On top of the hillock, a boy stood on one leg, eyes closed in deep meditation. He had been meditating from sunrise to sunset, and his forehead and biceps were smeared with sacred ash. A few villagers watched from the foot of the hillock, curious about his strange behaviour.
That boy was none other than Aachman, who was about 10 years old now and had been learning martial arts for the last five years from the village chief and playmate for the young lady. This chance was a huge boon because Aachman belongs to a farmer caste who were not literate and were generally not taught martial arts, but at the insistence of the young lady, he was given this unprecedented opportunity.
Aachman's legs were sore after standing in the same pose for several hours, meditating. He peeked through his eyelashes and saw several villagers watching him. He was disappointed that he could not change his leg.
Aachman sighed. He thought about the events that led him to this hillock. Both lackeys of the young lady in the last few years sensed prana and became real martial artists. An average person with the least talent would have become a martial artist at least three years after he started learning martial arts, but even after five years, Aachman failed to sense prana. Not only that, his health condition was worsening; he had fainted frequently and felt tired all the time.
The light drizzle started, and the villagers who had been watching Aachman with anticipation reluctantly left for their homes. Aachman waited a few moments, but as the rain intensified, he too reluctantly left for his house.
OOO0OOO
The sun was rising in the east and a rooster was crowing, but Aachman did not sleep a wink and dreaded the coming morning and announcing his lack of success in martial arts to his friends might disappoint them. The village chief already wanted him to stop practising martial arts and wanted him to learn trade or farming with his parents, but the young lady requested that he continue martial arts.
Aachman unwillingly got up and readied for the day. He picked his latest inventions and hoped this would distract them from the disappointment he was going to offer today.
"Hey, Aachman," Baldy greeted him in the backyard of the chief's house. The trio had been waiting for the priest Nithyananda to arrive, and the last five years had changed them all. Baldy was still bald, but he had grown up and started to develop muscles from working in the furnace with his father. Fatty had gotten taller and rounder, and his excitement was evident as he asked, "Aacha, I heard that you were meditating on top of the hill. Did you get any results?"
The young lady, who had been dozing off, opened her eyes and paid attention to Aachman's answer. "Ah, I still hadn't succeeded in sensing the prana," he said quickly, a guilty look on his face as the young lady's hopeful expression morphed into disappointment.
The last five years had been much kinder to the young lady, who had grown and was on the cusp of womanhood. She was like a flower waiting to bloom.
The awkward silence was broken by Fatty, who said, "Don’t worry, Aacha, I sensed prana only after my father hung me upside down and beat me senseless."
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"What!?" Aachman was taken back.
"Haa Haa, don't worry, Fatty. I will sense prana soon. There was no need to take that step yet." Aacha appeased the fatty frantically so that he would stop having dangerous ideas.
"Young lady! See, what have I brought for you?" Aacha showed the spinning tops to the young lady and her lackeys.
"Aacha, what is this?" the young lady inquired curiously.
"This is a spinning top. Let me show you how to use it." Aachman started showing a demonstration along with an explanation.
"Use this string to wind up to the top and then hold the spinning top upright with the tip facing down. Afterward, release it like this; it would start to spin."
"Oh, it is spinning," Baldy stated, and all three gathered near the spinning top, which, after some time, fell down.
"It stopped!" Fatty said in a disappointed tone.
"Don't worry," Aachman said. "We can wind up the string again. I've made spinning tops for everyone."
The young lady's eyes lit up with excitement as she snatched a spinning top from Aachman's hand. The lackeys followed suit. As expected, the young lady quickly mastered the use of the spinning top. The lackeys were a bit slower, but they eventually got the hang of it too.
"How about we play Battle Tops?" Aachman asked the young lady.
"What's that?"
"It's a game where we try to knock each other's spinning tops out. The top that stays spinning the longest wins."
When Aachman explained the game, the young lady's eyes widened with excitement. Aachman felt like he could see lasers shooting out of her eyes. The lackeys were excited too.
They all threw their spinning tops, but the young lady's top knocked them all out.
"This is cheating! Aachman shouted. "You're cheating, young lady!"
"Even you doubt her? Fatty said. "Do you think she would cheat in this insignificant game?"
"How can you say that? Baldy said, defending his master too. "The young lady is the most noble person I know."
"You guys!" Aachman shouted in frustration at the obvious toadying from the lackies.
Aachman was getting angry. This was blatant cheating. The young lady had used some kind of martial art to throw the spinning top, and it had nearly destroyed the other tops. It was still spinning after nearly five minutes, and it had even drilled a few metres into the ground.
"Lady! Because of the depression of not sensing prana, Aachman made the mistake of doubting you," Baldy declared to the young lady.
The young lady had looked furtively at Aachman and her lackeys until now, but now she looked at Aachman with pity.
"No wonder you doubted me, but I will forgive you,” the young lady stated magnanimously with a red face.
"Lady, we cannot leave it like that," Fatty requested. After all, Aacha is our friend; I think I know a way to help him."
"Tell me, Aacha is our best friend. I cannot see him like this.” the young lady spoke in grieved voice
"I was wrong when I suggested Aacha be tied upside down and beat him senseless. Even though it is a very effective technique to sense prana, Aacha has a weak body; his physique cannot be compared to a magnificent physique like mine. So, please make him a human spinning top," the fatty pleaded for Aachman to the young lady.
"Young lady, here I brought the rope,” Baldy suddenly came with a rope.
Aachman was stunned. "What?!" he cried. He looked for a way to get away, but the lackeys and the young lady were already coming at him with ropes. He looked down at the spinning top, which was still drilling into the ground. It had dug a big hole, like a borewell.
After a few moments of this event, the priest Nithyananda came to teach for the morning session but saw a ludicrous scene where Aachman tied in a rope and other kids closed on him, which did not concern the priest at all, but what shocked the priest most was "Hey, who dug the well out here?"