On a bright morning, in my new room filled with books, a guitar, and a wooden sword, I was reading a book on how to control wind magic. Suddenly, I heard my mother's voice.
"Rudra, baby, come for dinner!" she called.
"I'm coming, Mother," I replied. My small legs and soft hands, dressed in a blue T-shirt and black pants, moved swiftly. Holding my guitar, I went straight to the dining table and tightly hugged my mom from behind.
"Mother, what did you make today?" I asked.
"Rice, fish, and vegetable stew," she answered with a smile.
Just then, my father moved his chair to sit down, interrupting our moment. Mother, with an annoyed expression, said, "If you don't like it, why don't you eat outside?"
Reyand just smiled. "No, dear," he said. "I think our boy is bored of eating the same food daily."
"No, I like anything Mother makes," I said with a normal face.
"Oh, my boy," Alice whispered, while Reyand muttered, "Mama's boy."
"Are you saying anything, honey?" Alice asked Reyand.
"No, nothing," Reyand said, quickly changing the subject. "How is your training going, boy? Do you learn what I teach you?"
Suddenly, a small wind slash moved across the table, making Reyand's tea cold.
"Father, I can control small wind power!" I exclaimed.
"That's my boy," Reyand said, his eyes twinkling. After our happy conversation, Reyand said he was going to work, and after eating, I told my mom I was going to Vivian's house.
"First", she said, before I could leave, "you must put this white flower in your hair as usual. Now you are ready." 🌸 "Okay, dear, take care."
I held my guitar and moved toward Vivian's house. Near my friend's house, I shouted, "Hey, Viv, let's go to play!"
A boy my age with brown hair, a light-medium skin tone, and black eyes appeared. He wore a grey shirt and blue pants, holding a stick and surrounded by many cattle.
"So today, we have to take care of them again?" I asked.
"Yes, I think they like your guitar playing," Vivian said with a smile.
"Then I will play the guitar and take care of the cattle, and you can sleep," I replied with a wide laugh.
Suddenly, Vivian said, "No, I'll give you the lunch that Mom packed for us."
Upon hearing this, I took the lunch from his hand. "Now the deal is done," I announced.
"No, Rudra, share with me; it's my food!" Vivian requested.
"Your mom makes it for us, and I will take care of your cattle, so all this food is mine," I reasoned.
"No, please share with me," Vivian said with an amused face.
"After looking, I will think about sharing the food," I said.
After our discussion, we moved toward the long field full of grass with two or three trees in the corner. We sat beneath one tree, and Vivian left the cattle to graze. I then took out the small guitar from my back and said, "Now it's time for some music." 🎸
I started to play the guitar with only one string. I explained, "I try to play like I listen to in the temple every time my mom takes me. I always practise it with my guitar, and I've finally got the same sound of rainwater and a breathing breeze from my guitar. I can play better after a few minutes."
After playing for a while, I saw the cattle grazing near the second tree and Vivian asleep. "He never changes," I thought. I moved to the other end of the grassland and began to meditate, trying to control my wind energy, just as Aunt Angela had taught me.
I moved and put my hand on a rock. "Wind Palm!" I said, fusing my mana into my palm and moving it toward the centre of the rock to blast it. But only some cracks appeared; it wasn't effective. After trying the same practice for a long time, I felt hungry and moved toward Vivian's lunch.
Suddenly, I heard the noise of a moving carriage and looked up in surprise. It was a carriage, but there were two of them, with lots of things. I remembered my mom telling me about this; it happened when someone moved to the city or bandits attacked—the bad people who moved with a carriage. It was the first time I had seen this type of thing, but I couldn't keep up with who was coming or going.
After not thinking too much, I put the guitar on my back and held Vivian's stick, moving fast toward the carriage. After moving not too far, not in the main village or even the forest, but in the middle of a field in front of a house, the carriage stopped, and three people emerged. I watched, hiding above a tree, tightly holding the wooden stick. 🌲