Two boys were sleeping soundly on the veranda. The moonlight revealed some movement inside the mud house. And a female voice shrieked, "Get up!".

From the position of the moon and the darkness of the sky, the time was estimated by ancient Indians.

Women yelled again and again. The elder boy woke up because of the noise. He squeezed his eyes to get out of sleepiness. Then he elbowed the younger boy who was sleeping near him like a rock.

Aachman woke up with the start and felt pain in his abdomen. He saw his elder brother was aiming for another elbow strike.

He got up abruptly, which coincided with another holler from his mother.

"Get up, you cannot be late for the chief's house"

Aabha saw Aachman get up and promptly went back to sleep. He was snoring within a few moments.

"Aacha, get up otherwise I will pour water on you" Bhumi screeched again.

Aachman, who was sleeping in a sitting position. He woke up with a start again, sighed heavily, got up gingerly and stretched his body to free from grogginess.

Aachman felt the house was silent except for the snoring sound of the Aabha.

Aachman thought he would inform his mother that he got up before she hollered at him again.

He peeked inside the house through the window. Bhumi was sleeping soundly near the middle-aged man who was covering his ears while sleeping.

He turned back to leave with bitter feelings but was stopped by another holler.

"Aacha"

"I woke up," Aachman said hurriedly. He did not want to hear another headache-inducing screeching sound again.

"Hmm, good. There is leftover porridge in the pot. Eat before going out"

"Okay..."

Aachman turned back to the window but stopped because his mom, Bhumi, was sleeping again or probably never opened her eyes in the first place.

Aachman grinned bitterly and scratched his head. He shrugged his head and went to complete his morning rituals.

Anjar village's lifeline was this little pond. The villagers used the pond for all sorts of reasons from washing clothes, to drinking and bathing. It was not useful only for humans but also for livestock, which heavily depended upon this pond.

Aachman stripped his dress in a hurry and plunged deep inside the pond. The water was cold. Aachman shivered but disregarded the coldness of the water and started scrubbing his body with the pumice stone. He submerged again and reappeared after a few moments.

Aachman noticed the daybreak, the sky turned to orange and reflected in the pond. That was a beautiful sight, but what a pity that Aachman cannot enjoy the moment. He raced back home for his first day of work.

When Aachman reached the village chief's house, the sky was already bright. He hoped he was not late for the first day of his job.

The fat guy was present in the living room, but the village chief and the young lady were nowhere to be seen.

"Come in. You are late, you should be at daybreak" the fat guy remarked with a frown.

"Sorry" "I am Aachman"

"I am Bholu, personal secretary for the village chief"

Bholu looked like he was not happy with Aachman's recruitment. He glared at a boy. There was an awkward pause in their conversation. Aachman started to feel uncomfortable.

"Hmph, you are not welcome here. My boy can do a perfect job as a playmate for a young lady" Bholu said darkly.

"Your son?" Aachman enquired in a confused manner.

"Yes, my son, Balu, has been a playmate for a young lady since her birth"

"They are best friends. I don't know why the young lady was fixated on you, but remember I will be watching you, no funny business"

Aachman understood the reason behind the unhappiness of this man, but his son was a playmate? He wanted to laugh at him. From what he had seen, the fat boy can be considered only a lackey.

This compelled him to remember the last time he met the young lady. It made him shiver and felt coldness spread across his spine. To take the mind off it, he asked.

"What about the village chief and young lady?"

Fat man stopped his rant, his mood looked upbeat after letting off some steam through ranting at Aachman.

"They are sleeping"

The fat man looked at the sky through the window.

"It is time. Wait here. Do not touch anything"

"The master will meet you shortly"

Bholu didn't even wait for his answer and left the room hurriedly to attend to some tasks.

"Okay" Aachman replied to an empty room and waited in part in apprehension and curiosity.

Aachman waited in the living room which was furnished with wooden chairs, carpets and paintings.

The paintings were interesting though. It gave glimpses into the village chief's life. In the first painting, the village chief was a young man duelling against the warrior. The painting subtly demonstrated the chief was in the upper hand and the other warrior was being pushed back.

The second painting was more interesting, it showed the chief as a middle-aged man sitting with his elegant wife and a strapping boy was standing behind them. The boy looked similar to the chief and was taller than the village chief.

While waiting, Aachman scrutinised the room and came to the conclusion rumours about the village chief were true. A few years back the chief's family ruled even a few towns as a feudal lord.

Standing for a long time made Aachman leg ache, he looked around to sit somewhere but could not sit on a chair without permission. This errant thought passed away after hearing the sound of footsteps approaching the room.

The chief entered the room trailed by a maid and a fat man. He sat on the chair and drank water offered by the maid.

"Boy, do you understand your work?"

"Yes, master. I will do whatever young lady asks me to do," Aachman said in a servile manner.

The chief frowned at the boy and looked displeased with the boy's answer.

"I do not want a servant but a friend for my granddaughter to confide in and accompany her in day-to-day life"

"Yes, master"

The chief looked displeased again for some reason.

"Boy, I warn you if you do funny business or have a bad influence on my granddaughter. I will punish you severely"

Aachman thought he was just a five-year-old boy. What funny business, he can commit. Even though Aachman was not happy with unwarranted prejudice against him. His expression remained calm and obedient.

"I will do as you say, master."

Chief looked at him for a few seconds.

"You can wait for Akalya in the backyard. She has already got up, and you can join her in today's lessons."

Aachman survived the older tyrant without any issue, and he knows that what awaited him was a younger tyrant. Life is full of trials and tribulations.