D+K To the Moon and Back

D+K for ♾️

DHRUV

You know those moments when your dreams are about to get crushed and you're willing to do anything and I mean ANYTHING to have a chance at them ? Well this is one of those moments. Or else, I am doomed. I will never be able to meet Wesley Chen, my inspiration. I will never get to show him my game designs, never get to hear his feedback on them, never get to work at WC gaming. Gaming is my life. It's my only escape from mom and dad and their unrealistic expectations for me.

From childhood, my parents have punished me for every grade I've gotten besides an A. And by punish, I mean whip. The only reason I don't flex my abs in the gym is because I don't want people to see my back. To see the scars. My parents yell at me alot. Not just because I'm the oldest child. My little bro gets yelled at too. My parents are abusive, and I know that. For high school, I used chat gpt for everything. Anything to escape the whippings. I taught my little bro to use it and be careful enough to not get caught. When I did get caught, my junior year, I ratted my parents out. My teacher and principal were so understanding and wanted to call the cops. I bribed them instead.

My dad is on a committee of who gets a scholarship to go to certain colleges. I told them that I would make sure their kids would get full scholarships. That appeased them. When was distracted, I took dad's laptop and wrote the emails to give those kids a full scholarship and sent them. I know its not right, but I had to do it.

I tell my friends that my parents are super strict. But I've never told them about the abuse. My parents never talk to us kindly. They hardly talk to us at all. They only talk to us to know how school is going. Or when they need to yell at us. Whippings only happen when we get our test grades, and report cards. But when it happens, its bad. I'm talking like 20 slashes. And no dinner. I'm more worried about my brother. He's really quiet. He's lucky he looks so good, otherwise, he'd get bullied at school. Yash is starting his sophomore year in high school this year, like I am, in college. And even though I could go to a dorm, I prefer to live at home- to protect my brother. On days we don't have practice, Yash and I play basketball one on one. And then we'll go to the ice cream shop I work at. We'll eat ice cream, and then I start my shift while he watches a cartoon on the big tv. According to mom and dad, I just pick Yash up from school after practice. They don't need to know the bro moments we have. If they catch us having fun, they think they've failed as parents. I swear, my parents think that having fun is a sin.

I had to fight for Yash and I to play basketball. Dad thought we should join the Stem club. But dad's cousin, talked him out of it. Karthik uncle and Rosy auntie are like the parents we couldn't have. Now that their daughters are both in Yale, they pay extra attention to Yash and I. They tell my parents that they'll " help us with homework", but they'll feed us an indian feast, and we'll chat, or watch a movie. They are very supportive of my brother and I . Its like they know of the abuse, but we never told them. Karthik uncle helped me create a secret bank account and even puts money in it occasionally. Rosy auntie gives us us snacks to hide in our rooms when we get starved. If it weren't for them, I don't know what I'd do.

Their help, my job, basketball, my friends, my bro, and games. Help me cope. Keep me distracted. Rosy auntie got me interested in game design. She's a fashion designer, and I loved to watch her. One day she suggested "Dhruv, why don't you try designing games?" And the rest is history. I've designed some pretty sick stuff. My friends test out my games and love it. I want to do this for the rest of my life. But my parents want me to become a doctor or engineer. I wonder what they're going to do when they find out I'm not going that direction. But that's why I'm saving money. So that, when that day comes, (I know they'll probably try to kill me) I'll leave  with my baby brother and call the cops and rat them out. But until then, I'm saving money.