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Chapter 15 – The Broken Code

Don sat on the edge of his bed, the gang photo still clutched in his hand. His cigarette had burned itself out long ago in the ashtray, its thin trail of smoke curling toward the cracked ceiling like a whisper of the past.

He traced the faces in the photo.

There was R — tall, fearless, always smirking even when chaos broke loose. Next to him was Don himself, younger, less tired, but with the same cold eyes. Then there were the others: Gino, Raka, Nailu, and a younger boy named Ashu who always carried a slingshot even when he didn’t need it.

Back then, they weren’t just a gang.

They were a family.

But families break.

Especially when the streets are your playground.

---

That weekend, Don didn’t step out of the house much. He ignored Jake’s texts, Gor’s missed calls, and even the house’s growing tension.

His father had started drinking again.

His mother had locked herself in her room after yelling at a news report about suicide rates.

The ghost of Aarya lingered in the corners of every room.

Don wrote. Story after story. Most about friendship. Some about betrayal. All about boys growing up in a world that didn’t love them back.

And every story had a character named R.

---

Monday arrived.

The school hallway was filled with the usual chaos — students late for assembly, laughter bouncing off walls, paper airplanes, and seniors pretending they had better things to do.

Jake stood by Don’s locker.

He didn’t say anything when Don arrived.

Neither did Don.

Jake finally broke the silence. “You’re part of Blue Fang.”

Don kept his expression blank. “That was a long time ago.”

Jake’s voice trembled. “You were vice-captain.”

Don leaned closer. “Keep your voice down.”

“Why didn’t you tell us?”

“Because it doesn’t matter now.”

Jake’s fists tightened. “Yes, it does. You lied to us every day. Pretended you were just some sad kid with a broken past, when in truth you were leading a gang—”

“I never led anyone,” Don snapped. “I followed R. I was his right hand. I was the balance to his fire. But when he vanished… everything fell apart.”

Jake stared into his friend’s eyes.

And saw the weight of guilt.

---

Later that day, during lunch, Don sat alone beneath the banyan tree.

The same tree where they had all once promised to be brothers forever.

The wind was quiet that day, as if holding its breath.

Gor approached, this time without Jake.

He sat beside Don and said nothing for a long time.

Then finally, softly, “I remember the day we found out Aarya had… left.”

Don didn’t react.

“I remember how you didn’t cry. You just stared. And then you disappeared for weeks. We thought you went to boarding school. But you didn’t. Did you?”

Don shook his head. “No. I was gone. But not to any school.”

“Where?”

“To the streets.”

And then, for the first time, Don told Gor everything.

About the gang. About R. About the fights, the protection rackets, the betrayals. About being beaten. About leading when he didn’t want to. About being feared by others and hating himself for it.

And about how he left it all behind the day R vanished without saying goodbye.

---

Gor didn’t interrupt. He just listened.

Then, as the sky began to turn orange with evening, Gor whispered, “You were just a kid, Don.”

Don nodded. “And now I’m just a memory wearing a uniform.”

Gor reached into his pocket and handed him something — a folded paper.

Don opened it.

It was a photo. From class 3.

Jake, Don, Gor. Arms around each other. Missing teeth. Wearing fake superhero capes.

“We were never meant to be gangsters,” Gor said.

Don laughed softly. “Tell that to the city.”

---

That night, Don went to the rooftop to smoke again.

But this time, Jake and Gor joined him.

They didn’t talk.

They just stood there.

Three boys. Once lost. Now slowly returning to a place where trust wasn’t a myth.

And below them, the city slept — unaware of the quiet storm brewing within its own children.

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End of Chapter 15

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