Episode 14:
The morning sunlight slipped through the cracks of Alok Fanando's thin curtains, casting sharp lines across his small room. The house was silent except for the faint clatter of his mother preparing food in the kitchen. His father hadn't come home the previous night again.
Alok pulled himself out of bed, still feeling the heavy weight of yesterday's humiliation. His classmates' mocking laughter, the teachers' cold indifference, the whispers about him being "a useless dreamer." Those echoes lingered in his head like poison.
He touched the pendant resting on his chest. Why do I still carry this? he thought. Sometimes it felt like the pendant was the only thing listening to his silent screams.
At school, the air was the same as always thick with gossip and judgment.
"Hey look, it's the poor boy again," a student snickered as Alok entered the classroom.
Another added, "Careful, maybe his pendant is cursed. That's why nothing good happens to him."
Alok kept his head low, sliding into his seat. He clenched his fists, but said nothing. If I fight back, I'll just make things worse for Mom. If I ignore them… maybe they'll stop.
But ignoring never worked.
During lunch break, when most students gathered in groups, laughing and sharing food, Alok sat alone under a tree at the edge of the schoolyard. His stomach grumbled, but he didn't open his lunchbox it only had half a piece of bread inside.
As he tried to swallow his pride and his hunger, a shadow fell across him.
It wasn't one of the bullies this time. It was Rihan, a quiet boy from another class.
"You… always sit here?" Rihan asked, his tone calm but curious.
Alok blinked, caught off guard. Nobody ever approached him unless it was to insult him. "…Yeah. Easier to be alone."
Rihan studied him for a moment, then sat down without asking permission. "Alone isn't always easier."
Alok didn't respond, but for the first time in a long while, the silence didn't feel suffocating.
Before he could say more, though, the pendant around his neck suddenly shivered like a faint pulse of energy. It was so subtle no one else noticed. Alok froze, pressing his palm against it.
Again… why now?
The bell rang, breaking the moment. Rihan stood and glanced at him. "You're not what they say you are, Alok. I can see it."
Then he walked off, leaving Alok stunned.
That night, lying in bed, Alok couldn't shake those words. Not what they say I am… then what am I? His pendant gave off one last faint glimmer before fading into silence.
And for the first time, Alok dreamed of a sky not of Earth, filled with burning stars and endless chains of light.