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His father was never abusive. No, he didn't even raise his voice at Kiaan but his ignorance spoke louder than any words or action could speak. He was just tired. Tired of being a father to his ungrateful and problematic children who came before Kiaan. So disappointed and hurt was his soul that he refused to give his youngest a chance. He was done raising criminals. 

Kiaan wasn't one of them, he knew very well. But he just couldn't tell his heart that fact. Kiaan's mental disorder came to the surface at the same time when his eldest brother was arrested for homicide. No wonder he was panicked. Kiaan was sent to therapy to get rid of this disease of his but it never worked. How could it? 

Charity begins at home. So does therapy. 

He wasn't in an environment that could be deemed ideal for that. It was far from that. Thousands of miles away. 

So, it's not false to assume he never got to spend time with his father which could be called a happy memory let alone go on picnics and family outings. 

Hence, Kiaan finds his heart aching when his eyes cast on the title family who are enjoying their dinner. It breaks his heart to see how the father is cleaning after his toddlers, smiling all along and his wife is recording the adorable moment to capture it for later. It hurts because he never got to experience something so mundane yet so beautiful. 

"Oii, mute! Go and clean that table over there. What are you doing there?" A man says before smacking his head. 

Kiaan looks at the man who promised him food and some money in exchange for his labor as the waiter of a roadside restaurant. 

Kiaan nods his head, taking the rag off his shoulder to clean yet another table. He is exhausted to the point of fainting. It's been 8 hours since he started working but the promised food never came. The man who hired him told him that he would get it after the busy hours passed. But this restaurant always seems busy with people. 

Putting the thought of his unbearable hunger at the back of his head, he gets to work once again. Cleaning tables and washing dishes aren't that hard, he reasons with himself. They will soon feed him. At least, it's better than begging on the streets. There is one undying fear that resides in his heart though. He wishes his disorder won't make an appearance to make it harder for him. 

The happy family have finally finished their dinner and Kiaan is called to clean that table as well. He finds a wallet on a chair while doing so. Luckily, his instinct to hide the wallet hasn't kicked in. Maybe because his instinct kicks in when he sees something that he doesn't need and the 1000 notes sticking out of the wallet tells him how much he needs it. 

Waiting no further, he runs with the wallet out of the restaurant to find the owner. They mustn't have gone far. He sighs in relief finding the couple just a few steps away. 

As it still hurts if he tries to speak, he opts for tapping the man on the shoulder. The man looks back with thick annoyance but it resolves as soon as his eyes fall on the wallet in Kiaan's hand. A grateful smile takes over in an instant. 

"Manish! How could you be so careless?" His wife chides, looking at the wallet. 

The man ignores his wife and focuses on the boy in front of him. 

"Thank you so much, kid. It has all my credit cards and all the important stuff." He exclaims in an almost cheery tone, still going through the wallet to see if his contents are there still. 

His face adapts to a smile much brighter than the earlier one, the worrying line he had while inspecting the wallet has already melted away. 

"You are an honest kid." The man praises, putting his hand on Kiaan's shoulder. 

At that moment, he remembers Manav's words the first time they met. He still can't forget those sympathetic eyes of Manav, he still can't forget any of them though it has already been 5 days. 

Kiaan manages to crack a polite smile at the man. His smile fades away when the man pulls out a note of 1000 and tells him to take it as a reward for his honesty.

If he weren't in this tight position, he would have swiftly declined the offer. However, now his pride can't come before his needs. His fading smile ignites while receiving the offer from the man. 

"Honestly does make one great." He wanted to tell that to Manav so badly. 

After a few exchanges of smiles and words from their side, they part away. Kiaan then makes his way back to the restaurant, tucking the note in his pocket. He won't have to worry for food for a few days at least, his stomach grumbles at the very thought of it.

"Come here, mute boy." The man hollars as soon as Kiaan comes within his line of view. 

The man who is also the manager of the restaurant drags Kiaan at the backside of the restaurant which is prohibited to the public. 

Kiaan didn't know what to expect from that man. He was literally going through trash when the man found him 8 to 9 hours ago and offered him work. Kiaan gladly accepted it. However, those 8 hours have taught him of the nature of the man. He isn't too kind. He likes to get physical to prove a point. Kiaan has been smacked at the head for more times than he can count. 

A slap on the cheek wasn't something he saw coming. So brutal is the force that Kiaan stumbles back at the force, barely holding himself back from crashing to the ground. 

"When you find something in here, you bring it to me. Do you hear me, boy?" The man asks with a clenched jaw, holding Kiaan by his work uniform. 

Kiaan nods his head, blinking away the tears. He didn't know he had to do that when the owner of the wallet was right around the place. His ears are still ringing because of the brute force the man has used to slap him. His exhausted body is ready to collide with the floor any moment. 

The man then goes through his jeans pocket and takes the note out. He slaps the boy again. 

"You take money from the customers by being a Saint, huh? Who told you to give it back to him? It all would be mine." He fumes in anger, still holding Kiaan by his collar. 

"Honesty doesn't make anyone a fool. It's dishonesty that does the trick. It can turn anyone blind too." He wanted to inform Manav of this thought as well. 

And he feels like a criminal when he can't control himself from stealing. But here, the man is so proudly speaking as if he were about to do something so great that would benefit the whole human kind. 

However, Kiaan's food and sleep deprived body cannot take anymore assault. Consequently, he falls limp into the ground with a loud thud. 

"What did you do boss?" A shrieked voice comes from another employee. 

The manager finds himself speechless for a while but then it turns into annoyance.

"Throw his body somewhere. I don't want any trouble." The man orders his employee before walking away, folding the note and keeping it in his pocket. 

He hired the mute boy thinking the boy wouldn't be able to complain and work nonstop. He saw the hunger flashing in the boy's eyes. It would be easier to make a hungry man work. He is always understaffed so it doesn't hurt to hire someone. He will just give the boy some leftover food. That's what he had in mind but now the boy has fainted on him. He doesn't want to deal with that.

********* 

"Why are you still here? The new shipment has arrived. I told you to check it." Avinash says to Arjun, unimpressed by his lack of professionalism. 

"I sent Manav." Arjun replies, still lost in his mind. 

"That clown will take 10 guns for himself. We will be lucky if he doesn't shoot someone dead to test how the guns work." Avinash says, rolling his eyes. 

"That's why Rajeeb went with him." 

"Arjun! Snap out of it, will you? Both of them are noobs when it comes to weapons. You know that."

Avinash huffs seeing a familiar piece of paper on his hand. He can understand Arjun's inner turmoil but they will have to move on. It's not like they have given up on the kid. They are still searching for him. 

Apparently, the kid's not from here. He's from Queens, New York. There's also a missing complaint filed on his name by his siblings. Something doesn't add up. But the Venom aren't that bad at connecting dots. Before dying, Mr.Rajpoot had named everything in his youngest son's name. Everything. Now it's of course suspicious that the kid is missing after transferring everything to his siblings' name. When they learnt about his situation, his little note made more sense and it made them feel more guilty than before. 

A little piece of paper which hardly weighs anything, feels like a heavy stone in Arjun's hand. Guilt is hammering his heart with every breath he takes. Each word written on the paper should have been glued to his mind right now because he has read it like how a religious man reads his scripture. But the guilt makes him forget it. It would be easier to forgive himself if the boy's situation didn't bear a sharp familiarity with his. 

"I will try my best to refrain myself from boring you all with my sob story but I can't promise. 

Sympathy, compassion, Care and kindness are some terms that I'm not familiar with. But if I could give them a face now, I would take your names. You guys can decide who plays what. When I received food and a bed to sleep on instead of a bullet to my head, I knew what those feelings felt like. I knew I had been treated nicer by a group of dangerous people than the people I grew up with. Isn't it ironic? But I messed up. Instead of showing my thankfulness, I showed something I cannot control. I'm sorry for being that way. I'm sick in the head. It's pretty much rotten. I'm sorry that I can't control my head. I don't expect you guys to believe me or have sympathy for me. But please accept the thing I've left for you all. It's the only gift that I received from my father after winning the Math Olympiad. While it's monetary value isn't much, it's the closest thing to my heart. Please, use it well. And don't worry. I won't tell a soul about any of you. I can't speak, remember? I will always remember my little stay at your home because it will be a permanent guest of my memory. Blood runs out but humanity doesn't. Thanks for proving that to me." 

There's a worn out wrist watch in Arjun's other hand. The boy didn't hesitate to leave a thing that matters a lot to him. Arjun could have brushed the letter off claiming it to be made up nonsense if only he didn't meet the boy personally. But now that he knows about his family, his heart breaks down at the line where he stated they have been nicer than his own family. Arjun only remembers being harsh to the boy. Is it what he thinks is nice? It doesn't surprise him seeing the history of his siblings. Each of them are fucked up. Some are convicted criminals, some are white collar criminals. They couldn't get much information about his personal life, he knows he's hitting the bull's eye by suspecting his siblings. The boy had his tongue burnt for God's sake! He was supposed to be in the USA but he is here, roaming the streets of Mumbai. 

Oh, Arjun knows how it feels to be treated like shit by people who are supposed to take care of you, protect you. He sees his younger self in Kiaan's shoes and it makes his heart heavier. He had walked through hell once, he can't envision walking through it again. He can't think of the kid walking the path he once walked. This is what makes him so guilty and helpless. How couldn't he see the signs?

"We will find him soon, Arjun. Don't worry." Avinash assures his friend. 

Mumbai is a big city but they have their ways. He is positive that they will find the kid soon and make him have what was originally his. 

"What did he mean by he is sick in the head?" Arjun whispers. 

"I don't know. But maybe he will tell us once we find him." 

"You know, Avi. I never thought I would be able to free myself from that hell but then you came along. You trusted me when no one else was at my side. You saved me, Avi. But I failed to see the boy's helplessness. What do I lack?" 

"The only thing we lack here is communication. I could help you because you talked to me, because you knew you could trust me. That boy couldn't talk, he didn't even know if he could trust us. So, I will only blame it on the miscommunication." Avinash assures the distressed man. 

"I want to help him." Arjun determines. 

"Don't we all?" Avinash chuckles. 

"You collect poor souls like us like Thanos collects infinity stones. I don't doubt you." Avinash laughs at the comparison. 

"I have my reasons." Avinash speaks. 

"I know." 

"Now, let's go find your boy. I may have just gotten a clue from one of my men." 

And within a few seconds, they are out of the house, informing the other two about their plan.

A/N: My phone is acting like a little shit and it's even hard to type. Please ignore all the mistakes. I will proofread later.

Thanks for reading. How was the chapter? :)