Visnagar is a city divided into two distinct parts. It is like heaven and Hell, the people living here are known as the Royals and the Menials. The royals are known for their wealth, connections, and the power they possess, on the other hand, the menials are just ordinary people who are employees and servants, some of them are beggars or homeless, for the menials, life is a constant struggle, marked by cruelty and inhumanity that seemed to seep into every corner of their existence, even you can feel the difference just by stepping one foot into the places.
Visnagar is famous for its two-sided part, where both sides are from the same city yet there is nothing in common between both sides of the city, The Royal side is owned by the Royalties and Nobles, who do not follow the rules but they make them, whereas The Menials are bound to follow that rules. None of them wanted to live there but it was because of their helplessness, due to constant suppression and savagery, their inner monsters were crawling out and showing their true colors.
Today is one fine day, Sunday, a holiday. Where everybody wants to rest and enjoy the day peacefully. But even today, the scene isn’t different, where We can see that There is a Group of Teenagers beating a kid in a narrow passage, they are bullying him, cursing him, and beating him.
Abhishek (Leader of that group): Why are you like this?
Rahul: He is just a useless piece of sh*t
Sam: I hate his face…
But despite everything, he is smiling broadly and still has tears in his eyes. He cried out of despair since he was unable to contain himself. He covers all of his stress, fear, and grief behind a smile that serves as a screen for him.
But because of the Smile on his face, Bullies became even angrier.
Abhishek: Arghhhh…. I hate it when he smiles…
Sam: How could you smile even in this situation?
Rahul: Don’t waste your energy, just beat him…
They've started giving him severe beatings. Krishna passed out there as a result of their beatings and torture. He was lying on the floor, covered in blood and tears, like a fish without water.
Boy 1: Is he dead?
Boy 2: Shittt! Let’s run!
Leader (with dissatisfaction): Who cares, even if he is dead…
They left him as it is and ran away from there. They got away in a car, which is usually owned by the royals only. How could they have that car? Did they steal it from the royals? Or were they the Royals? Obviously, they are the Nobles , the Royals. They came here specifically for the purpose of bullying him, just for their amusement and inner satisfaction since it was an enjoyable activity and a way for them to kill time. Witness the story of our main character, Krishna, the kid who was beaten by the group.
Yes, He is Krishna, who is unfortunately a menial, yet exceptionally smart and outstanding.… Who always has a big smile on his face… positivity is his mindset, we can see that he has a very kind heart even if he knows the real face of the cruel World…
Krishna : I know that the world is cruel and inhumane but it doesn't matter because I have only one goal in my life to save even one person’s life… It doesn’t matter whose life it is, whether an animal or a human, still I just want to save a life… Even one life…
He cries so desperately, that it has become the only goal of his life, he was crying thinking about the same.
He is thinking about his life… whole life flashes before his eyes…
He says "Why would anybody care about me, because I am a Kid without parents… struggling and can’t even get the food once… Why do I have to face all of this… here I am hanging between a life and death situation yet there is no one… No one, who can save me…" and then he was feeling dizzy, he fainted there, he questioned himself, "When did it all start??? Oh, I remember… it all started… 1 month ago… When I got that letter… I completely remember that day,"
1 Month ago…
On one fine day, Krishna was about to get ready for his daily routine, when he saw mail… he was so confused.
Krishna was thinking: What could it be? Is it for the rent? Or could be a new problem.
Even though he was confused and scared at the same time, he thought, 'It's just a letter.' So, at last, he opened it... and he couldn't believe his eyes at what he saw. As he read the mail, he couldn’t control his tears; he started to cry, his body moving as if on its own. But this time, his tears were different—they flowed with joy and happiness. The letter was from his dream college, the number one college on the Royal Side, and it said,
"Congratulations, Krishna. You have been admitted under the Kothari Scholarship.
We will be more than happy to accept your application. Please contact us: 9*********"
The college never offered admissions through scholarships. However, rumors circulated that it was because of a big business tycoon who instructed them to do so.
The college was about to start its application process, and the Managing Director of the College and University received a call on his private number. He answered the phone and what he heard was so shocking that he instantly jumped up from his seat and wasn't able to speak anything and he ran out of his office.
He gathered the whole staff but couldn't speak as he was so excited and scared at the same time. After a long pause……
M.D. : Mr. Kothari, Mr. Kothari is coming here…
The staff got into panic mode…
Staff members: Whaa- What? Mr. Kothari is coming? Did we do something wrong?
M.D.: It was his assistant, he only told me Mr. Kothari wants to visit your College…
Staff members: It is for the first time, he is visiting somewhere, and he is one of the most powerful people in the city…
M.D.: Listen carefully everyone, talk less and start the preparation. Our college should look like his own mansion. It is your responsibility to make sure he gets comfortable here, got it?
Staff Members: Got it, sir, we will do our best.
The sentence wasn’t even finished and the whole college was shaking… It was like
an Earthquake… Everybody was so shocked…
M.D.: It is not an earthquake, it is Mr. Kothari himself
Staff members: What? He is here already… Oh my god, what are we going to do?
M.D. Called the executives for the meeting and told them Mr. Kothari is here…
It was like a Movie. There were 10s of Helicopters, 100s of Cars along with Commandos and Bodyguards. It was like a King of the Jungle was coming.
In the meeting, they were introducing themselves one by one, but Mr. Kothari just told them one thing,
Mr. Kothari: "I want to sponsor a Scholarship program for the new admissions."
Assistant: "We will host the whole thing and our team will personally select and interview the Applicants.
They were in shock as it was not their policy, they only selected the Wealthiest Families Heirs and their Successors and Children but didn’t dare to say anything against Mr. Kothari.
Mr. Kothari checked the whole college, checked closely, and gave some Instructions and Changes to make before the new Semester starts…
Love this novel? Read it on Royal Road to ensure the author gets credit.
Rumor has it that Mr. Kothari’s grandson is also taking the admission through that scholarship, to prove his credibility and intelligence. The interviewers and even the Executives, no one knows his true identity, not only that, but they also don’t even know his name, the exam will be very hard as the smartest should be enrolled.
Now, finally, the day has come, it was the day of the Interview…
The Interviewers were there, they even walked in a coordinated manner, very strict and robot-like… everybody was shocked by them.
The interview has started. They were very strict with every applicant, some were even crying with their questions…
Now it was the turn of 61 to 70, and Krishna’s number was 66, as they got inside everyone got up out of respect, Applicants were confused as to why they were like this…
Krishna saw that they did not react to their faces when they were interviewing others… but when it was his turn…. They all became very conscious and were very interested in Krishna's application… and not only did they also give him respect, but also they asked him hard questions along with number 67 and 68. Everyone found it strange, including him.
As there were only 3 students who didn’t put their surnames, which indicates one of them is Mr. Kothari’s Grandson.… This was the reason why they were Conscious of Krishna, as Krishna and Number 67 were two of them who didn’t put their surname in the applications, it wasn’t mandatory to attach your documents or background details as it was the test for the smartest ones, not the wealthiest one.
Krishna was impressed by 67 as he was so smart and handled everything smartly and he spoke 3 different languages with proficiency. He was not like the other applicants, he was so elegant, neat, and clean. He wanted to become friends with him but he left immediately. So they didn’t get a chance to meet…
One Week Later, when Krishna got the letter of acceptance,
He was so happy that he would study in his dream college,
He felt appreciated… He couldn't hold back his tears, He cried so much…
Krishna: "Finally… I did it"
Krishna continued his daily routine till the first day of college, today was his first day of college, but he was shocked, he got to know that his dream college was not exactly what he expected…
On the first day of the class, they showed him the reality, the cruel fate of Krishna and his future, which is very painful, as you have to be royal or rich to fit in the class. The society, only then you will be seen as equal, it is not so hard to understand that Menials can not sit with royals they can not even study with them, and this was the first time for the college and students to study with the menials,
The bad luck of Krishna was that he bumped into a group of top-tier royals, it became his worst mistake as they were a very dangerous and merciless group and as a result, they started to bully him.… Tortured him, harassed him, made his life miserable, and gave him their homework and assignments to do,… so in return, they would bully others. Krishna was not ready for that so he made a deal, he would do all of their homework and assignments for a whole semester and they could bully him but in return, they have to forgive others, they could bully him as they wanted just don’t bully other menial kids, they agreed upon his request as he was on his knees…
But who would have guessed doing their homework and assignments made him even brighter and intelligent in the classroom, as writing and researching several times for the same topic made him more knowledgeable so he always smiles when handing over the homework, they all got 10/10 for each of their homework and Krishna smiles brighter which made them, even more angrier, as days went by they got furious by his smile, so now they’ve started beating him, as none of them was happy with their lives even though they had everything one could ever wish for, but in reality, their lives were empty and hollow so they couldn’t tolerate a poor and orphan kid thinking "how come he is so happy and optimistic without power, money, and luxury…?" They all had terrible lives at home, as they didn’t get the love and attention, and proper values from their parents. Instead, they’ve been doing drugs, parties and living like this, which became their whole life. But Krishna was different, his day starts around 6:00 am, does some light exercises for a productive day, then freshens up and does his breakfast if he has any or mostly he skips it. He does some tuitions and other part time jobs to buy his food, fees is now covered in a Kothari Scholarship so that is a relief for him, then he comes to college, studies and then returns (dormitory) home, he studies in free time and sleeps at midnight and that is how his day usually ends.
Bullies made fun of him as now they know that there is no one to protect him and fight for him so they will bully and harass him even more than before.
Even when he answers correctly in the class it bothers them, they use him as a punching bag during recess. So he stopped answering even if the faculty specifically questioned him, he still refused to answer the question. But deep down every student knows that he got the right answers still due to fear of that group he refuses to answer them, and everyone hesitates to go against them. As they are like the mafia of the college as their families belong to the top wealthiest families in the city.
Present time
Krishna: "So, this is my lowly life’s routine, this is how I am tortured and bullied every day by them, so now it has become my routine… Now I am used to it, it’s fine as long as I can survive here. I will tolerate it with a big smile on my face.
But I am feeling weak today, as I haven't even eaten anything and not even drank a sip of water, as they didn’t let me… I was so angry, not at them but at myself… I pity myself and my life… I do not deserve to live, my life has no value or meaning… I shall die here without food and water…"
Even though he wanted to die and end his life, but he remembers the only goal of his life,
His motivation and ray of light in the dark world,
Krishna: "But I can not die here, not like this and not now… Remember why you are here… Krishna… Remember that promise you made with someone special… What you have to do…You have to save someone’s life, doesn't matter whose life it is… (But here I am, I cannot even save my own life from those so-called bullies)…Damn it… How could I become so pathetic"
Krishna added with motivation and fire in his eyes: "Yes, I do not want to die like this, I have to get up… Maybe today I am incapable of doing anything but the day shall come in my life when I will be capable enough to fulfill my dreams… and my goal… I will save someone's life… and Destiny will help me, Destiny does not have any other option…
I can't give up as I have so many things to do, fulfill my dreams and goals in my life and I want to live a happy healthy life…"
He started to get up even though he was very weak at that point he tried his best, put every ounce of energy into getting up, he was trembling with hunger, he tried but he failed, he fainted there… He woke up in the middle of the night because there were some noises, and he couldn't believe what he had witnessed, it was an attempted murder but luckily the man they tried to kill was not dead, the murderers didn’t have any clue that there was Krishna too, who is watching everything, Krishna tried to stand up… He had no energy left in him, even though he managed to get up and goes to the old man, covered his wounds with his handkerchief, and tried to stop the blood, as he knew loss of the blood causes death.
Krishna: "Don’t worry sir! Try to stay still, I am getting some help for you, try not to close your eyes" Krishna called an ambulance… and saved that middle-aged man…
Krishna: "Finally, I saved someone's life, now I can die peacefully"
Next to that narrow passage, there was a Restaurant called "Destiny" whose owner was watching everything, yet he didn’t interfere there, but after some time he saw his watch and at a certain point
He said: "It is time for dinner"
And he gave him water to drink, Krishna felt some energy, owner gave him food also and told him,
Owner with a smile: "I like how you chose to help that old man, you are a very kind-hearted person, Krishna. The reward is waiting for you… But the pain and misery you are feeling is nothing my friend, more is yet to come. All I can say is prepare for the worst…"
And he questioned Krishna: "I am a little bit curious, Why do you smile when they are beating you?"
Krishna couldn't speak anything… But he got the food, he thanked him and ate the food on the "Gully" and he tried to speak something but collapsed there, because of the internal bruises he even vomited blood. He thought he was going to die, and his eyes were closed. It seems this is it; this is it for Krishna. The smile on his face is fading away, like the ray of light in the darkness slowly dimming, and his breathing is gradually slowing down. He cannot speak, he can’t even open his eyes, yet there are no regrets on his face; he has achieved his life's goal, finally saving someone’s life. He accepts his cruel destiny.