His Calamitous Fate
A clunk woke Ravikanth up. Sleep eluded him the previous night. And the night before that. The hard, ice-cold flooring didn't give him the comfort that he was used to. The door opened and picking up the dented mug, he walked to the dining area. The clammy odour made the juices in his empty stomach churn. Contrary to the glorious life he was used to, life in the hellhole seemed agonizing.
Around two decades back, the Mathur family was blessed with a boy. His birth had obliterated the darkness created by the birth of three girl children. Their only source of illumination that he was, he was mollycoddled. Every milestone, big or small was celebrated. Garlands woven with cajolery embraced him at an early age. Not only his parents and grandparents but the entire town adored him.
He walked on a carpet designed with adulation. Not knowing that the thorns camouflaged beneath those sugar-coated words would rip his life apart someday, he revelled in the hero-worship. He was surrounded by a group of sycophants in the name of friends. The affluence of the Mathur family concerned his teachers and they refrained from guiding him towards rectifying his mistakes.
Years passed. He entered college. Like always he had ruled the roost for a year. One morning, a vibrant student Nikitha, entered the campus casting a shadow on Ravikanth's fallacious glory. A combination of beauty and brains that she was, she garnered attention. Ravikanth had crossed paths with her on a few occasions but they weren't noteworthy. Self-absorbed that he was, he had ignored her.
A year passed. The much-hyped student elections had come knocking on their doors. He was confident that he would be unanimously chosen as their leader. On the day, he filed his nomination he saw another application. It belonged to Nikitha. It was the first time that he ever faced opposition. He went red with rage, took a swing at the glass table and injured himself. The sycophants that he bred gave Nikitha a series of warnings. But in vain.
Her oration attracted her fellow students. Her humility made her likeable. The adoration she was showered with irked Ravikanth. Insecurity took seed in his mind paving the way to something untoward.
A week later, she was found in a hospital. She had suffered grievous injuries. Donning a smug smile, he was about to grace the campaign but the officials apprehended him. Investigation revealed that he had tampered with her vehicle and that led to the accident. Knowing that his influential father would free him, he entered the jeep while flaunting the handcuffs. The case was filed and he was kept on holding.
Dipping his finger in the water like gravy, he smirked when one of the officials informed him that he was free to go. Little did he know that he would rot in the rabbit hole embellished with adulation someday. Albeit unknowingly, his parents inked his calamitous fate.
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