3rd August.
Morning didn't announce itself.
It slipped in quietly, through thin curtains and half-open windows, carrying the sound of traffic waking up and vendors arguing over space. Felix lay awake long before his alarm rang, even after his alarm rang, staring at the ceiling like it might answer him back.
It didn't.
His father's words from the day before yesterday weighed heavily on his chest.
'You are not allowed to come to the shop.'
Not anger. Not punishment.
Expectation.
He spent his entire previous day thinking about this.
'DEEP BREATH'
Felix exhaled and finally sat up.
For the first time since regressing, he didn't know where he was supposed to go.
09:30 a.m.
Seeing the time, he decides to move his body.
The house was already moving when he came downstairs.
Radha stood at the stove, stirring absent-mindedly, her bangles clinking softly. She glanced at Felix, paused, then smiled—the same gentle smile she always used when she didn't want to push.
"Good morning," she said.
"Morning," Felix replied.
She poured tea into two cups and slid one toward him. "Sleep okay?"
Felix nodded. A lie, but a harmless one.
Krishna had already left for work. No note. No instructions. Just space.
Felix took a sip of tea and let the silence stretch.
Radha broke it carefully. "You are taking this very seriously, Felix. You don't have to decide everything right now."
Felix looked at her.
"I know," he said. "But I can't avoid it either."
She studied him for a moment, then nodded. "That's true."
No reassurance. No pressure.
Just honesty.
After breakfast, Felix returned to his room.
He didn't open his books. Didn't touch his racket.
Instead, he sat on the edge of his bed and asked himself something he hadn't allowed before.
'If I remove fear… what's left?'
The answer came quietly.
Badminton.
Not trophies. Not rankings. Not redemption.
Just the feeling of the shuttle hitting the strings at the right moment. The way his body moved without thought. The silence inside rallies.
He smiled faintly.
That realization didn't solve his future.
But it gave it a direction.
.....
By afternoon, the city felt restless.
Felix stepped outside without a plan, walking until the streets changed from familiar to unfamiliar. He passed coaching centers, gyms, shops, cafés filled with students pretending not to be anxious about life.
At a traffic signal, he stopped.
Across the road was a modest sports complex—old banners, faded paint, doors half-open.
Badminton courts.
Not his courts.
Not school. Not competition.
Just courts.
Felix crossed the road before he could overthink it.
Inside, a few players practiced casually. No whistles. No coach barking orders. Just movement.
He rented a court.
Picked up a spare racket.
And played.
Not seriously. Not aggressively.
Just enough to breathe.
Somewhere between the first and second game, the pressure loosened. His feet remembered patterns his mind had forgotten. Sweat formed. Time passed.
For the first time in the day, Felix felt present.
By evening, Felix returned home tired—but lighter.
Krishna was already there, sitting in the living room, reading reports. He looked up when Felix entered.
No anger. No interrogation.
Just observation.
"You didn't go to the shop," Krishna said.
"No," Felix replied.
"What did you do?"
Felix hesitated.
Then answered honestly.
"I played."
Krishna closed the file slowly. "Because you were told not to?"
Felix shook his head. "Because I wanted to."
Silence followed.
Not tense.
Evaluative.
Krishna nodded once. "Good."
That single word carried weight.
Dinner passed quietly. Alex talked about school. Radha listened. Felix stayed present.
Dinner ended without ceremony.
Plates were cleared, water glasses refilled once, then left untouched. The television in the living room stayed off. No one suggested turning it on.
Alex hovered near the couch for a moment, remote in hand, glancing between Felix and their parents. He sensed it—the shift in the air, the kind that didn't welcome background noise.
"I've got some revision left," he said finally, already backing away.
Radha smiled. Krishna nodded.
Alex disappeared into his room without protest, the door closing softly behind him.
The house settled again.
Felix sat across from his parents, posture relaxed but alert. His fatigue from the day was visible, but so was something else—something brighter. A quiet focus that hadn't been there before.
Krishna noticed it immediately.
"You look different," he said.
Felix met his father's eyes. "Different how?"
"Lighter," Krishna replied. "But serious."
Radha leaned back slightly, observing them both. She didn't interrupt.
Krishna folded his hands together. "Have you decided?"
Felix knew what he meant.
He didn't answer immediately.
Instead, he took a breath—slow, deliberate—and sorted through his thoughts one last time.
"I'm not completely clear," Felix said honestly. "Not about everything."
Krishna waited. Radha waited.
"But I'm sure about one thing," Felix continued. "I want to pursue badminton. Not just as a habit. Not just because I'm good at it, I enjoy it. I feel… present when I play."
He paused.
"And at the same time, I don't want to lock myself into only one path. I want to explore other options too. Academics, skills—things I haven't given real thought to before."
Radha's expression softened.
Krishna didn't look surprised.
Felix swallowed, then added the part he hadn't said out loud until now.
"I think before… I was scared."
"Scared of what?" Radha asked gently.
"Of choosing wrong," Felix said. "Of deciding for myself and finding out later that I made a mistake. So I kept following what felt safe. What was already decided."
The room stayed quiet.
Not heavy.
Honest.
Krishna leaned back slightly, studying his son the way he used to when Felix was younger—when answers mattered less than intent.
"Felix," Krishna said, "no path comes with guarantees."
Felix nodded. "I know."
"What matters," Krishna continued, "is whether you chose it consciously."
Radha reached out and placed her hand over Felix's. "Whatever you choose," she said, firm and warm at the same time, "we'll stand behind you. Not in front of you. Always watching your back."
Krishna nodded once. "Support doesn't mean control. It means trust."
Felix felt something loosen in his chest.
Not relief.
Permission.
Radha tilted her head, eyes glinting slightly. "So," she said casually, "does that mean we can officially cross 'future doctor' off the list?"
Felix blinked.
Then laughed.
"Hell no," he said immediately. "That one's gone. Completely."
Krishna raised an eyebrow. "No reconsideration?"
"None," Felix replied, smiling. "I respect doctors. I am not one."
Radha laughed softly. "Good. I was worried knowing how much you feared blood."
"Right, if he can't handle small cuts of his own, how will he handle serious cases?" Krishna added
Felix shook his head, a little embarrassed, but still smiling.
The conversation drifted after that—lighter topics, small plans, nothing urgent. But something fundamental had shifted.
When Felix finally went to his room that night, he didn't lie awake staring at the ceiling.
He turned off the light.
And slept.
Peacefully.
AN- Welcome my readers. From this chapter we are entering the second volume of the story. I hope to provide you all a good story to read and get attach to so you can give me manny gifts.