4th August.
5:30 a.m.
Felix woke up the next morning without an alarm.
Not because he had overslept—but because his body had already learned the rhythm. The faint light slipping through the curtains, the distant sounds of the street waking up, the quiet hum of a house that had begun to move before voices filled it.
For a moment, he lay still.
Not thinking.
Just breathing.
That, too, felt new.
In his previous life, mornings had always been heavy—either rushed, regretful, or filled with the dull anxiety of another day he wasn't sure he was handling correctly. This morning carried none of that weight. It wasn't exciting. It wasn't special.
It was steady.
Felix got up, washed his face, changed, and stepped out just as Krishna was tying his shoes near the door.
"Ready?" his father asked, glancing up.
Felix nodded.
They walked together, side by side, as they always did. The neighborhood was quiet in that early-morning way—shops still half-shuttered, the air cool, the roads uncluttered. A few familiar faces passed by, exchanging nods rather than words.
They didn't talk much.
They didn't need to.
Krishna's presence was calm, grounding. He walked with the same unhurried pace he always had, hands clasped behind his back, eyes scanning the road ahead rather than the past or the future.
Felix matched his steps unconsciously.
On the way, Krishna asked, "So are you going to come to the shop today?"
"No," Felix continues. "Why? I can come if you need my help."
"Naa, I can handle it on my own." Krishna couldn't stop a smile comes to his face.
By the time they returned home, Radha already had breakfast ready. Nothing elaborate. Something warm, simple, filling. Alex joined them soon after, yawning dramatically as he took his seat.
"You're up early," Felix said.
Alex shrugged. "Habit. Exams are near... Wait, is that sarcasm?"
Felix smiled faintly, annoying Alex very much.
After breakfast, Felix grabbed his bag. Alex followed, still chewing the last bite of toast.
They walk together, the road familiar, the school gates approaching faster than Felix expected. When Alex hopped off, slinging his bag over his shoulder, he paused.
"Good luck today," Alex said.
"For what?" Felix asked.
Alex grinned. "Figuring out life."
Felix laughed softly. "Go study."
Alex ran toward the gate. After a few steps, he paused again.
"Umm... can you ask Dev about my games?" he said, hesitantly.
"Aren't your first term exams near?"
"...They are, but..."
"Relax, I will ask him. Now go."
"Okay."
Felix stayed there for a second longer, watching students pour in. Voices overlapped. Laughter. Complaints about homework. Small worlds colliding and separating every few seconds.
Then he turned.
And started walking.
Alone.
The road stretched ahead of him, quieter on this side. With each step, his thoughts slowly caught up.
'Future.'
The word had followed him for two nights, sitting silently at the back of his mind. His parents hadn't pushed him. They hadn't demanded a decision. But they had opened a door he couldn't pretend wasn't there.
Badminton.
Exploration.
Choice.
And with choice… came responsibility.
Felix exhaled slowly.
Money crossed his mind—not greedily, not desperately, but practically. Training required time. Equipment. Travel. Entry fees. Even exploring other paths needed resources. Freedom wasn't free. It had never been.
'Wait.'
And then, uninvited, memory stirred.
Stocks.
Companies.
Numbers.
He remembered them.
Names that didn't mean much now, but would later. Businesses that looked ordinary today, overlooked, unremarkable—destined to explode in value over the next few years.
The knowledge surfaced easily.
Too easily.
Felix slowed his steps.
He could, theoretically, act on it.
That realization was dangerous.
Because it carried temptation.
But just as quickly, another thought followed—clearer, sharper.
'I don't know how.'
He didn't know how to open an account. He didn't know how regulations worked. He didn't know how much capital was needed—or how to explain it to anyone.
He knew outcomes.
Not processes.
And that mattered.
Felix stopped walking.
He stood at the side of the road, eyes fixed on nothing in particular.
In his first life, he had made the mistake of believing that knowing 'what' was enough. That life would somehow adjust itself around intention.
It hadn't.
This time, he refused to repeat that.
Knowing the future didn't make him immune to ignorance. If anything, it made his ignorance more dangerous—because mistakes would be deliberate, not accidental.
Felix clenched his hand slightly.
'Not yet.'
That was the decision.
No impulsive moves. No shortcuts taken in arrogance. If he wanted to walk a different path, he needed to understand the ground beneath his feet first.
He started walking again, slower now, more deliberate.
He didn't feel frustrated.
He felt… grounded.
The realization wasn't dramatic. There was no surge of ambition, no cinematic resolve. Just a quiet understanding settling into place.
He didn't need to rush.
He needed to learn.
As the school building came into view, the crowd started increasing.
Felix noticed someone standing near the gate, instead of entering.
Dev.
Hands in his pockets. Backpack slung over one shoulder. Expression neutral, as always. He wasn't scrolling through his phone or talking to anyone. Just standing there, waiting.
Seeing him, Felix didn't wave, didn't call out.
But something clicked.
Not a plan.
An awareness.
Dev understood systems. Not outcomes, not surface-level success—but foundations. Structure. Process. The kind of thinking Felix realized he needed before acting on anything involving the future.
Later, he thought.
Felix walked to him. "Hey, good morning."
"Good morning. You are not with Nikhil?" Dev asked.
Before Felix could reply, a bike came near them
BRROOMM BROOM
"Talk of the devil," Felix said, shaking his head.
"And the devil is here." Dev completed the sentence.
"Devil? where?" Nikhil asked while parking his bike.
There are not many students who come to school on a sports bike.
"Haha. Nowhere," Felix laughed a little, pacing towards his class. "Hurry up, we are going to be late for class."
Dev followed him.
"Wait, there's still time for Maria's class. And what were you talking about, devils? hey." Nikhil also moved.