LIBERATION

The Silent Night

It was a seemingly normal night. At around one in the morning, all you would hear is the deafening dead of the night, the occasional howling of a dog, or if you’re lucky enough, you would hear an owl, hooting in the distance. Human presence and nights aren’t a frequent combo in the quiet city of Jaisalmer. But that night, it sounded different.
That night, breaking all the norms, footsteps were heard. Footsteps, heavy with desperation. Footsteps that sought liberation.
The sun was still nowhere to be seen, yet if you squint your eyes, hard enough, you would spot him; Samar Rathi.

All his life Samar felt worthless, despite having an above-average IQ. When Samar’s parents passed away in a car accident, they left their enormous wealth, all in the hands of a ten-year-old. And going by the law, he had to be under the wing of a legal guardian till he was at least eighteen, to access any of those funds. His maternal uncle and aunt offered to take the poor kid and raise him up.

But, we know what happened to Cinderella now, don't we?

The prodigious Samar Rathi who was now nineteen had just done something very unethical, but he never felt more alive. Samar was so bright that even when his snob of an uncle refused to put him in a good convent, he still outshone his cousins, so much so that he had completed college on account of his brilliance at the mere age of sixteen. He was never allowed in the kitchen, but often he would sneak in the kitchen risking a bad thrashing later and would cook the most delicious meals that his ungrateful family would never even let him taste. But despite his excellence in every field, and his culinary expertise, Samar felt like trash and all he ever wanted to do was run away. And just a few hours ago, that night, when his uncle held his collar and forced him against a wall bad-mouthing his deceased parents while ordering him to sign the will, Vivek Tanwar, had crossed a line.

Never in his life had Samar felt anger build up to a point where his teeth clattered from rage. He finally let the dark vice consume him and landed a fierce kick, straight in his uncle’s groin. Vivek fell on the floor, writhing in pain, swearing that Samar shall have to pay for this, but the threats didn’t scare Samar anymore. He had his entire life of beatings to pay for and now that he had the chance he took it. With every punch that he landed and every scream that left his victim’s agonised throat, Samar felt alive. And when he was done, he looked straight at Vaishali, his auntie, and viciously spoke to her commanding her to never utter a word about today or their little family secret, that they’ve been feeding off of his wealth would spread like wildfire.

And with that, he left to pack his things up. He took some clothes, he even had a debit card he secretly had gotten made and of course, all his important documents, be it his IQ certificate, or his graduation degree and hastily stuffed all of them in his ragged old school bag.

He didn't for a moment regret his decision, and he was sure he never really will. He never would step foot anywhere near this place where he had spent the worst days of his life. He was running away, not only from that house but also, his past.

However, as of now, he needed a place to crash. He could call his best friend up. Muhib Ahmed had always welcomed him no matter what, his mother was equally welcoming, and his father would always go an extra mile to make sure Samar felt at home. But going to them, this late would only worry them, plus he couldn't really tell them the complete truth of how he ran away.

So he crashed at a small hotel near the Jaisalmer Fort. He checked in and went up to the room. Now that the adrenaline was wearing off, Samar sat to think of his future. He had just run away, consequences ought to follow. But even with all the adrenaline out of his system, he couldn’t shake the feeling of triumph off; he remembered when his fingers curled up into a fist and then collided with the warm, filthy skin of the man who tormented him for years. He wanted to bask in the light of that glory forever, but when his head touched the pillows, sleep overpowered him. He left all his worries for the days to follow, besides; he was a prodigy, getting a job for him would be easy.

Right?

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