PHOENIX - The Rebirth Of Hope

Chapter 3 : A Terrible Memory

When Samarth reached home, it was already sundown. His mother must be wondering where he had gone or maybe not because she knew he sometimes visited Nana Ji. For what she didn't ask and that was okay with him. His father.......well, he didn't bother unless he was too late to return home or hadn't done his chores.

Samarth went to his room and sat down on his bed.

"Samarth, you back?", His mother called.

"Yup", Samarth sighed-replied.

"Where in blazes were you?"

"I was at Nana Ji's", Samarth said as he went into the kitchen.

"Next time, first tell me where you are going before you trudge up there by yourself.", His mother barely spared him a glance and returned to her work.

"OK, sorry"

"Here, lunch." She handed him a platter of food.

"Wash your hands before you eat.", She instructed and taking another platter of food, went to his brother's room. Samarth looked after his mother with an uncomfortable expression.

He inched forward as the door opened and was pushed backward from inside, but not with enough pressure to close it fully. A little gap was left for him to see through.

Samarth put the platter of food down and inched forward to peer through the gap. There sat his brother looking like he always did—an innocent little boy of 9-years-old, a face as soft and sweet as an angel, who never asked for what had been given to him but fate cruelly insisted instead. As Samarth looked upon and thought of a brother Aashu (his brother) could have been, he felt tears at the back of his eyes. The dreamy look his brother always gave the wall, as if he was in a good dream but couldn't understand its value or remember any of it. The thought alone of a happy dream, he may or may not be seeing, made Samarth happy. At least he wasn't in pain.
Samarth felt wetness sliding down his cheek and realized that his tears were flowing softly and smoothly.
                                                                                                  *
Four years ago, Samarth and his family were traveling to the nearest town for fresh supplies. His mother, father, and brother were walking before him with Samarth following four steps behind, lost in his thoughts.

Samarth didn't hear the blowing horn until it was too late. Screaming was heard in the distance.

A BMW.

It was swerving to the right towards where Samarth and his family were walking. Samarth looked up, horror widening his eyes as the driver didn't seem to be able to take control. It all happened so fast. The car swerved to the left then to the right and then it accelerated. The speed then was dimmed somehow as if the driver was trying to control it. But then the car went wide, all control lost. That was when the door opened automatically and....hit his brother in the chest. His brother fell down unconscious hitting his head on a rock with blood flowing down his hands, oozing out from all the gashes and scrapes. The door of the car was yanked off its hinges and fell on his brother's legs. Samarth saw it all unfold in horror. It all happened so fast that he wasn't able to do a thing. People were running towards and away from them.

A hubbub of noises filled the air but Samarth was oblivious to all of that. He could only look at his brother and hear the cold whispers of death and feel its claws brush past him towards where the body now lay. His mother fell down on her knees, her lower lip wobbling and tears beginning to escape, trying to wake up her unconscious and probably.......no Samarth couldn't think of that. His father was shouting, asking people to help to get the body from underneath the wreckage. Everyone was moving but Samarth. He was rooted to the spot. There was a gash on the driver's forehead. In the middle of the ruckus, the police had arrived and the man was being arrested. He kept shouting things like he had wanted to go to bed and when the police asked regarding the accident he replied rather dazedly that the people should have got out of the way. The bastard was drunk and couldn't even mumble a straight apology.

From that day, Samarth had started hating the world of rich people and their reckless driving and everything they had done like spoiled brats. He loathed them, yes, that was the world. He loathed them for their disregard of the world around them, disregard of people like Samarth.

After getting his brother out of the chunks of metal, his parents and he had gone in an ambulance which had arrived on the scene. The operation had taken all of their money. It hadn't been that big a problem then because they had a two-room house at the time. It was very small and they had to sell it as well as some of their furniture, leaving them broke and with hardly anything. The most important thing was - they had been able to save Aashu's life at which everyone had rejoiced and wept happy tears. But....there is always a catch. They hadn't been able to save him fully. his brain cells have been proved damaged and he was crippled, unable to move ever again.

The first time Aashu opened his eyes, everyone wept happily, the report forgotten. Though it hadn't taken much but a glance for Samarth to know that his brother was lost forever in a world no one would be able to pull him out from. The dreamy look in his eyes had been the same ever since. He had refused to recognize and acknowledge the presence of his loving parents and brother.

His parents wouldn't leave him like that though. What did it matter if he was retarded and crippled? As in the present day, Samarth peered through the door, he was fully crying. Aashu was still family, a part of his life but he would never be the same boy.

His little brother always had been good and kind at heart. He was better than Samarth as Samarth believed. But was it better being too good, too believing, having too much faith in the world of men, the ones who had never thought to give help to their own species. His brother's future was now destroyed just because of them.

Samarth had always loved his brother and his brother had returned the love. They had been best friends at heart. Samarth's brother had understood him the most. They never fought. They trusted each other the most. Their love for each other was profound but now it was all lost.

It just took one. One reckless driving to snatch half of a person's being away. And only one to throw Samarth in the shadows forever.