The Unspoken Legacy

Fight them, don't let them get close to the Arya Samajh!" a person clad in armor had shouted. He was a handsome figure, although I didn't recognize him, though it felt like me aged to my thirties. Beside him was a beautiful woman wielding a bow, taking down monsters with incredible speed.

"Look out, Ahalya!" the man shouted to the woman as he struck down two monsters behind her and helped her sit.

"I told you not to come with me. It's not wise to bring our unborn child to the field of death."

"It's okay, Ajay. He shall be as brave as you. But the future lies in our hands. We can't let the monsters slain by the gods reintegrate into life."

Suddenly, a deafening thunderclap echoed through the scene, and a figure emerged—a mage of death, Bhasmasura, one of the 20 kinds of lower-level demon bosses. His face remained shrouded, hidden in darkness, until a bolt of lightning revealed his menacing visage.

I woke up with a start, the dream still haunting my thoughts as I did almost every day since my last birthday. Fear gripped me, despite knowing that the stories rakshasas were just stories from our ancestors to portray greed and bad qualities of man. What if they were more than stories? What if the gods and Rakshasas were real? I shook off this fact from my head when I heard Dadi call for me

"Arjun! Beta, get ready or you will be late to school, moreover I am making your favourite, Roti aur Paneer sabji"

Roti and Paneer was Dadi's signature dish I hurriedly got ready for school and went to the kitchen and sat down. Dadi was still cooking, It was always this.

"Dadi, again! You always call me before you are done cooking and blame me for being late. Ugh!"

Dadi chuckled, "Beta, you must eat your food hot and fresh, you could ask you Dada and he would lecture you for hours on that topic. But it is important for your pánch tatva, the five elements, fire, water, earth, air and sky. They must develop to make you strong."

"You tell me that all the time like it's a big deal, we are taught that in school too Dadi! Nutrients and all"

"You won't understand the difference yet beta" Dadi sighed.

I set out to school, the sun cast a golden hue over our little village as I walked to school. Beside me was Priya, my friend and secret crush. She was my friend since my childhood, she was as tall as me! The best part of her was that she was different from others, she didnt separate me from the others for being weird and sarcastic.

We chatted about the mundane details of life, but for me, every moment with her was a treasured memory.

As we shared laughs and stories, a shadow loomed over our cheerful conversation. Raj, the school's notorious bully, swaggered into view, his unruly gang in tow. He smirked and leered at me, a cruel glint in his eyes.

"Look who we have here, Mr. Orphan, and his friend, Mrs. Blondey!" Raj taunted, his voice dripping with sarcasm. I'd heard it all before, the jabs about my parents, or the lack thereof, and the comments about Priya's golden hair. Usually, I brushed them off, but today felt different.

I didn't let his words slide this time. I turned to face Raj, a spark of defiance in my eyes. "Could you do us all a favor and just shut up, Mr. Raj the Scholar? I mean, isn't your math homework overdue? Or has your magical right hand finished it for you?"

Raj's expression shifted from smugness to anger. He lunged towards me, his bulky frame intimidating. He grabbed my collar, lifting me off the ground, or so it seemed. In that tense moment, something strange happened. It felt as if electricity surged through my hand when I instinctively grabbed Raj's wrist.

Raj yelped and stumbled back a few feet, his surprise evident. He glared at me. "I've got better things to do than deal with you," he muttered before turning and fleeing. I watched him go, bewildered by the unexpected turn of events.

Priya, her eyes wide with amazement, spoke up, "Wow, I had no idea you could handle yourself like that. That was quite a move, Arjun."

I scratched my head, still trying to process what had just happened. "Honestly, neither did I. I guess all those chore-training sessions with Grandpa paid off."

The school bells chimed, signaling the start of Mr. Gupta's class. I rushed inside, determined not to be the target of his incessant nitpicking.