The day started with the bright sun shining its light from the sky. There were only a few clouds to cover the clear blue sky. The birds and the small animals stirred in the morning sun and readied for a new day.

In a particular house, however, someone was still fast asleep. They had their bed covers over them as they slept without making the slightest noise. The only sign of life beneath the bed sheets was when they rose and fell rhythmically.

The sunlight was penetrating through the closed curtains and there was the noise from the chirruping of birds from outside. Even with this, the sleeping person did not budge and continued to sleep deeply.

Just then, the door to the room opened. A woman, in her mid-twenties, entered the room. She glanced at the bed with the sleeping person and she put her hands on her hips with an “Hmph!” sound of exasperation.

The woman moved towards the curtains. As she opened the curtains to let the light into the room, she said, “Come on now! Wake up, Lucky!”

The sleeping person, moaned softly and shifted aside, but did not get up. The woman sighed and moved to the bedside and started to shake him gently.

“Wake up, Lucky. Quickly now! It’s morning and your breakfast is ready! If you don’t get up and come down, it’ll get cold!” she said while continuing to the shake the blankets.

“Five minutes, mum,” the voice of a boy muttered as he rolled over on the bed. “No, five minutes. Now wake up already. It’s your favourite morning energizer!”

There was a moment of pause. Then the voice of the boy excitedly asked, “What? Really?”

The boy quickly sat up on the bed and moved them away. Once the blankets were removed from the bed, the form of a boy appeared. He had pure black hair and charming black eyes and was wearing a shirt and shorts while he lay on the bed.

He turned and looked eagerly at his mother and asked, “Really, mum?”

Lakshman wore a bright smile and his eyes shone with excitement and happiness. Seeing

this, his mother’s face suddenly broke into a smile and she began to laugh. He looked at her with a confused expression because he did not know why she was laughing.

When she calmed down, she grinned and said, “Sorry Lucky, but I lied about the breakfast.”

“What?!” he exclaimed in shock and his eyes widened in alarm. Then he realised he was tricked and he started saying, “Cheating, cheating, cheating!”

She chuckled and said “Well, come down. Your dad wants to get you started on training. If you do well, I’ll think about making your favourite breakfast. Okay?”

“Right...” he said in a slow motion agreement.

Smiling, she left the room. When she left, he yawned hugely and he got out of bed. He moved to the nearest window and looked out into the sunny morning. Seeing the beauty of the morning, he smiled.

Seven years have passed since Lucky, also known as Lakshman Reddy, was born on that stormy night. Since that time, he had slowly grown with his family. His family consisted of his mother, Lakshmi, his father, Indra, and their housemaid, Mariana.

Ever since being born, Lakshman had been growing up with the affection of his parents and received the strict management from Mariana. Other than that, he spent the last seven years peacefully playing around and enjoying life.

A while ago, Indra decided to begin his body training exercises. Apparently, this training was to make his son strong. Lakshman was apprehensive at first after witnessing his father’s crazy training in the morning. Then his curiosity made him unable to decline the offer to train.

So he stretched his arms and legs to ease his muscles before making his way out of the room. As he arrived downstairs, he saw Marian carrying a pot of food boiling inside. Seeing the food made him hungry, but a stern look from her caused him to quickly go to the front of the house.

When he walked out of the house, he saw his father swinging a wooden sword around. Suddenly, he took a fighting stance and began swinging the sword expertly. He wore a serious expression on his face and fought hard against his invisible enemies with the wooden sword.

Once he finished swinging and straightened up, Lakshman was applauding energetically. That was the first time he had seen his father make such amazing movements. Hearing the clapping, Indra turned around and smiled at seeing who it was.

“Lucky! A good morning to you,” Indra said as he greeted his son with a cheerful smile. “That was amazing, dad!” Lakshman said excitedly as he smiled widely at him.

Indra shrugged and said, “That was just the routine exercise a warrior must always do. Otherwise, they’ll lose their balance and edge in a real battle.”

“Wow...!” Lakshman said in awe.

Indra eyed his son’s awestruck expression and came to a decision. He cleared his throat loudly which caused Lakshman to quickly snap back to reality to listen.

“If you train rigorously, someday you’ll be able to do those amazing moves,” Indra said smoothly.

“R-Really?” Lakshman asked uncertainly and he had a doubtful expression.

Indra smiled and said, “Why not? You’re at the right age to start training. When you slowly become strong, I’ll teach you how to swing your sword like that. Eventually, though, you’ll have to make up your own inventive moves.”

“Y-You really think I can do it, dad?” Lakshman asked as a small doubt continued to cling onto him.

Indra grinned and said, “You are my son! I know you can do it!”

With a strong expression on his face and confident words of encouragement, Lakshman had to believe him. With that, he decided to begin his training under the guidance of his father.

The first training was the running exercise. Lakshman was perplexed, but Indra stated how important running is to strengthen the leg muscles. This will improve their speed when they have to fight quickly, dodge or get out of the way. Indra also ran with him to encourage him along.

The next training was body stretching. Indra and Lakshman stretched their bodies to loosen up the extra fat their bodies might have gained and to ease up tense muscles. After that, Lakshman began his training with the wooden sword by swinging it up and down.

“How useful is it to swing it up and down, dad?” Lakshman asked and looked perplexedly at the sword.

Indra patiently explained how the swinging of the sword helps develop hand grip, arm strength and strengthen the shoulders. Then he went to great detail on how the sword skill is an art which respects the sword.

After listening to his father’s explanations, Lakshman asked, “Isn’t a sword just a cutting tool though?”

Indra nodded as he said “Yes, it is, but it is also a defensive tool.”

When Lakshman looked puzzled, he said, “If someone, not in their right mind, attacks you, you must fight back. You have the responsibility of what you do with the sword, but you also have the responsibility of the lives of you and your allies.”

“So what you’re saying is…?”

“Take for instance; if a monster attacks you. Cut it down in an instant! If you hesitate, even for a moment, your life is finished! Monsters are dangerous and can become aggressively wild! Pitying them and thinking it is wrong to harm them, you’ll be the one becoming their meal!”

Lakshman shivered at hearing the sharp words of his father, but he also understood the logic behind it. He was looking unhappy and Indra consoled him by saying it is not wrong to do what is necessary to survive.

“We live in an uncertain world where things can change in an instant. If we’re not on top of it, we’ll find ourselves hopelessly in a bad situation. If a man or monster attacks us, it’s my job to protect my family. If I don’t eliminate them quickly, I will lose precious people most

important to me!”

“I... see...” Lakshman said slowly as he nodded.

“So, yes, it is wrong, but the necessity of survival overlooks the right and wrong. Always remember, Lakshman. No matter whom you face as an enemy in the future, show them no mercy and take them down with force!”

Lakshman did not respond and looked unhappy for a moment. Then a firm expression came over his face and he said “Yes, dad!”

They smiled at each other when they heard the voice of Mariana calling from inside the house.

“Young master? Young master! Where are you? It’s time for your study session,” Mariana’s voice said.

Lakshman suddenly panicked and said “Oh no! Studies! I’m not studying!”

He tried to quickly leave, but Indra caught him by the back of his collar. Lakshman frantically tried to get away, but Indra held on firmly with ease. He wore a big smile as he turned in the direction of the house.

“Mariana, your young master is outside!” he called in a cheerful voice.

“Dad! Let go! I don’t like studying!” Lakshman said frantically in his desperate attempts to escape.

“No can do, my dear son. Just imagine what your mother would say at hearing that I let you go and have fun? We’ll have another noisy night of her cries and wails about how I lack education. Ugh...! I think I’d rather skip that episode of tearful drama!” he said and he shuddered at the imagination.

With that, Mariana came outside and thanked Indra for his assistance. Then she dragged Lakshman into the house and, a few minutes later, their study session began. During the three hours of studying, Marian went through different subjects and taught them expertly to Lakshman.

Lakshman found the information interesting, but studying them and then doing work bored him. He preferred to go back to training with his father. He later learned that, because he was so young, he can only train for a certain amount of time until he grew stronger.

While wishing he grew strong quickly, he sat through the study sessions. During his studies, he learnt about the reading, writing, literature, numeracy and various other subjects of the world. The subject that bored him the most was history because of how old the stories were.

During breaks, Lakshmi would join in the study session. She would intently listen to Mariana while she quietly slapped her son across the head. She would do this often to snap him back into attention whenever his head drooped from feeling sleepy and bored.

At other times, neither of his parents would be home. Both Indra and Lakshmi are full-time workers with jobs to do. The two of them do jobs constantly for the sake of their one and only child. They are also working very hard in case they have more children in the future.

Indra has the job of an adventurer. He takes on missions and gets paid by the clients on successful completion of the missions. Lakshmi works as a nurse in town and cures people of their injuries and sicknesses.

Due to them both constantly working, they only get the time to play with their son during their time off.

Even though he does not see his parents much, Lakshman does not feel lonely. For one part, Mariana is constantly at his back and constantly annoys him to study. The other part was that he felt his parents were close to him regardless of whether they were there for him on the spot.

After several months of studying, Lakshman suddenly burst out and asked if it was worth studying all those subjects. The two women quietly looked at each other and then back at him. Then they gave him a test which was supposed to be basic.

Seeing the result he received on the test, he complained. It was only when Indra came in and gave him a serious glare that Lakshman stopped. After which, he paid more attention to studying, but still grumbled a little whenever he had to do history.

“How is learning about history be so useful?” he asked Mariana at one point.

She smiled and said, “The past is what makes us who we are today. History keeps records of what happened so long ago when everyone has long forgotten about them. It is also

something we used to learn from so we don’t repeat mistakes of the past in today or tomorrow’s time.”

“Ah,” Lakshman said once he understood and they resumed studying.

Then one day he woke up feeling a little dizzy. At that time, both his parents left home together. He later found out that they left to go on a mission together. They needed someone to help the wounded and she was the person they were looking for.

“Do I need to study?” he asked Mariana tiredly.

“Master and mistress might come back late, but that doesn’t stop you from studying, young master,” Mariana said calmly.

So he began his studies like usual. However, he was having difficulty paying attention. Then his head started to feel dizzy, his eyes became heavy and his stomach was feeling strange. For a few seconds, he swayed on the spot he sat until he finally collapsed.

Mariana was not there when he collapsed because she was out hanging up clothes. When she returned inside, she saw Lakshman lying on the ground with his eyes closed. Seeing that, she assumed he was lying to rest or sleeping lazily.

“Young master, you can rest later. Please continue to complete the questions. Otherwise, mistress will not tolerate it,” she told him warningly.

Mariana began to walk away into the kitchen when some unease suddenly filled her. She turned around and saw that he was moaning lightly. Feeling nervous, she quickly hurried to his side and moved him a little. Then she placed a hand on his forehead to feel his temperature and was alarmed.

“Young master? Young master?! Oh no!” she exclaimed when she realised that he was sick.

Mariana quickly thought fast about what to do. First thing first, she showed amazing strength as she lifted him with her arms. Then she rushed up the stairs and went into his room before laying him on his bed.

Then she left before coming back with a towel and a bowl of water. She mixed the cloth in the bowl and then crushed it before placing it on his head. Lakshman moaned softly and he continued to lick his lips.

Noticing this, she rushed away and brought back a water jug and a glass. She poured some water into the glass and helped Lakshman slowly drink it. Then she laid him back on the bed and he heaved a sigh.

Then he opened his eyes and muttered, “Amma...! Amma...! I’m so sick I feel like I’m dying...! Studying is killing me. They are killing me! Ah...! I’m going to die from studying...! Amma...!”

“Oh! Stop complaining, young master. You’ll be perfectly fine,” Mariana said calmly.

She took the cloth off his forehead, mixed it in the bowl and crushed it before placing it back on his forehead. She periodically continued to repeat this process to keep his temper from going out of control.

During this time, Lakshman fitfully slept a few times. When he woke up, he saw Mariana coming in and leaving his room. Then how dutifully she washed his body to make sure he does not get cold from the dried sweat.

A while later, she patiently fed him bit by bit. He had a dry tongue, so she fed him what he could digest easily. Seeing her lovingly caretaking manner, he was moved to tears. She paused and looked surprised by seeing tears in his eyes.

“Young master, why are you crying? Is there something hurting you? Did I put too much chilly in the food?” she asked anxiously.

He wiped his tears and said “I... was wondering why you’re doing this, Mariana. You’re our house maid, but you’re taking care of me so much I... I don’t understand. I thought you didn’t like me because of how harsh you were when I’m studying.”

“Oh...!” she said as she understood his question. She smiled and continued to feed him as she spoke to him.

“When mistress gave birth to you, I was the first person to hold you in these hands. After that, I looked after your wellbeing. You are like my son, young master, so I would be angry if my son is misbehaving and not studying which are good for you.”

“Ah... but studying is a pain though.”

“Studying will always be a pain, but how do you think our society evolved? How do you think people began to live in such a civilised way? It’s because we had brilliant people who studied and were wise in their minds.”

Lakshman did not know what to say. That was the first time Marian spoke to him in such a way. He had always thought of her as someone with little knowledge, but he knew he was sorely wrong. It was also at this moment that his inner eyes were opened to the wide world outside the box.

It was later in the night that Indra and Lakshmi came home. They were both looking extremely pleased about their successful mission. Then their smiles faded and were replaced with worried expressions and they rushed to Lakshman’s room.

“Lucky!” Lakshmi exclaimed when she saw her son lying on the bed while moaning.

They came in and sat on his bedside. Lakshmi caressed her son’s forehead gently as tears began streaming down her cheeks.

“M-Mum...” Lakshman muttered weakly.

Indra was speechless to see his son in such a state. In the seven years, this was the first time he saw his son in such a sorry state.

Then he quickly looked at Lakshmi and said “Lakshmi! Heal him already!” “R-Right!” she said quickly and nodded at him in understanding.

Lakshmi raised her right hand and placed it on her son’s chest. When Lakshman looked at her worriedly, she smiled and reassuringly said “Lay still, Lucky. You’ll feel better in no time! Just leave it to mum. I’ll fix you up!”

Then she closed her eyes and fell silent. For a few seconds, nothing happened. Then a

bright light began forming on her hand which was placed on Lakshman’s chest. Then she opened her eyes and spoke words of some sort of spell.

“Spirits of light, bring the power out and restore the strength and force of my love! Healing!”

When she finished speaking the last word, Lakshman was suddenly surrounded by a bright glow of light. For a moment, the light continued to envelop Lakshman’s body. Then it faded and left Lakshman’s body intact.

Nothing had changed on him and he remained motionless for a moment. Then he slowly opened his eyes and looked at them. He blinked in surprise and, with their support, sat up and smiled.

“Wow...! I’m feeling good! Wow! Thank you, mum! I’m okay!” he exclaimed happily and began to laugh energetically.

“I’m glad you’re feeling better,” Lakshmi said as she hugged her son tightly as tears streamed down her cheeks.

Since then, Lakshman became less distracted. He began to put in more effort into studying and training. Hearing Mariana’s words had a strong effect on him as it changed his view of studies. However, he still views the subject about history as something boring and dull.

Then a certain event occurred that would change his life radically. It was after finishing training in the afternoon that Indra and Lakshman were sitting outside the house. They were having refreshing drinks that Mariana made to taste good especially after training hard.

Lakshman then spotted a cat wandering near the gate to the house. The cat spotted them and slowly trotted towards them. He found this surprising since Mariana had told him how wild animals stay clear of populated places.

Then he noticed the cat was limping as if it was injured. As it got close to him, he leaned forward and saw that its leg was bleeding. Indra also noticed the injury and expressed his surprise.

“Stay! I’ll get you a thin cloth to heal that wound,” Indra said and he rose to his feet and walked into the house.

The cat, as if obeying his command, tried to sit down, but failed. It seemed the injured leg was causing it heavy pain. Instead, it lay down on its side and meowed softly.

Lakshman felt sorry for the cat and wondered if he could do anything to help it. He was just a seven-year-old who knew very little about the world around him. He thought deeply about what subject he studied that could help him here, but everything that he studied was like a blur.

That was when he truly understood how knowledge can be power in the right place at the right time. This was the time, but he just did not know what to do. He was struck with guilt because he did not know of anything that could heal the cat’s wounds.

“Heal...? Wait...!” he said as something clicked in his memory.

When he was last sick, he remembered his mother using something to cure him of his sickness. He realised that was exactly what he was after. Now he thought hard to remember what it was and, a few seconds later, he finally remembered it.

Imitating his mother from his memory, he outstretched his right hand at the cat. As he did, he smiled at the cat and softly said “Stay still, okay? I’m going to heal you.”

He wondered whether the cat understood him or not. Nevertheless, it became still and silent as it watched through beady black eyes.

Lakshman then recited the incantation his mother used on him, although he changed it a little and aimed it at the cat’s injured leg.

“Spirits of light, bring the power out and restore the strength and force of the injured! Healing!”

For a moment, nothing happened. At that moment, Indra came back out and said “Alright! I’m here.”

As if he was the key to the activation, a bright glow of light suddenly activated and surrounded the cat. The creature let out a small cry, but it stayed still as the light enveloped around it. A few seconds later, the light vanished and returned everything to normal.

Lakshman retracted his arm and looked closer at the injured leg. It was not bleeding and its wound had closed up as if it was not there in the first place. The cat gingerly stood on its four legs before meowing happily. It came forward and rubbed against his legs affectionately before taking its leave.

“Bye!” Lakshman said and the cat meowed happily before exiting through the gates and disappearing to the side.

Lakshman heaved a sigh of relief and smiled happily. He was feeling proud and glad to have helped a stray cat from its wound. Then he turned around and saw his father standing still and silent. He was staring at his son with wide eyes and a disbelieving expression on his face.

Curious as to what his father was doing, Lakshman asked, “Dad? What are you doing?”

Indra stared at the gate where the cat disappeared and then back at his son. He blinked a few times in disbelief before shaking his head to clear away the doubts in his mind.

Indra took a deep breath and asked, “Lakshman… Did you just use… magic?”