People forgive easily, but they don’t trust easily. It takes strong actions to earn someone’s trust. And it’s harder to earn it back for the second time.

“Ma, have you seen my boots?”
“Ma, what about my shorts? I can’t find it.”
“Ma I’m going running. I’ll be late. So don’t make me breakfast.”

My mother didn’t reply once. No matter how I initiated the conversation. She kept ignoring me as if I didn’t exist. I apologized yesterday after washing the dishes and wiping the floor, but she didn’t forgive me. She made me dinner but didn’t serve it to me. I always felt that getting angry and yelling at me was the worst way she could treat me. Now I was realizing there were always worse ways people could treat you.

It wasn’t the first time I was being ignored. Anjali had done the same to get rid of me. So I knew from experience that the only way out of this awkward situation was to be persistent. Didn’t matter if my mother talked to me. I just needed to stay on her case and keep pestering her until her defenses broke. Then I could slowly kill her heart demons until only she and I remained. Then we could have our belated heart-to-heart. She could ask for some promises and I would agree with some hesitation. And we’d be back to being ourselves again. She will be the master and I, her slave.

It was a Saturday, a holiday for us high school students. The school figured we needed some alone time to digest the curriculum and Sunday wasn’t enough. I didn’t know how many actually used the time to study; I didn’t… used to.

I was looking all over the house for my shoes and shorts because I was going running. Not to test my suddenly amazing reflexes after a radioactive spider bit me. It was for my next task. I wished for Endurance from the system last night and it told me to run for three hours aggregate at a pace above 7 Kmph. It was not a simple task for someone like me who had never exercised a day in his life. It was most definitely another E-level task with life-changing consequences. The idea to get endurance came while I was searching for high-energy foods and somehow ended up studying the way our body stores energy.

In the body, energy is stored in two forms, lipids, which are fats and oils, and glucose and glycogen. The body stores fat everywhere but primarily on the abdomen. While glucose is stored in the muscles and some of it is also stored in the liver. It’s fine for glucose to be stored there, but when organs and veins start storing fat that’s when problems like fatty liver and cholesterol arise.

Fat and glucose might both be ways for our body to store energy, but they play two different roles. Glucose is an instant source of energy. Our body breaks sugars and carbohydrates into glucose and fructose, which pass through the permeable walls of the blood vessels and enter the bloodstream. Our body then releases insulin to move this glucose from the bloodstream to cells to produce energy. The excess of this gets stored in the muscles as glycogen. Cells break down glucose into ATP molecules that help with muscle contraction. It’s the fuel our body burns to function. As for fat, our body only starts burning fat after it has exhausted almost all of the glycogen stored in the body. This process is called ketosis. This is where the popular diet for weight reduction called the Keto diet comes from.

In our body, the brain uses the most energy by weight. Despite constituting only 2% of the body mass, it consumes a staggering 20% of the energy produced every day at resting state -- that is when we are not stressing our body or working out. Our brain is a super-hungry beast.

 This is where the superpower of endurance came in.

[The Daily superpower system has heard your wish!]
[Enhanced Endurance is an excellent superpower that works by increasing the amount of energy that your body can harmlessly store in the body, improving your absolute health and overall fitness levels.]                                              
[Task level: E]
[Run for three hours aggregate maintaining a pace above 7 km/hr]
[Would you like to accept the task to acquire the ability? Yes/No]

The power improved the body's glycogen levels. The noticeable thing was that the power did that harmlessly. Meaning, that I wouldn’t have side effects like muscle straining and exploding from the induced stress.

However, I could still have diabetes.

Diabetes is a chronic condition that occurs when our body isn’t able to regulate blood sugar. Type-1 diabetes occurs when our pancreas stops or reduces insulin production. With type-2 diabetes our body either, doesn’t produce enough insulin to overcome the sugar intake, or it becomes resistant to insulin. 

In my case, with my increasing energy requirements, I would need to consume more food every day. More food meant more glucose production and high blood sugar levels. Meaning, I was at risk of type-2 diabetes if I didn’t improve my body. It would be very insulting for a future god to be suffering from such a common ailment. However, this was not a problem for me. There were too many ways I could solve it. One of which was to improve my overall health, and another way was to find an alternate source of energy. So I wouldn’t be dependent on a single source of energy for my needs. I could also strengthen my constitution.  

Actually, Endurance wasn’t the first power that I wished from the system last night. My blowout with my mother made me so ashamed of myself that I wanted to become invisible. I asked the system for the power to become invisible but the systems task was too perverted for me to agree. It wanted me to peep at a naked girl bathing. It was also a B-level task, my first.

I won’t say I wasn’t tempted by the idea of becoming invisible and by the task. The task made my heart lurch. I had thoughts that I find difficult to explain without coming out as a closet pervert. I shook my head clear. I said no to the task and moved on.

As exciting as the task was, the task level made me afraid. Every E-level task had some influence on my life. I didn’t dare wonder what kind of life-altering experience would come from a B-level task. It was possible I would have to run away from home after completing the task because the girl or someone else saw me peeping. That meant a police case and jail time. I would definitely try to escape that by disguising myself as someone else. I could still be free, but my life as a boy named Sahil would be ruined.

Anyway, for the first time since I got the system, I said no to a task.

Now there I was. Waking up early on a holiday, and getting ready to go torture myself. On my way out of home, I saw kids playing football in the community ground. They looked happy. I never liked playing football because I didn’t like all the running. As a kid, I used to find the sport torturous. So whenever I was forced to play football I would play the goalkeeper. That was how much I hated running.

Things sure change with time.   

I carried a bottle of glucose water in my backpack, a Casio watch on my wrist, and a towel to wipe sweat. I had to make do with my phone to know my speed and distance run because I didn’t have a Fitbit. I also took two bananas and a lemon for the amino acid build up and cramps. Next, I pulled my bicycle out of the house, closed that gate, and started peddling toward my destination. I was going to the sports college next door. It was the only place with a running track in the city. It wasn’t far only a kilometer or so from my home. I chose to go there by bike so that I could use it as a crutch on my way back. The 3 hours of running was definitely going to kill my legs. I was hoping the bike would make coming back home less… torturous.

I parked in the parking lot and locked my bike. There were quite a few two-wheelers parked there, which assured me. Anyone looking to steal a ride had better options available. My last generation hero cycle was safe there.

You couldn’t see the college building from the road, but it was visible from the tracks. It wasn’t anything special, a yellow box with many windows. That was my impression of it. The track looked old, cracked, and repeatedly patched. Never replaced after it was laid down some 23 years ago.

Its condition didn’t matter to me. I was there to run once and get my power, not to inspect the college facilities and the qualifications of their staff.  

It was almost seven and there were many people on the ground. Girls and boys of various ages ran around on the tracks in tracksuits and shorts. I lost count midway but I counted a few tens of them.

I had looked up some warm-up exercises before coming and started stretching my body accordingly. It was only when I really started putting some pressure on my joints did I realized how stiff I was. God, I was exhausted even before I started running. Some girls laughed at me on their way running past me. What did they know about the woes of a favorite son? Wait! I wasn’t the favorite son. What the hell was I talking about?

Anyway, I placed my beanbag in an open and secure enough location on the stands, started the timer, and started running.

I also read up on running techniques. The main point was to keep my breathing steady and run as if I were falling forward. I had tried this technique a few times at home and found some success, but running under the sun and with others was a different beast altogether.

Right away, I knew I was out of my depths there.

According to goggle there were a few things one should take care of during a run.  

First, was to warm up your stiff joints and rigid muscles before a run which could otherwise lead to injuries, cramps, and even ligament tears.
The second was to ensure you wear good shoes with thick padding. Most foot and knee-related running injuries occur because of inappropriate shoes.

I didn’t have good running shoes so I was making do with what I had. Besides, I was only there to complete the task. Only a fool and sports students would run every day of their own will.

The third point was to know your limits. Run at your own steady pace. Let others do what they want to do. You do your thing. Remember, it was a marathon, not a race.

The fourth point was to start slow. Run a mile first and adjust accordingly.

I was shitting on all the points by being there because my task was to run for three hours going above 7 Km/hr. Meaning, I had to run at least 21 km to complete the task. I knew it would be a near-impossible task, but who knew it would be life-threatening?

My lungs were burning and my legs felt heavy like I was running in knee-deep water. I looked at my watch wheezing and stumbling and was horrified to know that I had only been running for ten minutes. My phone said I was running at an average pace of 8 km/hr and had run almost 1.7 Km. I knew the phone app wasn’t accurate, but it was all I had.

1.7 Km’s were four rounds. Was that a lot? I didn’t know. All I knew was that I was dying inside and I could have never managed to run so much if not for my recent eating habits. I was eating more and had grown a little stronger.

I could hear my heartbeat in my ears and I was breathing like a buffalo. I wheezed like there was water in my lungs. And it had only been, I checked and it said twelve minutes and fifteen seconds. I didn’t know if I could do this. And I really couldn’t. I finished another two laps and fell to the ground dying like a fish out of water. I thought someone would stop and say something but none of them even looked in my direction. They all seemed to be fighting their own demons and had no time for my nonsense.

I couldn’t help but wonder what I was doing there in the first place. Did I really need this superpower? Couldn’t I live without it? Then I started blaming myself. Wondering what I was doing with my life. How could I let her slip out of my hands? Why didn’t I persist? I should have begged her to let me stay close to her. I should have held her hand and refused to let go. I should have done something, anything. But I didn’t do anything and so I didn’t deserve anything.

I should have told her how much I cared about her. How much I loved it. And then I started thinking about Sonam. Wondering if the same thing was gonna repeat again. Again I was gonna disappoint someone and then feel bad about myself.

I didn’t know how long I would have continued mopping if a voice hadn’t broken my thoughts and pulled me back to reality.

“Hey, are you all right?” It said.

I looked over and saw a petite girl in shorts standing at the tracks. She was breathing heavily, taking deep breaths. Beads of sweat flowed down from her forehead, sketching glassy lines on her rosy cheeks. I didn’t see her running, but the wet patch on her shirt indicated she had been running for a while.

“Are you talking to me?” I couldn’t believe it. She was a very handsome girl. I didn’t think someone like her had any business talking to someone like me. Then again I was forgetting that after a bit of disguise magic, I was also a handsome boy now.
“You can talk. So you must be fine.” She said.
“Yes, I’m just tired.”

I tried to stand up and she gave me her hand. I found it unbelievable. I didn’t show it on my face, grabbed her hand, and got up to my feet. My legs screamed when I put my weight on them. I wished I hadn’t gotten up. I only stayed up thanks to sheer will and pride. If she wasn’t there I would have fallen back to the ground.

“That all right. It’s your first day running isn’t it?”
“Does it show?” I said while dusting my pajamas.
She gave me an encouraging smile. “Don’t worry about it. At least you decided to come. Most people just keep thinking about it and never do.” She said and added, “But since it’s your first day today and you have sweat. You should stop now and rest. Running is something that you get good at slowly over a long period. You run the risk of injury if you run too hard on your first day.”

“Thanks, but I’m good.” I had a task to complete. I needed that endurance injection far more urgently than I believed. “Besides I haven’t had enough yet.”

I could see her hesitating, but she held herself back.

“Don’t hurt yourself,” She told me and then went back to running. I watched her go away; her ponytail waved me goodbye. Soon she was on the other side of the tracks, two hundred meters away, an insurmountable distance.

I took a deep breath, started my timer again, and went back on the tracks. I started slow this time until my legs got used to the rhythm before slowly increasing my pace to a desirable amount. It was seven-thirty am. I needed to run for three hours aggregate and it was gonna take a while to complete this task.