Aachman woke up at midday, bored and with nothing to do. The village chief had told him to focus on awakening his prana, and only after that would he be allowed to join the young lady's martial arts training.
It is not like Aachman's family allowed him to live an unemployed life. Kari had even taken him to the farm to work, but Aachman's health had steadily declined, even as he learned martial arts. He had hoped that awakening his prana would solve the issue of his weak body,but he still could not succeed.
Once, he fainted after only a few days of manual work on the farm. Kari was disappointed and left him at home to recover. But the other family members didn't stop working to take care of him. Kari and Aabha left at dawn and returned by sunset, busy with planting season chores. Bhumi did all the housework, such as preparing food and washing clothes. And this was the ancient time, when entertainment was scarce. So Aachman was utterly bored.
Aachman sat on the verandah, watching the villagers pass by. He never imagined being unemployed at tender age of ten. His health prevented him from doing manual labor, and his prana was not yet awakened, so he could not become a warrior. There was other work that didn't involve manual labor, but the priest caste monopolized it.
Unlike modern India, where one could convert to Islam or Christianity if unhappy with their religion, in ancient India, changing castes was forbidden. There was no conversion allowed.
If you are born as a farmer, then you are a farmer, and if you are born as a manual scavenger, then you are a scavenger. It was hard to have other professions because the ancient system (the four-caste system) did not have space for it.
Aachman was depressed because of dreary thoughts which was going on his mind for some time. He could not see the light at the end of tunnel but he knew that he could escape from his predicament if he successfully awaken his prana.
So, Aachman got up with new zeal and hurried purposefully towards the hillock, which was fast becoming his favorite place to meditate.
ooo0ooo
On the unnamed hillock, Aachman fantasized of villagers naming it after him if he awakened his prana. It was an easy climb, with gentle slopes. From the top, he surveyed the busy villagers below. Then, he closed his eyes to meditate.
He focused on his breath, expanding his senses all over his body. The village chief had not explained how to sense prana well, saying only that there would be nothing, then there would be something, and that he would know what to do, like with his hands and legs.
Aachman stood still on the hillock, concentrating hard on his meditation. Time flew by until a fat droplet fell on his nose. He ignored it and tried to continue meditating, but the rain soon turned into a downpour. Aachman realized today was not the day he would awaken his prana.
He started to descend the hill, but the rain had made the ground slippery. He slipped and slid all the way to the bottom, shouting in surprise. Youngsters hurrying home because of rain heard the shout and ran towards him with concern.
Aachman slid down the hill with a shout. The ground was slippery, but there weren't many stones in the way, so the ride was relatively smooth. It was like a water slide at a modern water park. It was exhilarating!
This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report.
When he reached the bottom, a group of youngsters surrounded him. His elder brother, Aabha, was also there.
"Aachman, what happened?" Aabha asked with concern. "Did you get hurt?" He came closer and patted Aachman on the back.
Aachman stood up and patted his muddy backside. "Fall? What do you mean fall?" he replied, looking at everyone. "I didn't fall down the hill. I found a new way to get down."
Aabha glanced at his friends. They all knew Aachman's character. He liked to pretend to know everything and could do nothing wrong. So, they didn't say anything about his mishap. They were just relieved that he wasn't injured.
"Let's hurry," Aabha said, looking up at the sky. The rain was pouring down and showed no signs of stopping.
"What do you mean?" Aachman said. "Didn't you see me slide down?" He was fishing for compliments from the group. "Don't you want to slide too?"
The group thought to themselves, "We don't want to fall down the hill like you."
"Come on, guys, help me," Aachman said. "I felt a few stones on the path while I was sliding down. If we remove them, we'll have a smooth slide."
Aabha knew Aachman well and knew it was better to do what he said, otherwise he would throw a tantrum. He sighed and started picking up stones from the path. The group followed suit.
Within ten minutes, they had removed all the stones from the path.
"Come on, guys," Aachman called out as he headed to the top. The group followed him.
"Okay, who wants to slide first?" Aachman asked the group. No one volunteered.
"See, it's not that high," Aachman said, trying to placate them. But they wouldn't budge.
Aachman decided they needed shock therapy.
"Isn't that Mala over there?" Aachman pointed, and all the youngsters craned their necks to look. Aabha even came to the edge to get a better view.
Aachman took the chance and pushed Aabha down the hill. Fortunately, Aabha slid down the path that had been prepared for sliding.
"Ahhh!"
"Help me!"
Aachman remained silent until Aabha reached the bottom. Then he looked at the group and asked, "Who's next?"
Aabha stood up and glared at Aachman. "Why did you push me down the hill?" he demanded.
Aachman snorted. "Otherwise, you would never have slid down," he said dismissively. "What did you feel after the fear receded?"
Aabha looked thoughtful. He opened and closed his mouth as if he couldn't find the words to explain. "Freeing?" Aachman asked impatiently.
Aabha grudgingly nodded but didn't say anything. It was as if he was experiencing this emotion for the first time.
“You want to try again? Or should I go?" Aachman asked. Aabha's eyes glowed and he said firmly, “I am first.” He did not wait for Aachman’s response and started to slide downhill with a shout of joy.
"Hey, who wants to go next?" Aachman called out to the group. This time, a few people timidly accepted the offer. Within minutes, everyone had experienced sliding down the hill, and they queued up for another chance, despite the pouring rain.
When the youngsters didn't come home, their fathers came looking for them and saw the boys sliding down the hill. It didn't take long for Aachman to convince them to try sliding too. Even Kari, Aachman's father, gave it a go, sliding down on a branch. Aachman thought that Kari was probably the first man to surf in ancient India.
All good things must come to an end, and this ended when the women came looking for their sons and husbands. This time, Aachman couldn't convince them to slide. They could only look at the dirty dhotis and wonder how long it would take to clean them.
Bhumi came and scolded her children, then her husband, Kari. As the men of Aachman's family meekly followed Bhumi towards the house, Aachman looked at the group dispersing to their respective homes. When their eyes met, the villagers grinned, and Aachman felt that they looked at him differently. Perhaps it was with a tinge of respect. Aachman felt that for the first time in both of his lives, he might not be disappointed if he failed at farming or not becoming a warrior. He felt that he had finally found his calling.