I've been told often that I was a spitting image of my grandfather. I used to take it as a compliment until I saw a different picture of him other than the one that was kept in the shrine. He had a stadium in the middle of his head. I knew sooner or later I'll have to go full bald like that astronaut I once saw in my brother's phone. He retrieved it right after the astronaut went inside the training room leaving me quite curious about the training regiment of people that visit the space. Later in a movie I had seen the machine that rotates in a high speed that gives the same sensations if someone sits inside a rocket during take off. I once rode a Ferris wheel and realised fast that it was not for me. I felt sick for almost two days after that experience.

Someone from behind suddenly broke my train of thought by touching my shoulder. My hell teaching mate was standing behind me. I had already memorized the eight names from the list, of the students who were supposed to stay on both sides of my room when I realised that I didn't properly know the name of this guy. It started with an A and was small in length. At first I thought the Anik guy was him but he introduced himself to Saiyan before things got awkward. Arko and Saiyan shook hands in a handshake style as I explained that we took coaching classes together. Saiyan remembered that he also took coaching back home and has a friend named Aditya in Kriparcharya Bhavana. He would introduce us sometime I guess. My father called me for teaching me the knot mechanism of my mosquito net. It was a knot with two mechanisms, one was a closed loop attached to either the wall or the middle rope, and the other was a small toothpick attached to the mosquito net rope. I only needed to put the stick inside the loop. I had taken the left one among the three beds which is the first one you see after entering the door, while Saiyan took the one on the immediate right of the door, with the 'corridor facing window'. I took the wardrobe on the right end closest to my bed and he took the one on the left end closest to the door. My mom kept reminding me to keep my windows closed fearing that snakes would come inside since we were on the ground floor with a small jungle behind. I set up my wardrobe with the newly bought notebooks and stationary items and kept track of whatever my father and mother said about the places where they have kept my belongs. There were four sections inside the wardrobe, the upper one was for books and studies, after that came my clothes, below that were my bathing items, with toothbrush and toothpaste, shampoo, scrubber and soap. They also kept a handwash below my bed. Below the bathing section were miscellaneous items like umbrella, shoes and socks. After setting up my things we went out with Saiyan's parents around the campus. Maybe by the time we returned we would meet the other two guys. It was already 3pm and my parents would have to leave by 5.30pm. There were still lots of people hustling around the campus, while the seniors were nowhere to be seen. So for a better understanding of our bhavana's position, imagine a rectangle. We entered this campus from the lower left angle. The lower side had the Bhavana for seventh class seniors and the bird enclosure, with a pond behind it opposite from the center. The right side of the rectangle had our Bhavana, the upper side had Kripacharya Bhavana and behind it was a huge playground that extended beyond the boundaries of the left and right sides of the rectangle. On the left side was our school building where the classrooms were. There was a snack shop on the left upper side where most the crowd was. My father bought me some chips and biscuits despite my protests. It would suck if I buy only for them to get seized by the wardens. We walked around and then relaxed on the floor of one of the shrines dedicated to Goddess Saraswati taking in the serenity among the chaos. While people were running around on the road that surrounded the central part, the inside was totally calm with people sitting on the marble seats or under the shades of the two shrines. Many families were having a light lunch together as they won't be able to do it for another week. We came to campus on the first Sunday and visitations usually occur on the second and fourth Sunday, bad luck if there are five Sundays in a month. By the time the clock struck 5.30pm my mother was almost tearing up. We had separated from Saiyan's family to give both them and ourselves some privacy. My father hugged me first, patting my head slowly. He was breathing unsteadily, but his expression was stern.

"Make good friends and stick with them. You don't need many, just four or five will be enough. In this place where we are not present, they'll be the ones who'll become your new family. I know you can judge whom to trust by yourself. Don't worry much, I'll take care of your mother." He said glancing at my mother who couldn't hold back her tears anymore. My mother wrapped me in a tight hug and whispered with a broken voice, "You've worked so hard to get here, I won't act in a way that'll make you regret this choice. I'm atleast glad that you came here by your own choice rather than just following my mother's wishes. I hope you find what you want here. If it becomes unbearable just return home. Just stay healthy and have fun with your new friends. We are already coming back next week so don't get sad. I'll also try not to." She kissed my cheek and loosened her grasp as I freed myself.

I kept standing at the lower left end of the rectangle looking at the long road that connected this campus to the main gate two kilometres away. Why did they have to put us this far inside? My parents glanced back thrice before taking a turn and disappearing from my view. As soon as they left my view, an unknown emotion rushed out from within my stomach. There was a little fear of the unknown, excitement of a new found freedom, a bittersweet feeling of separation and minute hope for a wonderful future. As dusk set in, the sound of ringing ceremonial bells erupted from all three Bhavanas. It went on for a couple of minutes until they died down. Two wardens arrived and ushered us into our respective hostels as the seniors returning from the playground watched us like a pack of wolves waiting for their prey to step inside their den.

"Hoo, there are some that aren't crying..." I heard one of them exclaiming, as another guy interrupted, "They are the ones who usually wet their pillows at night and arrive late to the ashrama. Let's go back, we need to prepare for the next week in Marta."

The Ashrama might be what they are calling the school I guess. If students sleep late at night they might automatically be late for school. But something felt strange. This intuitive tugging feeling that had started within my body since I correlated Saiyan and that scene from my dream was not going away at all. And for good reason too. Night finally arrived at this Gurukul as the sun crept below the horizon. It was this night that overturned my view of this world forever.