Aryan crouches low as a bunch of boys beat him black and blue with sticks. He covers his head and keeps his face hidden, curling his legs and rolling like a ball.

He wants to cry, curse his mates who failed to protect him.

"Stop the fight!"

Aryan feels relief wash over him.

"Mr Bose, chase those hooligans away!"

Aryan sees stars in broad daylight. His head spins. He touches the side of his forehead, feeling the warm moist blood seep into his hoodie.

Mr Brown comes and shakes him.

"Don't, don't give up."

Aryan feels his vision go hazy. There are some students with Mr Brown but he can't make out who is who. After keeping himself awake and alive for so long, the sight of a protector makes him want to go to sleep. Exhaustion fills his hot veins. Soon, he closes his eyes.

"Aryan, no! Don't just-"

Mr Brown chokes on his words. Looking back at the students, he asks them to call an ambulance.

"He did a lot for us. Guys, the election should go on without interference! I want the Peace Squad to oversee the system while I take Aryan to the hospital."

Mr Bose comes running from the side street. He is panting and sweating profusely.

"They escaped, but I noted the number of the car. It will come in handy when we report to the police."

Mr Brown scoffs. "Do you even think the police will do anything? I am damn sure who did this." He wrinkles his brows, shutting his eyes close. "God, damn it! That bastard has too many muscle and money."

"Sir, the ambulance has come!" a student shouts.

Mr Brown hears the siren.

"Bose, help me pick the man up."

With the help of the students, the two teachers leave for the hospital with Aryan, the leader of the Peace Squad. The treatment begins right inside the ambulance- he is bandaged, given oxygen support.

Aryan barely opens his eyes. A smile tugs at his lips when he sees Mr Brown. He parts his lips, struggling to speak. Mr Brown leans in.

Aryan's quivering fingers reach out for Brown's wrist. He rubs them meekly along the base of the palm. Brown shudders, eyes wide with surprise.

"Grandma would be so happy."

"No time to get cheeky, young man. You need to be alive. Not reach your grandma."

Mr Brown gently takes away his hand.

Aryan can sense he is somewhere white and sky blue with millions running around him. The chaos is silent to his ears. He imagines inside his mind the broken piece of rose marked on Mr Brown's wrist, and the matching part that had been his grandma's possession. The two couldn't remain together as society clawed in.

He can feel the side of his forearm being pricked for a second, after which the darkness surrounds his vision and lulls him to sleep.

****

Aryan feels his whole body paralysed with pain. His limbs feel heavy like iron rods and a headache makes him moan.

"Finally."

Aryan tries to crane forward but Mr Brown pushes him to the bed gently.

"You have got a fractured arm, your left earlobe torn apart and some more nuisances that will take more than a month to heal completely."

Aryan smirks.

"At least I am not a lost cause. I fought."

"Foolhardy, reckless!" Mr Brown shouts in a whisper. "You don't act like a stubborn bull with the men of Rayan. Everyone knows he is behind the fights and blood."

Aryan clenches his fist. He feels a needle injected through his birthmark- half a heart.

"I didn't," he says, taking a deep breath. "I just confronted the goons. I never accused Rayan."

"Excuse me?"

Mr Brown looks up. It's the nurse.

"Yes, ma'am. Paperwork?"

"No," she waves her hands. "The man has got some friends who want to meet him. They have also brought the police."

"Alright." Mr Brown frowns. Bose has not returned from the pharmacy yet. He shrugs it off, leaving the room to go talk to the police.

"Only one person at a time," the nurse says to the boys outside.

Aryan vows to twist their necks after he gains his energy. Those rascals could not even save him even after the rigorous training of months.

"Crap."

Yet, those are his friends, and he feels in the seventh heaven to know they have come to check him.

Aryan sees Mr Brown walk with brisk little steps outside his cabin. He abruptly stops, coming inside.

"Be careful."

His eyes are watery, hands gripping the doorframe with ferocity. He walks away hastily, and then a young man enters the cabin.

"One at a time, alright?"

The man nods his head. "No, they won't come."

The nurse leaves the two.

Aryan feels the hubris of wrath bubble in the cauldron of his mind.

Rayan stands before him, smiling apologetically with a twinkle in his eyes.

"I am sorry."

Aryan keeps his cool. He can't let him know, not at least verbally, that he is aware of the fact who is his friend and who is his foe.

Rayan comes and sits beside his bed, taking Aryan's palm in his, squeezing it gently.

"I will be fine. Don't worry, Peace Squad will be back," Aryan assures.

Rayan glares at him, hiding the fury soon behind his sublime smile and half-closed hooded eyes.

"Good," he mutters, inspecting the uninjured arm of Aryan. Suddenly, his eyes fall on a very queer looking birthmark.

"What?" Aryan asks.

"Half a heart?"

Aryan feels uncomfortable. "Yeah, but why-"

Rayan frees Aryan, pulling the sleeves of his shirt down and covering his limbs. But it's too late and the secret is bare.

Aryan shifts on his bed, feet curled inward. Some invisible hand clutches his windpipe, blowing in poisonous air inside his heart.

"We will meet soon." Rayan forces a steel smile and runs for the door.

Aryan is left wondering about his grandma's words.