The Long road back

The Past That burns

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Abhay Birla sat alone in the dim corner of his new room, staring at the worn-out walls of the boarding school. The silence around him felt suffocating, a stark contrast to the lively home he'd once known. He could still remember the days when laughter filled the house, when his mother’s soothing voice and his father’s warm presence made everything feel safe. But that was before the crash. Before the fire. Before they all turned on him.

His brother , Shivam and Shivansh , had always been his idols . The older brothers , the protector. But the night their parents died, Shivam’s eyes had filled with something else—something darker. The blame. The cold, unrelenting blame that Abhay had never been able to escape. His family had accused him. They said it was his fault. The crash had been his fault. The fire. The loss of their parents. They all thought he had killed them. And somehow, they made him believe it too.

The day they sent him away to the boarding school felt like the final betrayal. His own family, the people who should have stood by him, had pushed him out. Shivansh had been the first to turn his back on him, his angry words searing into Abhay’s soul like a brand.

“Good riddance,” Shivansh had spat. “Maybe you’ll learn to be useful somewhere else. Maybe you’ll learn not to destroy everything you touch.”

He remembered hearing his Aunts cruel voice telling his brothers what to do ,

Shivam: I am going to send him to the boarding school....

Aunt : why bother paying the hefty sum son...I have a facility...an orphanage, you can put him there ...After all he is a orphan isn't he ?

Abhay spoke Terrified and Angry,

Abhay: I am not a Orphan I have a family...

Shivansh; Correction, you had one !

Hearing this Abhay lowered his head and didn't spoke after that , his mind has refused to hear anything anymore, all the Noices blurred in the background, the only thing he can hear was Orphan and Orphanage,

Shivam : Orphanage, but what if someone adopt him ?

Aunt : Don't worry son , I will make sure he stays there in our little arrangements until you figure out things ... And If you don't need him here anyways , we can keep him for 8 years and then he can do whatever he wants...

Shivansh agreed with her Aunts cruelty, like keeping a child at an orphanage, without giving any chances to get adopted or having family is completely fine, like it's not the cruelest thing someone can do to a kid ...Shivam meanwhile hesitated for just a second but agreed eventually,

Abhay looked up at both his brothers, checking their faces for any kind of Hesitation, guilt or even realisation of the situation,

But he found none .

And just like that he was sent to a place where people with no one in the world goes , while he had a full family that didn't cared enough for him ..

That was the last time Abhay saw his brother. The last time he saw anyone from his family., He Vividly remember begging to his own brothers to not abandon him , while he was at his lowest hearing the news of Their parents, he remembered how he has Held his brothers Sleeve and Whispered the apologies he didn't even knew he was responsible for, even after knowing that there decision could change, just for the sake of their once Completed family, or the love he got from them , but who was he kidding?

Abhay : I....I am sorry.....Bhai pls....don't send me....I can't

..live without you all ....bhaiya please....I... didn't...I didn't do it intentionally....I loved mumma ...and papa too ..... please bhaiya....shiva bhaiya....Shiv bhai please...don't leave me too...I don't have anyone left ....

Shivansh : Good...You deserve it...

Now, here he was—alone in a place where no one knew the truth. Where the shadows of his past loomed over him, threatening to swallow him whole. The bubbly, happy kid who once chased after dreams, who smiled without fear, was gone. In his place was someone quieter, more broken. Someone who flinched at every raised voice, who couldn’t look anyone in the eye without feeling the weight of guilt he didn’t deserve.

He wanted to scream. To tell them all that it wasn’t his fault. That he had never meant for anything to happen. But the words always got stuck in his throat. His heart, heavy with a grief he didn’t know how to explain, ached with the hollow absence of love and trust. The only thing he knew now was that no matter how hard he tried, he could never go back. And no one would ever believe him.

---

Six months had passed since Abhay Birla was sent to the boarding school, and not once had his brothers Shivam and Shivansh visited him or called him. The orphanage caretakers took advantage of this and began to abuse him physically, verbally, and emotionally.

The once-kind caretakers had turned into monsters who seemed to revel in his pain. They beat him when he made a mistake, starved him for days, and even burnt him in places where no one could see. Abhay was left with bruises all over his body, and the stench of burnt skin filled his dormitory.

He still remembers the day they made him crawl to his own room, as he can't walk that memory has branded itself into is brain so promptly that he cannot remove it , even if he wants to, specially when he wants to.

The corridor was silent.

Not the peaceful kind—

the kind that presses against your ears until you can hear your own heartbeat begging to stop.

Abhay’s knees scraped against the cold floor as he moved forward inch by inch. Each movement sent a sharp jolt of pain through his body, but he didn’t cry out. He had learnt that crying only made it worse.

Behind him, footsteps echoed.

Slow. Deliberate. Enjoying the moment.

“Faster,” one of the caretakers said flatly.

Abhay tried. His arms trembled, barely holding his weight. His vision blurred, not from tears—but from exhaustion. He hadn’t eaten properly in days. His body felt hollow, like it had already given up and was just waiting for him to realise it.

The other children watched from their doorways.

No one spoke.

No one moved.

They had learnt the rules too.

When he finally reached his room, he collapsed against the doorway. His breathing was uneven, shallow. He could feel eyes on him—judging, mocking, stripping away what little was left of his dignity

Caretaker: Food ?

Abhay : yes....please...

Caretaker: Get on your knees and beg like the dog you are ..

The command seemed pathetic even to his own ears but being hungry for 3 days straight, doesn't make him deny it , specially when he knew no one is coming, no one can save him . And dying isn't the option before completing his promise, so he did as told to . Begged like a dog , he hates himself for being like this , but what can he even do when his own blood doesn't care if he is getting beaten twice a day , just for bare minimum like water or food , eventually he stopped speaking or reacting to the abuse overall.

The other children in the orphanage watched in terror as Abhay was continuously abused. They knew better than to try and help him, as they too had been subjected to the caretakers' cruelty. The only comfort Abhay had was the memory of his time before the boarding school, when his brothers used to love and protect him.

As the days turned into weeks, months, and eventually years, Abhay's spirit began to break. He felt abandoned and alone, convinced that no one would ever come to his rescue. His brothers' silence had become deafening, and he began to question whether they even cared about him at all.

Year after year passed, and Abhay remained at the orphanage, his mind and body breaking under the constant torment. He lost all hope of being rescued and accepted his fate as a forgotten child.