Flash From The Past.

Rudra disconnected the call and walked out of the channel office. His car, a black Mercedes Benz s500, stood waiting for him at the front door. A middle-aged man wearing a navy blue half sleeve shirt and trousers stood next to the car. As soon as the man saw Rudra walking out of the building. The man pulled open the door for him.

Rudra said, "Thank you."

The man just nodded in silence and went to sit down in the driver's seat after closing the door. The driver put on his seat belt and started the car. The car moved out of the Channel building complex, made a right turn merging with the traffic.

It was 6.07 PM. The driver knew Rudra would head straight home. This was a rule of the company until and unless you are in a meeting with some client or you are behind on a deadline, no one could work after 6 PM. The company implemented the theory of a healthy employee makes a healthy company.

It was not to save overtime salary, but for the employee's welfare. Saturday and Sunday were always off regardless of anything. The cleaning staff was asked to come once in the morning and after one round they could all leave. If anyone in the company is facing a difficulty such as someone in the family suffering from a chronic or terminal disease, then they can provide the medical reports and bills. The company took over all the payments.

The employees were asked to return 20% of the money slowly over the years from their salary. It was not mandatory for them to return anything. Yet some people who had a strong pride and could not digest debt returned the money. This was a strategy Rudra came up with for his business. The employees who received aid in such dire times would become loyal and work hard for the company.

Rudra sat in the back of his comfortable car and asked the driver, "Tony, how long?"

The driver was called Tony, he was driving to Rudra for 7 months now. He was trained by Rudra's secretary, and only then was he able to hold on to the job for such a long time. His predecessors sometimes left within a day. Tony replied in a calm manner, "One hour, Sir."

Rudra was asking him about how long would it take to get home. The young man in the back nodded and slightly leaned back in his seat. His head tilted to the side, gazing out at the busy world. Suddenly he recalled the question he was asked in the interview today. How did he meet Akshika?

Thinking about the answer, a faint smile appeared on his cold face.

...

Elite Academy, a prominent school. It was situated away from the hustle-bustle of the city and had a big campus with a radius of 5 kilometers. Rudra was 11 years old when he was admitted to the school. He would score the best grades in the class. He was obedient, and the teachers loved him. The students however did not like him much. He was a quiet child, indulged in his homework and studies almost all the time as long as he was awake.

Sometimes he would sketch and learn pottery from a teacher. But that was only once in a blue moon. It was such a rare Sunday when Rudra went out to read his book. The book was given to him by Teacher Rose, the counselor of the students. She wanted Rudra to open up and thus she asked him to go out to read.

Since it was Sunday, almost all the places were occupied by groups of children. Rudra walked around the campus with a book in his hand. The sun glared in the sky. It was summer season. After walking for ten minutes, the young boy was covered in sweat. He did not want to walk at all, and after glancing around he found a big banyan tree. The tree was next to the football field in the school. Rudra walked over and after finding a relatively clean place, he sat down on the ground.

He opened his book and started reading. He was a young kid and could not understand some things, so he marked them with a pencil to ask the teacher what they meant. He was lost in the book but suddenly heard a loud voice, "Oye, Pass to Alice. She is free. Go, go, push forward. Someone cover behind her. Yes, good, good." as if it was not disturbing enough, a loud cheer rang out, "YEAH."

Rudra was annoyed, and he raised his head toward the source of origin. He glared at a girl, as old as him, two long pigtails, wearing sports gear. He hated people who disturbed his reading. Yet instead of refuting the girl, Rudra stood up, dusted his shorts, and walked off back to his room. He had only taken a couple of steps when someone rushed to him from behind.

A sudden push made his ankle entangle with a hooked root of the tree and fall to the ground. He was irritated and raised his head to see who it was. He saw the same 'Loud-Girl' standing in front of him. She pointed at him with her gloved hands and said, "What were you staring at me for, Nerd?"

Rudra wanted to slap this girl right in the face, but he did not want to waste his time-fighting. He wanted to reply when another voice came, "Akshika, let him be. He is just a bookworm. Let him go we need to catch up with the opponents." it was a boy from their team.

The girl spoke again, "My name is Akshika, I am in your class. You can complain to the teacher, see if I care, Nerd." with a snort she walked away. Rudra sat on the ground for a few moments. With watery eyes he stood up but felt a terrible pain in his ankle. He tried to put his leg down on the ground, but he felt no sensation in it. He picked up his book and dusted it, thinking that the pain might be from the sudden fall.

He tried to walk, but after a couple of steps he fell down again. The boy was prideful, he thought, 'They already look down on me, if I ask for help they will think I am trying something funny.'

His mind was scarred enough that he did not trust anyone anymore. Forced by the terrible pain, the bit sat back near the tree. Soon the day passed and the hot weather made everyone avoid the football ground. Not even rodents were spotted. Rudra sat there reading a book, trying to distract himself from the pain. He loosened his shoes and sensed some relief. The shade of the big tree was colder than the weather. The day passed and the boy who was mentally tired from the pain in his leg, fell asleep under the banyan tree.

It was dusk when the security guards came for patrolling. They would have missed the boy if not for the sniffer dog to bark, alerting them. The guards reacted quickly. They found a boy with a red face and bluish lips. The man was sensible he did not waste any time checked that the boy was breathing, and they picked him up. Rudra was rushed to the infirmary and the in-house doctor was called.

The doctor diagnosed Rudra, and said, "He is lacking oxygen and suffered his ankle is sprained. Some scratches on his palms and knee are also there. Check if he fought with someone. Call his class teacher."

Before the teacher arrived, the doctor put on an oxygen mask over the boy. His condition improved and in half an hour the boy woke up. He could hear his teacher discussing with someone about contacting the parents.

Rudra took down the mask and said in a weak voice, "Don't call my parent's sir, they will be sad. Please do not call them."

The teacher saw the tears in his eyes. He sighed and said as he patted the boy's head gently, "Rudra, tell me did you fight with someone? How did this happen?"

Rudra replied, "I fell down when my foot entangled with a root, sir. No one was there, so I could call no one for help." The teacher saw Rudra replying to the questions and did not pursue them further.

The doctor applied the oxygen mask back again and said, "Child, you were lucky, if some more time, then you might have lost your life from lack of oxygen in your body. Take rest okay." He left with the teacher to discuss this matter with the principal. As the two elders left, a group of children came in. The leader was actually the 'Loud-girl'. They were actually called over by the teacher for investigation, and they lied. They said, they did not meet Rudra when they were playing. They all followed what Akshika said. Rudra also did not testify against them and thus they were saved.

She spoke after looking around at all her friends, "I apologize for acting rashly. We were losing the game, and I pushed you. I did not know that you were hurt. Forgive me, please." but her words fell on a stone. The rest of the kids also apologized, but Rudra kept glancing at the ceiling as if they did not exist. The rest of the children left after apologizing once, but Akshika stood there looking at Rudra.

The counselor heard that something happened to Rudra and came over to see him when she found Akshika inside the room. She smiled and said, "Good, Rudra you finally made a friend?" she had a gentle voice and was wearing casual attire. This lady was called Rose.

Rudra took down the mask and spoke in a soft but indifferent voice, "Miss, I don't have any friend. I need to sleep." then he put the mask back on and closed his eyes. Akshika had tears in her eyes. She was not a bad girl. She was just angry about the game when this happened. Rose took Akshika with her and it was unknown what happened between them, but ever since then Akshika would stick to Rudra without disturbing him. The two gradually became friends and then he met her. The girl who Rudra loved and hated at the same time.

...

Rudra was lost in old memories when suddenly a hard brake made him jerk in his seat. He woke up from his reminiscence. He asked the driver in a cold voice, "What happened?"

Tony replied, "Sir, someone jumped the signal. I had to break. I am sorry." his voice was laced with fear. Thankfully, Rudra was not an unreasonable person. He said in a cold voice, "It's okay, don't apologize if it is not your mistake."

With that said, the car moved. Rudra watched News on the TV screen fitted behind the headrest on the front seat till he reached home.