First Day

Abhimanyu was bored of writing now “So much homework and we have not even started the first day” he thought, but kept writing as he had to submit the work as proof of interest in the subject of astronomy. He’d always been interested in astronomy, he spent a long time every night staring at the night sky. It was one his most favorite views. It gave him a sense of peace and tranquility nothing else in the world could provide.
He wrote about the time he’d learned about the brightest star in the night sky, he had been with his grandfather.
I was five years old he wrote, I and my grandfather walked through the corridors of the mansion to the main hall. The heptagonal chandelier spread incandescent light all around the room. We walked through the main door out into the driveway. It was a cloudless night, twinkling stars decorated the entire sky, it looked majestic especially without the moon to outshine the dimmer stars. My grandfather had asked all the lights of the mansion to be turned off to avoid the light pollution.
“Look up there Abhi, the stars illuminate the sky like a dark room filled with fireflies.”
“Itsh beautiful grampa” I said, staring at the dark beauty.
He sat me down on the grass and pointed to the a particular star that was outshining every other.
“That is Venus Abhi”
“Itsh sho bright grampa”
“Yes , but it is a planet, not a star”
“What ish a planet grampa”
“A planet is like the star’s grandson, it always revolves around the star. Earth is a planet and the sun is a star”
“But grampa the Shun ish sho big, and these shtarsh are sho shmall”
“That is because the sun is close to us than other stars”
I pointed to another bright star “what ish that grampa”.
“That is Sirius Abhi, it is the brightest star in the night sky.”
That was the night my interest in Astronomy was sparked. Since then, I have drowned myself in books regarding astronomy, space, the cosmos. I have a considerable amount of knowledge of cosmic bodies ranging from an asteroid to a supermassive blackhole.

He did not understand the reason they had asked for special essay explaining his interest and intent to enroll in the Astronomy and Astrophysics course. He had been enrolled in the other courses without any such essay. Tomorrow he would be taking the first step in his dream of being an astrophysicist. A knock came on the door.
“Come in” he said, putting down his pen.
“What are you up to, Abhi?”
“Just writing this essay for the enrollment tomorrow gramp.”
“Can you do it later son, I have to talk to you about something”
“Sure, what is it?”
“Come, walk with me”
They walked through the corridor illuminated by incandescent lamps on either side. A Blue carpet on the floor with gold stripes on either side.
“Abhi, I would have waited till your 18th birthday to share this knowledge with you, but I am not sure how much time is left”
“What does that mean”
“It means that I and your father have kept secrets from you, and it is time you were told”
They reached the staircase leading down to the main hall.
“What are you saying gramp?”

A tremor shook the chandelier on the ceiling, the glass clanking against the metal holder. The front door exploded. The guards rushed to the front door.

“Gramp, go to the strongroom, NOW!”

 Abhimanyu rushed down the staircase. He looked out of the door, saw two figures dressed completely in black with bows in hand. A green glow appeared one the bow of one of the figures, it moved away from them and formed a green hemisphere. A blue glow appeared on the other’s bow and moved toward the guards, it reached the middle of the guards’ formation and emanated outward, engulfing all the guards. There was nothing but heaps of ash left on the ground as the glow faded. Abhimanyu felt a chill go down his spine as the figures moved toward the exploded door.

***

“Abhi, wake up! You don’t want to be late on the first day”
Abhimanyu woke up with a start, his vision was blurry. He rubbed his eyes as they took time to adjust to the light. He was sleeping in a twin bed, with white sheets and a white comforter. He was in a average sized bedroom with blue walls. The ceiling was colored black with glowing white stars to give the impression of sleeping under the night sky. In front of him was a poster of Carl Sagan with a picture of Enceladus in the background. On it the words “The Nitrogen in our DNA, the Calcium in out teeth, the Iron in our blood, the Carbon in our apple pies were all made in the heart of a dying star, We are made of STAR STUFF”.

A knock came on the door ”Abhi, are you up”.
“Yes aunt Sonya, I’ll be down in a bit”
“Good, don’t be late”

Abhimanyu closed his eyes, trying to remember the dream He’d just had. He never remembered the entire thing, only bits and pieces. Some kind of an essay to write, an explosion, and two people dressed in black with bows. ‘Bows’, he thought, he had always loved archery it was second only to his love of astronomy. Even as a child he had dreamed of being a master marksman with the bow but had never gotten the opportunity to pursue this interest.
He got out of his bed and walked to the bathroom to get ready for the first day of Pre University College. He was accepted at AVK Institute, the most prestigious college in the whole state.

***

Sonya was setting up the plates for breakfast as she heard Abhi walk down the staircase. Dressed in a deep blue round neck T-Shirt with the word Astrophile written on it and a blue cargo jeans. He was wearing white canvas sneakers which did not match with the rest of the outfit at all.
“Look who’s ready for the first day” She said “I made Idli for breakfast”
“Thanks Auntie”
“Looking to make new friends on the first day are we?”
“You know I don’t make friends that easily”
“College can be different”
“No it won’t”
Even in school, Abhimanyu was not one to make friends easily. He never let people get close to him, he was afraid people would leave him as his parents had.
“Your parents would have been so proud today”
Abhimanyu felt his eyes get wet. He had lost his parents to an accident many years ago. Sonya was his mother’s sister, she had promised his mother that she would take care of him and she had done that. She had focused all her attention on him and in return had ended up without a partner to share her life with. Abhimanyu felt a sting of guilt that he had caused this. He would do anything for her, she had given up living a life to take care of him, he had to make sure he made her sacrifice count.

Sonya put her hand on his cheek, wiping away a tear he had not realized was falling down “I am proud of you Abhi, I always will be. Now, go get to college before you make me cry too” she said, smiling.

Abhimanyu smiled “I’ll see you in the evening” he said, picking up his bag. He walked out the front door into the driveway. It was a beautiful spring day, the sun shone in the bright blue sky sparsely populated with white clouds. Condensed water droplets lingered on the lawngrass, shining like small pieces of diamond scattered across the lawn. Flowers of so many colours bloomed in Sonya’s garden. He closed his eyes and breathed in deeply, the smell of grass, and of the flowers filled him with excitement.

He reached the campus half an hour later. His excitement faded when he saw the field of students going into the campus. The crowd barely fit through the main gate, he went in and lost his sense of direction as the crowd moved him for him. Nearly half of the crowd was in uniforms, a light cream orange shirt with the words AVK printed in the front pocket and a deep blue pant with black leather shoes. Girls wore similar outfit with scarfs instead of ties around their neck. The crowd seemed to split into two a little way down the road, the uniformed students going in one direction and the non-uniformed in the other. Abhimanyu saw an announcement board ahead, bearing the words “Welcome Freshers, this way to induction” An arrow pointing left underneath the words. He followed the path to an Auditorium.
Inside were nearly two thousand students seated in a hall that could hold at least ten thousand. He entered from the door behind the last row. Chairs raised to lower heights as he moved towards the stage. The stage was made of polished wood with a banner for Freshmen Induction hung at the back. Maroon curtains hung on either side of the stage with golden-yellow lining at the edges. Abhimanyu took a seat in the third row and waited for the program to begin.
“Good Morning Everyone, My name is Vishnu and I am going to be your host for this year’s freshmen induction. Before we actually begin, I personally welcome you all to this prestigious institute and wish you a great time here.” He went on to talk about how good the management, staff and students of AVK were. The program went on for a couple of hours, Abhimanyu did not realize how much time had passed until he came out of the Auditorium and the sun was nearly right on top of him. He went on to register for the AVK Astronomical Society.
The registration desks for different societies were right outside the auditorium, AVKAS table was not hard to find, it was the one with the telescope right in front of the table. He found a girl in uniform sitting at the table. The girl on the left had a round face, a small nose and grey eyes. Her hair was tied up in a bun.
“Hello” Abhimanyu said.
“Hello, Welcome to AVK institute, how may I help you?”
“I would like to join the AVK Astronomical Society”
“Oh sure, can you write your name and registration number on that list, we will inform you of the next meeting”
“Okay”
Abhimanyu wrote down the details. The girl took the sheet of paper “We look forward to getting to know the Astronomer in you… Abhimanyu”
Abhimanyu smiled and turned back, it was time for his classes to start.
 
***

Abhimanyu entered the room filled with students. The first meeting of the AVKAS, he took a seat in the front row. The girl who had taken his registration walked up to the front of the room “Welcome to AVKAS everyone, I am Anu, the president of this society. We shall spend a lot of time learning and discussing astronomical subjects, we shall also be organizing quizzes and attending other institutes for quizzes and other competitions. Before we get to formalities of introduction, let us have some ice-breaking. Who here can tell me who proposed the existence of water ice on mars?”
“Carl Sagan” two voices said simultaneously. Abhimanyu and another girl, he looked at her. She had a triangular face with a tipped nose and blue eyes. Her hair open, like an auburn waterfall from her head to her shoulder. She smiled at him, he smiled.
“Correct answer” Anu said and then moved on to other topics of discussion; the hierarchy in the organization, regular meetings, and the nightsky watching that was arranged for the freshers that night.
The meeting ended an hour later. Abhimanyu walked out of the room, he felt exhausted after the long day of classes and then the meeting. He felt a hand on his shoulder, he turned.
“Hi, I’m Nailah” she held out her hand.
Abhimanyu looked at her face, then at her hand. He just put his hand in his pocket, “Hello”, he said.
“Um… do you not shake hands?”
“Oh! Sorry, I am Abhimanyu” He gave her a handshake.
“So Abhimanyu, you seem to be the only smart recruit this year. Other than me of course”
“Oh. Yes it does”
“Would you like to talk more about this over coffee”
“Um… okay.”

***

Abhimanyu took his chair in front of Nailah. He noticed the strand of red hair, it stood out as she tied her hair into a bun.
They sat in the outer section of the shop, under a giant umbrella giving shade to the both of them. Similar tables were spread all around them.
“I’ll get get us some coffee”, Nailah said
“Okay”
She got up and walked to the counter. Abhimanyu looked around, All tables seemed to be filled with couples, some holding hands, some talking, some arguing.
Why did she talk to me, Abhimanyu thought
“Two cappuccinos!”, Nailah announced, smiling.
“Thank You”, Abhimanyu said, “Don’t get me wrong, but what are we doing here”, he looked around.
“Becoming friends”
Abhimanyu remained silent.
“Look, we’re both freshers and both are interested in similar areas, why shouldn’t we be friends? We could have fun”, She said, “ and besides, don’t get any funny ideas, I talked to you only because I want friends, nothing more”
“What? No! No I don’t have any funny ideas”
“Also, I’m 2 years your senior”
“But you said you’re a fresher”
“Yeah I had to take a couple of years off, home problems”
“What problems?”
“I’ll tell you when we become really good friends”
“Okay then, how did you find interest in Astronomy?”
“Oh that, You see, when I was young -”
Abhimanyu’s phone chimed, he checked it.
“Oh crap! I have a class right now, I’ll see you in the AVKAS meeting this evening”
Abhimanyu drained his mug, picked up his bag and ran.

***

Nailah sipped her coffee, sitting alone at the table that was occupied by two. A calm breeze blew across her face, the strand of red hair across her left cheek moved, leaves of the tree nearby rustled.
  She looked at the guy running to class, he seemed like such a normal person. Yet, Lord Atri had asked her to guard him from all dangers.
He doesn’t know but his life is in danger. You cannot reveal who you are to him, become his friend, stay with him at all times, protect him. Lord Atri had said.
She would do anything for Lord Atri, she would give her own life for him, she would take others lives for him. After all, she owed her life to him.  

***