The Destineds

TD - Lie&Secret - Karsh

It wasn't long before Karsh realised that he possessed powers, considering that he was a very smart boy. But he didn't tell anyone about it thinking of the possible consequences.
He figured it out when he was 8 years old. After three years of feeling different and having a lightning strike near him whenever his feelings went wayward. He summed everything up and came to a conclusion that he either had powers of the Deitys or was mentally cracked and was hallucinating things.

As soon as he had the faintest idea of what was happening, he approached his teacher, Yiba Makiri.

*Flashback*
It was a nice day. The class ended and all the children started to leave. Karsh stopped at the door and shouted,"Go ahead. I'll be right behind you."
"Alright", Jay shouted back.

"Why are you staying behind Karsh?", asked Yiba.
"I have a question to ask ma'am", replied Karsh.
"Okay... Go ahead"
"It's about the Deitys ma'am.", he paused. Yiba nodded. Jayesh continued, "Are the new borns there, born with the powers or do they select a power and practice it?"
"You are halfway there but not exactly right. The Deity babies are born with the powers but they don't discover it until the child turns 5. This process of discovering the powers goes till the child turns 13. So, the child has eight years of time to discover its powers."
"Oh. Okay."
"But, why this question?"
"I mean... just imagine having working powers right from birth and the chaos that might cause. Imagine the parents having to figure out their kid's powers, before its name. Imagine the kid having to learn to control its powers before it learns to eat its food on its own. Isn't that concerning?", said Karsh.
"You talk a bit too wisely for an eight year old, Karsh", chuckled Yiba.
Both the teacher and the student bid farewell to each other and Karsh left for his home.

So, the Deity kids find their powers, which were hidden in them; after they turn 5. And I started summoning lightning, whenever I was overwhelmed in some emotion; after I turned 5. Which means I do have the lightning powers, thought Karsh, while walking back home.
*End of flashback*

Since he discovered his powers, he spent time practicing it. He climbed up a hill which dropped into a steep cliff overlooking a gulf. The cliff was way away from the villagers' eyes. He was safe to practice his powers there. A big Banyan tree provided shadow and shelter when the sun took an oath to burn the people down or when the rain stood opposing the sun's fiery motive. No one on the entire planet could predict the rain that occurred particularly in the part of the Infirma society Karsh lived in. Not even the Three Holinesses, probably.
He tried shouting out stuff like, "Lightning... strike!", "Bolt of Destruction come here", "Thunder's precedent, I command you to strike", as if lightning bolts are his friends who obey him regardless of the stupidity and risk of the 'smart' expeditions.
He continued shouting 'commands' to summon the lightning for an ENTIRE MONTH! with no result.
He gave up that technique and started to think of different methods. He tried to recreate the scenes that had him call for a lightning strike. Like the time he and his gang almost got caught stealing watermelons from the annoying neighbour's farm. The fear made him summon a strike near the field well which diverted the man's attention, availing them to make an escape.
Or like the time when his precious collection of different pebbles was thrown away by his mother, because she thought it was junk. His anger made him bring a lightning bolt crashing on the cart-track in front of their house. His mom later helped him find all the pebbles, at least most of them, as she had just thrown it in the backyard and not far away.

He reminisced the fear, the anger, the embarrassment or the anxiety he had felt in those situations and many other ones. It helped him to focus on a specific cause. He closed his eyes as he thought of the surged emotions. His mind cleared out. He thought of nothing other than his son to summon atleast a single lighting bolt. He felt a feeling of determination surf all throughout him. When he felt ready, he opened his eyes and aggressively threw his hands outwards while looking at the sky. He managed to summon a lightning bolt that came nowhere near the ground and disappeared mid air even before it reached the top most branch's height of the Banyan tree.
Karsh was ecstatic at his improvement. He jumped up and down smiling like a clown.
He tried the same once again and this time the strike came a bit lower than the last one. After a few more attempts, finally a mild strike touched the ground in front of the tree. Karsh screamed in happiness. Though that lightning was a mild one, he was proud of his improvement.
He vowed to practice more and Master the power of lightning. He practiced one more time and went home as it was getting late and the sun would set soon.

He came back the next day and practiced the method of summoning few more times. But he couldn't increase the power of the lightning. It was so mild that it could only grill a chicken, but he wanted his lightning to burn, blow up in flames and turn the living/non-living thing into ashes.
He had no other choice to practice in this clearly less effective method until he figured out a more effective method. He had been practicing for weeks and in three more days, he would officially complete two months of self-training in his lightning powers.

It's been five years since Karsh learnt about his powers. His 13th birthday was nearing, it was a week away. He was handsome already and was like a leader in his friends' group, because of his dangerously good ideas and his caring and protective nature. His black eyes radiated energy and courage which could convince all his friends to go on a real risky adventure with him.

There wasn't anything extraordinarily special about his birthday. He knew what was gonna happen. His neighbours would bring a food dish they made and share it with each other as a method of celebration. Just like the past 12 birthdays of his life. He had already asked his mom to make lemon jam and bread. He also knew what his best friend Jay's mom was going to make... 'corndogs'!

His practice of five years, though hidden; had brought about a significant improvement. He only needed a few seconds to summon an intermediate level lightning and throw it at a specific aimed spot of his choice.
He believed there was still a long way to go until he could 'Master' his powers.

He still hadn't told a single soul about his powers.
He sat under the Banyan tree thinking, I guess I'm a living secret now...