A thin boy slipped quietly into a small hut, holding tow packets of food in his hands.
He placed the food beside a woman lying eyes and looked at him, she was shocked.
The boy's condition was terrible. One side of his face was completely swollen, and the fingers of his hand holding the food were twisted unnaturally, as if someone had broken them while trying to snatch the food away. His hand carried deep scratches, like claw marks, wounds made during a desperate struggle. Strangely, no blood flower from them.
"Come here...kaal__ ," his mother said softly, though could barely finish her words.
"Don't call me with that name!" the boy muttered angrily. "I don't like it. Just call me kaal."
"Fine... then just come here, my child," she said with a weak smile.
Kaal sat beside her. She gestured for his hand, and when he gave it, she held it tightly and began to chant a mantra. A warm energy spread through his body. just a few breath, his wounds disappeared as though they had never existed. His face healed, his fingers straightened, and the pain faded away.
Kaal's mother rejoiced at his recovery, but then suddenly blood trickled from her own mouth. Kaal panicked and began to cry.
"No, Maa! From today onward, I'll never let myself get hurt again!" he cried, clinging to her.
The moment blurred-kaal's eyes shot open.
He wasn't in the hut anymore. instead, he found himself lying inside a cave. His body was wrapped in bandages. Most of his injuries were healed, though his body still ached badly.
Than, a voice echoed in his maid.
"You're awake, Kaal."
Started, he sat up. "Kapil? It's you? You nearly scared me to death!"
Before he could process anything more, the sound of footsteps echoed. Two men were approaching.
"Don't worry," one of them called out. "You can rest. if we wanted to kill you, we wouldn't have saved you, right?"
Another voice replied teasingly, "Oh shut up, you donkey. Stop tying to scare the kid."
"Who are you calling donkey, monkey?" the first one snapped back.
"Obviously you! look at your face" it written all over it!'
"Say that again and I'll fix your face right now!"
"Fix? Hah! You couldn't even fix your own teeth!"
Their bickering filled the cave like two children arguing over toys. Kaal, completely confuse, blurted out nervously:
"Uh... excuse me? Who are you people?"
For a moment the cave fell silent. Then both men cleared their throats awkwardly.
"Ahem... we're the ones who saved you, boy."
"But... I can't even see you!" Kaal replied.
There was a pause. Then both burst into laughter. "Hahaha! You're right!"
Suddenly, a lantern flickered to life, bathing the cave in warm light. The room brightened, and Kaal could finally see them.
The two men looked strong and muscular, both wearing long black robes that reached their ankles. The first man had thick, curled mustaches and short cropped hair. His face carried a mischievous grin. The second man had lighter, thinner mustaches but long hair tired neatly at the back of his head.
"See, kid," the first man smirked. "You're actually very lucky. You fall from quite a height, but Ravi here healing mantras, so you survived. Though..." He looked at his companion and chuckled. "He nearly drained all his prana force fixing you up. The poor guy's still dizzy-looks like he's drunk!"
At this, Ravi burst out laughing loudly, almost falling over.
The second man grumbled, "Shut up, Raj! if I hadn't been there, you'd be crying over a dead kid right now."
"Crying? Me?" Raj laughed even harder.
"More loke I'd be free of responsibility! Hahahah!"
Kaal stared at them with wide eyes, still wondering if he had landed in hands of saviors... or lunatics.