Chapter 20: A Promise of Friends
Dhrubo returned the next day.
He came early, before the sun became strong. He waited near the hill where Vasusen practiced.
Vasusen arrived soon after.
He was already sweating when Dhrubo saw him. He had been running. Not chasing. Training.
"You came," Vasusen said, breathing hard.
"I said I would," Dhrubo replied.
Vasusen smiled.
"Today I will catch you."
"We'll see," Dhrubo said.
After some time of rest they ran again.
They ran longer than yesterday.
Vasusen had learned. He did not rush. He kept his breath steady. He followed Dhrubo's turns more carefully.
"Hah… hah… you're still faster," Vasusen said while running.
"But you're closer today," Dhrubo replied.
They ran until their legs hurt.
This time, Dhrubo stopped first.
"Enough," he said. "If we run more, you won't be able to walk home."
Vasusen laughed and fell on the grass.
"Hah… hah… you're scared of losing," he said.
"No," Dhrubo said. "I don't want your parents to scold me."
That made Vasusen laugh louder.
They lay on the grass and stared at the sky.
"Why do you run so well?" Vasusen asked.
"I practiced," Dhrubo replied.
"Where?"
"Far away."
Vasusen turned his head.
"Where are you from?"
Dhrubo thought for a moment.
"From a place where names don't matter," he said.
Vasusen frowned.
"Names always matter."
"They shouldn't," Dhrubo replied.
Vasusen sat up.
"They matter here," he said.
"If you don't have a good name, people don't listen to you."
Dhrubo nodded.
"I know."
Vasusen picked up his bow.
"I want to be strong," he said.
"Stronger than everyone."
"Why?"
"So no one can look down on my parents."
Dhrubo looked at him carefully.
"People look down on you?"
"Yes," Vasusen said.
"They say I am a charioteer's son."
"They say I don't belong."
Dhrubo clenched his fist slightly.
"And you?" Dhrubo asked.
"What do you want to be?"
Vasusen did not answer immediately.
"I want to be the best," he said.
"So no one can deny me anything."
Dhrubo nodded.
"That is a good goal," he said.
Vasusen looked at him.
"What about you?"
"What do you want?"
Dhrubo stayed quiet for a moment.
"I want to change some things," he said.
"What things?"
"Things that hurt people even when they don't deserve it."
Vasusen did not fully understand, but he nodded anyway.
They practiced together.
Dhrubo corrected Vasusen's stance.
He showed him how to balance his feet.
He showed him how to breathe.
"Don't fight the bow," Dhrubo said.
"Move with it."
Vasusen listened carefully.
The arrow flew straighter this time.
"It went farther!" Vasusen shouted.
"Yes," Dhrubo said. "Because you listened."
Vasusen grinned.
"You should teach me every day," he said.
"I can't," Dhrubo replied.
"Why?"
"I don't know how to teach nor do i know anything about Astra Vidya."
They were quiet for a while.
Then Vasusen sat up.
"Where do you sleep?" he asked.
"Here and there," Dhrubo replied.
"That's not an answer," Vasusen said.
"It's the truth," Dhrubo replied.
Vasusen scratched his head.
"You're strange," he said.
"So are you," Dhrubo replied.
Vasusen smiled.
"My father says being strange is bad," he said.
"My teacher says thinking is good," Dhrubo replied.
"You have a teacher?" Vasusen asked.
"I had one," Dhrubo replied.
Vasusen's eyes lit up.
"Was he strong?"
"He was kind," Dhrubo said.
"That's better," Vasusen replied.
They heard voices from the city.
Merchants shouting.
Carts moving.
A guard yelling at someone.
Vasusen looked toward Champa.
"People there don't like me," he said.
"Why?" Dhrubo asked.
"They say I don't belong," Vasusen replied.
"They say my father drives chariots. They say I'm a stra."
"They say I should know my place."
Dhrubo listened.
"Do you know your place?" he asked.
Vasusen clenched his fist.
"I will make my place," he said.
"I will be stronger than all of them."
Dhrubo nodded.
"That's a good thought," he said.
Vasusen looked at him.
"What about you?"
"What about me?"
"Why don't you care what people say?"
Dhrubo was silent for a moment.
"Because I already lost everything they could take," he replied.
Vasusen felt something strange in his chest.
"You talk like an old man," he said.
"I'm not," Dhrubo replied.
"I'm just tired."
They stood up.
"What do you do for fun?" Vasusen asked.
"I run," Dhrubo replied.
"That's not fun," Vasusen said.
"It is for me," Dhrubo replied.
Vasusen thought.
"Do you climb trees?" he asked.
"Yes."
"Can you climb that one?"
Vasusen pointed to a tall tree.
Dhrubo looked at it.
"Yes."
They raced again.
This time upward.
Vasusen slipped once and laughed.
"Hah! I almost fell!"
"Hold the branch first," Dhrubo said.
They climbed until they could see Champa clearly.
Three parts of the city.
Outer huts.
Middle houses.
Inner walls.
Vasusen pointed.
"That's where I live," he said.
"That's where people look at us," Dhrubo replied.
Vasusen sat on the branch.
"Will you leave?" he asked suddenly.
Dhrubo looked at him.
"No," he said.
"Not now."
Vasusen smiled.
"Good," he said.
"Then we'll run every day."
"Every day," Dhrubo agreed.
"Will you tell me your name now?" Vasusen asked.
Dhrubo shook his head.
"Not yet."
"Why?"
"Because names are heavy," Dhrubo replied.
"They change how people look at you."
Vasusen thought.
"Then I won't ask," he said.
"But I will call you friend."
Dhrubo smiled.
"That's enough."
They climbed down.
They walked back toward the city together.
They laughed.
The sun went down.
Two children walked side by side.
No promises of greatness.
No oaths of fate.
Just laughter, dust, and tired legs.
But something had changed.
Neither of them was alone anymore.
Chapter End.