Soliloquy Of Marthanda Part l

I was born in the land of Keral in the kingdom of Aetheria, and my parents were knights themselves. Not just any knights; they were one of the leading knights of Keral. All the main decisions in Keral were taken by them. So, as my fate was already sealed for the most part,.

Growing up in a well-reputated family had its own pros and cons. As a result, there were more restrictions and less allowance for me, but regardless of that, I used to sneak out to play with my friends.

That day, I still remember we were all playing seven stones. (a traditional Indian game), and I was on the defending team.

"Heyy, Aayansh, throw the ball." 

"Yes!"

"Marthanda, if he misses the hit, make sure to catch it."

"Yes! I will"

Thud*

The ball hit the layered stones, and I had to run to grab the ball before the opposite team stacked all the stones again.

I ran to get the ball, which bounced off the ground.

"Marthanda! Get the ball fast!" said my friend.

"On it!" I replied.

I dashed outside to retrieve the ball, and as soon as I picked it up, I was supposed to go back inside, but my eyes were momentarily captivated by the sight of a small horse-drawn cart making its journey towards town. Inside, it was a family of three. A father, a mother, and a child who looked the same as my age.

That was the first time I saw Henry Alves, seated beside his mother, clutching a bag in hand.

"Marthanda, what are you doing?"

"Bring the ball fast."

My friend's loud yells brought my attention back to them.

"Coming!" I said, running back inside.

Day passed and came evening, and I couldn't control my curiosity as I asked my mother about the horse cart that I saw.

"Mom, today I saw some new people shifting here."

"Yes," replied Mom.

I was lying before my mother, reading my book on the bed, and my mother was knitting a sweater. It was like a small routine we used to follow until Dad was done with his prayers.

"Who are they?" I asked.

"They are from a neighbouring small village that was demolished recently."

"Ohhh"

"So the people living there are relocating, and we decided to give them shelter here."

"I see," I answered.

"Be good to them, okay? They need our support."

"I will."

And the next day in class, I saw a new student joining our class in between midterms.

"Class, welcome your new student. His name is Henry Alves," said the teacher.

"WELCOME, Henry," we all answered.

"You can sit with anyone you want," the teacher said, showing him the class.

We used to seat two students per bench, and my seat happens to be empty for one. I noticed him scanning the room. Even though there were more spots he could've sat on, his gaze locked onto me and with deliberate steps, he came towards me.

Does he remember me from two days ago when I saw him at the entrance to the ground?

"Hey, can I sit with you?" asked Henry

There were a lot of stares at me, and obviously, I had no reason to say no to him.

"Yeah, sure," I replied.

"Thank you," he said with a smile.

He seems like a very cheerful, extroverted type of person. A little opposite to me, but yeah, that's how I and Henry met and became friends.

Our friendship was born out of shared experiences and adventures, from the backdrop of schoolyard games to the afternoons spent exploring the neighbourhood streets. He was new here, so it was on me to show him places and things around. At first, he was fascinated by the culture around him and soon adapted to it.

From that moment on, we were inseparable companions, our laughter echoing through the air as we raced through fields and climbed trees with carefree abandon. From building forts in the backyard to embarking on epic quests in imaginary worlds,.

He used to come to get me to play with him, and many times, my mom was against me going out until I was done with my studies, so she used to ask him to study with me or else she wouldn't allow me to go out, and he didn't mind that at all and supported me with it.

Through the passage of time and the twists and turns of life, I and Henry remained steadfast friends and grew up together.

There was a mountain he used to look up to, and he always found it unsettling as it used to go way up into the sky.

"Hey Marthanda, let's climb that," said Henry.

"Are you out of your mind?" I said.

"Why not? I feel like there must be something up there," said Henry, looking curiously.

"There's not a single person I know who goes up there." I replied.

"I know, but still, I want to climb."

At that time, there were no stairs or anything that could've told us that there's something above. Just an instinct of Henry, which I was supposed to believe in. Even though I was against the idea and said no multiple times, somehow he persuaded me to climb that mountain with him.

Sigh*

Then, one day after our high school final exam, we packed our bags secretly with food and water and finally decided to climb it till we reached the top. Obviously, I didn't tell my parents, nor did he, as we would've badly gotten scolded for even talking about the idea.

As the sun began its slow ascent into the morning sky at around 5 a.m., we started climbing on our daunting journey, the weight of anticipation heavy in our hearts. The path ahead was more challenging than any trial we had ever faced before, even more than our training. Yet, despite the exhaustion in our limbs, we kept walking on. The mountains unfolded before us, and we were fascinated by the fact that they were vast, never steep nor flat, but always had enough land to walk on, and we also saw very unique species of animals and birds. Strange creatures flitted and scampered in between the rocks—a bird with three wings, a fox straight from the pages of a fairy tale.

No matter what we saw, we kept walking, as we had to come back home too. We were still living with our parents; it wasn't a one-trip journey for us. But as we had made up our minds that we'd climb to the top, we didn't stop in between. We just took a 20-minute break when our bodies begged for a little rest.

The journey that started in the morning, which I thought would end in a few hours, ended up taking our entire day to cover. When we finally felt like we had reached the top, we saw the clouds below us and the pitch-dark night around us, with dragonflies dancing around and crickets making noises. It was probably the middle of the night already, and we were both as good as dead bodies walking. We both slept right then and there, as there was no other way for us to know where we were or if we had really reached the top or not until it was morning.