like a child whose parents didn't get him any candy. He pouted and flailed his hands in a comical manner. Frank was having a hard time suppressing his laugh looking at how Roy was acting.

“I had my reasons. But are you not gonna cry?” Frank asked inquisitively.

“What? No, I am not gonna cry. I mean, I am a bit stumped, but I don't really feel like crying.” Roy sighed, “I don't know what I am feeling right now.” Roy massaged his eyes, “It's just like that time when my father died. I was just... oh.” Roy suddenly had a face like he just figured out the truth about the universe.

“What?” Frank was smiling widely now.

“You remember uncle, you once asked me why I didn't cry after my father died? I think I just figured out why.” Roy sighed.

“Oh yeah? Do tell.” Frank opened his suitcase and started searching for something.

“I didn't cry, because I understood, that no one we meet, or nothing we own, will last forever. I inherently understood that my father will die someday, and so when he did, I just, sort of, accepted it? That's why I didn't panic, or cry or felt sad. Sorry, I can't really explain it very well.” Roy explained while looking down.

He jerked up when Frank started clapping. “I knew you would figure it out. Here take this.” He gave Roy a laptop which he took out from his suitcase. “I made it myself. Take good care of it. On your 30th birthday, you will receive something from me. At that moment, you will have a choice whether or not you want that something. Do you understand?” Frank advised Roy very seriously, to which Roy nodded.

“No. I don't really get what you're talking about, but if you are gifting me a laptop, who am I to refuse it?”, Roy grabbed the laptop, “Where are you going?” he asked.

“I don't know yet. Maybe to some far away island, or maybe in the mountains. I will decide that later. Goodbye Roy. I am glad that I met you.” Frank gave Roy a bear hug.

“Me too uncle. I am glad that I met you.” Roy returned the hug. He helped Frank with the suitcase while Frank locked the house. He took a cab heading to the station. Roy kept waving at the cab until it took a turn and went out of sight.

Roy stood still in front of Frank's house in a daze, forgetting that he was still waving goodbye and tightly holding onto the laptop Frank gave him. After a while, he sighed and decided to head for his room to check out the laptop.

The laptop had the latest version of Windows operating system. But it had some unknown configurations. Which was understandable considering Frank said he himself made it. Probably the windows couldn't read the configuration since it was not standard hardware. Roy didn't think much of it. But now he was in a dilemma. He couldn't know whether the laptop was good or bad since he couldn't compare it to anything. On a whim, Roy decided to install a video game which came out last month. To his surprise, the laptop ran the game in highest possible settings without any lag and heating issue. He became overjoyed and spent rest of the evening and the weekend playing the game, installing more games and downloading even more games.

Soon, Roy graduated and found a job in an IT company as a software developer. At first he was excited, but after some time he became bored. He liked coding, but soon it became a chore. He became like one of those many Indian IT industry worker, who goes to work in the morning and comes back late for little pay at the end of the month. And even though Roy didn't like to do the same boring job for the rest of his life, he had to do it since he had no other income source.

The only thing that could cheer him up was the laptop given to him by Frank. Roy later bought a large screen TV and plugged it to his laptop. Every day, he played games on the large screen after coming back from work. The best part was that the laptop was able to run even the most memory hungry games on such a large screen without any problems. Roy sometimes wondered just what in the world did Frank put inside the laptop to make it this much powerful. But he didn't dare open the laptop since he wasn't knowledgeable about laptop hardware and he could damage it by doing so.

2 years went by and tragedy hit Roy again. His mother had fallen victim to cerebral stroke during sleep one night. In the morning, Roy immediately called for ambulance when he noticed that his mother wasn't waking up after being shaken. But it was too late for her. She was declared dead after reaching the hospital.

This time too, Roy accepted the death of his mother and moved on. His neighbors thought he was a strong man who wasn't willing to cry in front of others and didn't question why he wasn't crying. Some ignored him. Some comforted him by saying that it was okay to cry. Roy simply acknowledged them and moved on. His parents made a will that everything they owned will be transferred to Roy after their death, so he didn't face much legal issue.

It took some time before everything settled down and soon, it was time for Roy's 30th birthday. He threw a party in a local bar. His friends brought a large cake and they shared it with everyone in the bar. They drank and celebrated until mid-night. It was quite late when Roy reached home.

Being very drunk, he kept missing the key hole with his key. He lucked out on his fourth try and got in on unsteady feet. He showered with cold water to clear his head a bit and took out his laptop, the same one Frank had gifted him eight years back. Till this date, not even once the laptop has broken down, or needed maintenance, or update its hardware, for which he was immensely thankful to Frank. He powered it on and noticed an icon flashing at the bottom right corner of the screen.

He clicked on it and a message box popped up. It was a message from Frank. Roy concluded that it was some kind of scheduled message that Frank might have set up all those years ago.

Roy read the message out aloud, “My dear nephew Roy, if you're reading this, then it means today you have turned 30 years old. First of all, let me wish you a very happy birthday.” Roy nodded his head with gratitude, “Thank you uncle, wherever you might be right now,” and continued reading the message, “Unfortunately that also means that I have gifted you the laptop and set out on a journey to even god don't know where. But I had promised you a gift on your 30th birthday. And I can assure you that this gift will change your perception of the world. Do you accept the gift?”

“Hmmm, I wonder what it could be. Lots of money? That will certainly change my perception of the world.” Roy laughed at his own POOR joke and click on the accept button. The message box changed to another message.

“Now see here. I know that you trust me a lot, but this gift is something like telling you magic exists and burning off your hands to prove it. Are you sure you can handle the consequences?”

Well that didn't sound ominous at all. However, Roy was still drunk, so he didn't think much and clicked accept.

What happened next sobered him up instantly.