٭✮ get in loser, we're going on a killer quest ★٭

it's called 'saving satyavan' by shreya northern. it's self published by the looks of it, plus it's pretty obscure with zero reviews

like you said, I get where the author is trying to go with this angle. it's really a brave creative decision to write a such rebellious plot about hinduism's Perfect Wife™ but still the thought of Satyavan finding out his wife started out so strong and then just.... thinks about giving up halfway cracks ME UPP

"Liam!" I heard a hopeful voice bounce off the walls of the cheap one-bedroom flat. "I finally got enough to pay for that robotics workshop you've wanted to go to!" And with a sigh, her knees buckled.

"Mom!" I cried out, running to help her up. "I told you to not to go for work today."

She cupped my face gently. "I know how much you wanted to go to that workshop. You said it yourself, the head of MIT will be there. The college of your dreams! They deserve to know your genius, and see that robot you've been designing."

"I'm not having that at the cost of you out cold each night." I supported her as she stumbled to the bed, and lay down tiredly. She looked at me with weary eyes.

"When you finally prove to the world what a smart, wonderful boy you are and become successful," she mumbled, dozing off. "Then you can buy me a break."

Her words echoed in my mind as I was slammed to the cement floor of the dark alley. My glasses were broken in the corner. I clung to my school bag tightly.

A voice growled, "Hey, redhead! What do you have there in that bag?" I looked up at their ugly faces, with remorseless eyes and an evil smirk on their faces. "Hey, Joe. Check his bag."

I clutched on to it tightly, as I desperately cried out, "PLEASE! NO!" Suddenly, I felt Joe's sneaker slam into my side, and I gasped in pain. I held on to my bag tighter, refusing to let go, and then one of his other goons kicked me in the head. My head reeled as I screamed and they took away my bag.

"DUDE! There's money in here." Joe cackled to his boss. His boss had an evil grin plastered on his face.

My eyes widened. "N-No, NO!" I yelled, sobbing with desperation. "My mom worked hard for that, please, we're poor and I need the money for school, PLEASE--" I was knocked to the ground by Joe's fist. I screamed for help.

Out of panic that someone would hear me, the group of boys started kicking me with even more force. I started tasting blood in my mouth.

Suddenly, a shadow loomed in the corner. I was already dizzy from the pain but as I looked at the figure closer, I realised I recognised him: the black hair, the scary green eyes.

Moms whispered about the bad influence that he was. Students were scared to go near him, unless they wanted to start a fight. Teachers warned us about him. He was a rumoured terrorist, a gangster, a criminal.

I closed my eyes immediately, waiting for the infamous Percy Jackson to deliver the final blow. Instead...

"HEY!" he barked. "LEAVE. HIM. ALONE" The boss of the boys smirked. "What are you going to do? Joe, take care of him."

Joe launched forward, only to get punched in the face. He fell backward, his nose bleeding. Percy growled. "Anyone else wants to take care of me?"

The boys gasped and their eyes widened. The boss narrowed his eyes and started to run away with the money, dropping my school bag. Joe jumped to his feet and ran away too, with the money in hand. I was too numb, and I just flailed my finger at his direction, pointing desperately.

Percy sprinted behind them, leaving me shell shocked. The money was gone. My mom would have to work again for a whole month to make up for the lost money that we could've used to at least buy us a month of groceries. But then it'd be too late. I would probably never get to go to the robotics workshop.

I stared at the wall for what seemed like forever, and heard Percy walk back to where I was on the ground.

"Liam from school, right? Dude, I am so so sorry," he said, speaking to me for the first time. "I couldn't find them. Are...are you okay.."

The dam broke. I felt my heart beating fast, as tears rolled out of my eyes as I sobbed loudly. A pit formed in my stomach, filled with shame and anger at myself. The evil faces of the boys carved itself into my brain, haunting me. My fists pounded the side of my forehead, frustrated. I couldn't face myself for letting my mother's hard work go to waste like that. I couldn't face her again.

Suddenly, I felt a hand grasp my wrists tightly. A gentle voice calmly whispered, "Breathe, Liam. You're safe now. It's going to be all right. Just focus on my voice, yeah? Breathe." My sobs got slower and slower, and my vision cleared for the next fifteen minutes as Percy kept whispering in the dark. Suddenly the black of the alleyway didn't seem to close in on me, rather it seemed comforting.

"Have some water. Are you able to walk?" He took his water bottle and raised it gently to my lips.

I coughed as water washed down my dry throat. "I have to be," my scratchy voice groaned. "I can't miss school today. Math test." I got to my feet, only for my knees to buckle. Like mother, like son.

I was a complete stranger to Percy, yet he frowned at me, annoyed, as if he knew my shenanigans all too well. "Yeah, no you're not." he declared. "I'm not letting you go to school."

"No, please." I begged. Percy rolled his eyes. "I know all about nerds like you. I know you're not able to see either. Your glasses are broken in that corner there. I'm not blind, you are." He took the glasses and carefully slipped them back on my face.

I felt empty on the inside. I locked my eyes with him, my face blank, unable to form any expressions. I couldn't feel anything.

Percy's eyes immediately softened and for a moment. His guard was down. "I-I'll walk you to the clinic. It's just a few minutes away. Come on, I'm sorry." He held out his hand.

Moms whispered about the bad influence that he was. Students were scared to go near him, unless they wanted to start a fight. Teachers warned us about him. And yet here he was, gently supporting me as I shuffled weakly down the street.

In a daze, I told him everything--how my mom was the most hardworking person I knew, how close she had gotten to death by exhaustion many times from her night shifts at the hospital, about my robot, how excited I was to go to the workshop, how happy she was last night when she could finally let me go.

And he listened. He watched intensely, quiet and understanding, as I stammered slow and steady, and tried to not to cry again.

"...And I've heard the head of MIT is going to be there, and I wanted to show him the plans of the--"

"The robot." Percy gave a small smile. "That sounds really amazing. You're like a genius." It felt genuine. As I blushed, I realised that I never had someone who cared about me, even if caring meant just finding me the slightest bit interesting.

When we reached the staircase of the small clinic, I gently removed myself from his support.

"Thanks, man." I said, weak. "I think I can handle myself from here on out. Is there still time for you to get to school or...?"

"If I was Usain Bolt, then there'd be time." he snorted. "It's fine though. I wasn't feeling like coming to school today. But I'm glad I tried. I stopped anything really bad happening to you."

He awkwardly smiled at me. I was still feeling extremely numb, but I felt my lips twitching upwards. "Take care, Liam." After giving me some money from his pocket to pay for the treatment, he walked away casually. I stared after him until his figure disappeared down the turn of the street.

I got patched up and headed to my tiny flat. I remembered my Mom telling me that she had to work a night shift today, and that she would only come back the next evening. Just as well, there was still a void in my stomach dreading telling her about the money. Oh, gosh, the money.

Trying to take my mind off of things, I fixed up a cup of instant ramen, and opened up my half-broken computer and searched up, Percy Jackson.

I expected to find an Instagram page, instead my screen was filled with articles.

Missing at twelve years old, seen at a gun fight with a grown man, blew up the St. Louis arch, accused of murdering his mother. Expelled from more than eight schools in eight years. The cup of ramen fell out of my hand.

Look, I knew Percy was a troublemaker to an extent. I knew he made a mess and ran away from school on the first day. I knew that bullies would get into fights with him and get beaten up. But then again, I couldn't forget his smile and his gentle voice, telling me it would be all right.

Something inside me wanted to know who the real Percy Jackson was. Yet I felt unsettled. Me and my Mom were already a poverty-stricken family of two. I didn't know who he was, apart from that one interaction.

Could I afford to take a risk to get closer to a person like him? What if I got into trouble too? What if I got expelled from school too? What if he was just leading me on today?

As I buried myself under the covers that night, my mind started eating away at me. I closed my eyes, and dreamed of those evil guys, the taste of blood in my mouth, and kind green eyes.

The next day, I managed to attend school. After lunch was my science class, which I knew was the time where my teacher would collect the money to attend the workshop. I tried to not think about his reaction to his favourite student not being able to come.

At lunch, I sat at a lonely table in the corner, blinking back tears. My mind was plagued with my Mom and my teacher's face, disappointed and shocked. Suddenly, I heard a voice behind me. "Liam? You okay?"

I turned back, and gasped. It was Percy, but his cheek and nose had bandages on them, as if he had gotten hurt. "Yeah, why?" I stammered.

He sheepishly dug into his pocket and brought out a familiar stack of cash. He started rambling, "I-was-still-thinking-about-what-happened-so-after-dropping-you-at-the-clinic-I might have--"

"Sorry, what?"

"I tracked down those boys and threatened them to give back your money," he blurted out. "I...know how it feels like to have a single and struggling Mom. I just wanted to help in some way."

I felt stunned. No one had ever done such a thing for me. "How...did you...?"

"Umm..." he stuttered. "My dog, uh, she's a good tracker." He sat next to me. He took my hand in his and placed the stack of cash in my palm. "Anyways. You deserve to get the attention of the MIT head and impress him. He'd be missing out if you didn't. The world would be missing out on an inventor like you." My heart skipped a beat.

I sat there in silence. The unsettling feeling started growing again in my gut. "I know this sounds weird but," I whispered, "There are articles about you online, saying that you're a criminal. But you're here helping me. Why?"

Percy fell silent for a minute. He shuffled in his seat next to me. "I...can't tell you anything about the articles or the rumours or the accusations or whatever." His eyes were averted, and his voice was stiff.

"Is there....anything I can do to help?" I asked, softly. "You're just in freshman year. You don't deserve to be involved in dangerous things like this. You don't seem like that type of a person." Percy suddenly looked up and locked eyes with me, and his eyes were filled with a deep misery.

"Not if you want to get in trouble too," he warned. His eyes morphed from misery to something deeper; the air turned cold and there was something about his gaze that seemed almost powerful, primordial even. I felt freaked out and asked, "Who are you, Percy Jackson?"

He got up to leave. "What do you think?"

Before I could react, the bell rang and it was time to go to class. I turned back to Percy, and said, "I don't know who you are. But no one's ever done anything like this for me. I don't know how to thank you. I don't know about what's going on, but you deserve to have a normal life."

His eyes turned sad. He didn't reply.

After that day, things didn't get better for Percy. He started skipping school more often, his grades were slipping. His eyes were always red as if they'd either been crying or not sleeping. His only friend, a girl named Rachel, was bullied on the daily. At lunchtime, I heard him quietly chatting with her, and I regularly overheard words like 'war' and 'death'. He was regularly yelled at, and was constantly on the edge of being expelled.

I kept away from him, but a part of my heart still ached everytime I remembered how he saved my life and how I could never return the favour. "Not if you want to get into trouble too" he had said.

The next year, he went missing. His picture was all over the news. Theories exploded in our school, ranging from him being kidnapped by a mafia boss to being a mafia boss himself, and running away from the police. Teachers used him as an example for what would happen if we didn't listen to our parents. Parents who waited to pick their kids up would sneer about his mother and stepfather.

The commotion died after a while, and if Percy ever was found again, there was no official news about it except a few gossiping mouths in the streets of New York.

Me? The head of MIT was so impressed by my robotics skills the day of the workshop that he made sure I got a scholarship. I graduated school with the highest honours. I got admission into this incredible institution, and learned so much. And here I am today, in front of all of you, batch of 20XX, with this degree I have worked hard for by your side for the past few academic years.

So who was Percy Jackson? Was he a terrorist? A juvenile misfit beyond all hope? Was he a mafia boss, a gangster, a criminal? Or was he the gentle-hearted fourteen year old boy who saw me, bruised and bloody on the cement ground all those years ago, and decided to help a poor boy achieve his dreams?

I could never tell you. That's how humans are. We aren't open two dimensional displays of artworks. Within our colours hide layers of character and woven stories of the past. Neither the moms who whispered about him, the teachers who used him as an example, the bullies who were beaten up by him could never see Percy for who he was. But I got a glimpse that day all those years ago.

So as I stand here today at this prestigious graduation ceremony, with the highest honours of my class, I'd like to thank my Mom for supporting me throughout this journey. I love you so much. I'd like to thank all my professors and fellow students.

And, I'd like to thank Percy Jackson. And I'd like to use his example to beg all of you to be kind and do kind. His simple act of kindness helped me achieve my dreams, and I will forever carry that on and help other underprivileged kids like me.

Percy, I hope you're somewhere out there, happy. And single. Because I am. Just for the record.

*********************************************

"Liam!" I heard a hopeful voice bounce off the walls of the cheap one-bedroom flat. "I finally got enough to pay for that robotics workshop you've wanted to go to!" And with a sigh, her knees buckled.

"Mom!" I cried out, running to help her up. "I told you to not to go for work today."

She cupped my face gently. "I know how much you wanted to go to that workshop. You said it yourself, the head of MIT will be there. The college of your dreams! They deserve to know your genius, and see that robot you've been designing."

"I'm not having that at the cost of you out cold each night." I supported her as she stumbled to the bed, and lay down tiredly. She looked at me with weary eyes.

"When you finally prove to the world what a smart, wonderful boy you are and become successful," she mumbled, dozing off. "Then you can buy me a break."

Her words echoed in my mind as I was slammed to the cement floor of the dark alley. My glasses were broken in the corner. I clung to my school bag tightly.

A voice growled, "Hey, redhead! What do you have there in that bag?" I looked up at their ugly faces, with remorseless eyes and an evil smirk on their faces. "Hey, Joe. Check his bag."

I clutched on to it tightly, as I desperately cried out, "PLEASE! NO!" Suddenly, I felt Joe's sneaker slam into my side, and I gasped in pain. I held on to my bag tighter, refusing to let go, and then one of his other goons kicked me in the head. My head reeled as I screamed and they took away my bag.

"DUDE! There's money in here." Joe cackled to his boss. His boss had an evil grin plastered on his face.

My eyes widened. "N-No, NO!" I yelled, sobbing with desperation. "My mom worked hard for that, please, we're poor and I need the money for school, PLEASE--" I was knocked to the ground by Joe's fist. I screamed for help.

Out of panic that someone would hear me, the group of boys started kicking me with even more force. I started tasting blood in my mouth.

Suddenly, a shadow loomed in the corner. I was already dizzy from the pain but as I looked at the figure closer, I realised I recognised him: the black hair, the scary green eyes.

Moms whispered about the bad influence that he was. Students were scared to go near him, unless they wanted to start a fight. Teachers warned us about him. He was a rumoured terrorist, a gangster, a criminal.

I closed my eyes immediately, waiting for the infamous Percy Jackson to deliver the final blow. Instead...

"HEY!" he barked. "LEAVE. HIM. ALONE" The boss of the boys smirked. "What are you going to do? Joe, take care of him."

Joe launched forward, only to get punched in the face. He fell backward, his nose bleeding. Percy growled. "Anyone else wants to take care of me?"

The boys gasped and their eyes widened. The boss narrowed his eyes and started to run away with the money, dropping my school bag. Joe jumped to his feet and ran away too, with the money in hand. I was too numb, and I just flailed my finger at his direction, pointing desperately.

Percy sprinted behind them, leaving me shell shocked. The money was gone. My mom would have to work again for a whole month to make up for the lost money that we could've used to at least buy us a month of groceries. But then it'd be too late. I would probably never get to go to the robotics workshop.

I stared at the wall for what seemed like forever, and heard Percy walk back to where I was on the ground.

"Liam from school, right? Dude, I am so so sorry," he said, speaking to me for the first time. "I couldn't find them. Are...are you okay.."

The dam broke. I felt my heart beating fast, as tears rolled out of my eyes as I sobbed loudly. A pit formed in my stomach, filled with shame and anger at myself. The evil faces of the boys carved itself into my brain, haunting me. My fists pounded the side of my forehead, frustrated. I couldn't face myself for letting my mother's hard work go to waste like that. I couldn't face her again.

Suddenly, I felt a hand grasp my wrists tightly. A gentle voice calmly whispered, "Breathe, Liam. You're safe now. It's going to be all right. Just focus on my voice, yeah? Breathe." My sobs got slower and slower, and my vision cleared for the next fifteen minutes as Percy kept whispering in the dark. Suddenly the black of the alleyway didn't seem to close in on me, rather it seemed comforting.

"Have some water. Are you able to walk?" He took his water bottle and raised it gently to my lips.

I coughed as water washed down my dry throat. "I have to be," my scratchy voice groaned. "I can't miss school today. Math test." I got to my feet, only for my knees to buckle. Like mother, like son.

I was a complete stranger to Percy, yet he frowned at me, annoyed, as if he knew my shenanigans all too well. "Yeah, no you're not." he declared. "I'm not letting you go to school."

"No, please." I begged. Percy rolled his eyes. "I know all about nerds like you. I know you're not able to see either. Your glasses are broken in that corner there. I'm not blind, you are." He took the glasses and carefully slipped them back on my face.

I felt empty on the inside. I locked my eyes with him, my face blank, unable to form any expressions. I couldn't feel anything.

Percy's eyes immediately softened and for a moment. His guard was down. "I-I'll walk you to the clinic. It's just a few minutes away. Come on, I'm sorry." He held out his hand.

Moms whispered about the bad influence that he was. Students were scared to go near him, unless they wanted to start a fight. Teachers warned us about him. And yet here he was, gently supporting me as I shuffled weakly down the street.

In a daze, I told him everything--how my mom was the most hardworking person I knew, how close she had gotten to death by exhaustion many times from her night shifts at the hospital, about my robot, how excited I was to go to the workshop, how happy she was last night when she could finally let me go.

And he listened. He watched intensely, quiet and understanding, as I stammered slow and steady, and tried to not to cry again.

"...And I've heard the head of MIT is going to be there, and I wanted to show him the plans of the--"

"The robot." Percy gave a small smile. "That sounds really amazing. You're like a genius." It felt genuine. As I blushed, I realised that I never had someone who cared about me, even if caring meant just finding me the slightest bit interesting.

When we reached the staircase of the small clinic, I gently removed myself from his support.

"Thanks, man." I said, weak. "I think I can handle myself from here on out. Is there still time for you to get to school or...?"

"If I was Usain Bolt, then there'd be time." he snorted. "It's fine though. I wasn't feeling like coming to school today. But I'm glad I tried. I stopped anything really bad happening to you."

He awkwardly smiled at me. I was still feeling extremely numb, but I felt my lips twitching upwards. "Take care, Liam." After giving me some money from his pocket to pay for the treatment, he walked away casually. I stared after him until his figure disappeared down the turn of the street.

I got patched up and headed to my tiny flat. I remembered my Mom telling me that she had to work a night shift today, and that she would only come back the next evening. Just as well, there was still a void in my stomach dreading telling her about the money. Oh, gosh, the money.

Trying to take my mind off of things, I fixed up a cup of instant ramen, and opened up my half-broken computer and searched up, Percy Jackson.

I expected to find an Instagram page, instead my screen was filled with articles.

Missing at twelve years old, seen at a gun fight with a grown man, blew up the St. Louis arch, accused of murdering his mother. Expelled from more than eight schools in eight years. The cup of ramen fell out of my hand.

Look, I knew Percy was a troublemaker to an extent. I knew he made a mess and ran away from school on the first day. I knew that bullies would get into fights with him and get beaten up. But then again, I couldn't forget his smile and his gentle voice, telling me it would be all right.

Something inside me wanted to know who the real Percy Jackson was. Yet I felt unsettled. Me and my Mom were already a poverty-stricken family of two. I didn't know who he was, apart from that one interaction.

Could I afford to take a risk to get closer to a person like him? What if I got into trouble too? What if I got expelled from school too? What if he was just leading me on today?

As I buried myself under the covers that night, my mind started eating away at me. I closed my eyes, and dreamed of those evil guys, the taste of blood in my mouth, and kind green eyes.

The next day, I managed to attend school. After lunch was my science class, which I knew was the time where my teacher would collect the money to attend the workshop. I tried to not think about his reaction to his favourite student not being able to come.

At lunch, I sat at a lonely table in the corner, blinking back tears. My mind was plagued with my Mom and my teacher's face, disappointed and shocked. Suddenly, I heard a voice behind me. "Liam? You okay?"

I turned back, and gasped. It was Percy, but his cheek and nose had bandages on them, as if he had gotten hurt. "Yeah, why?" I stammered.

He sheepishly dug into his pocket and brought out a familiar stack of cash. He started rambling, "I-was-still-thinking-about-what-happened-so-after-dropping-you-at-the-clinic-I might have--"

"Sorry, what?"

"I tracked down those boys and threatened them to give back your money," he blurted out. "I...know how it feels like to have a single and struggling Mom. I just wanted to help in some way."

I felt stunned. No one had ever done such a thing for me. "How...did you...?"

"Umm..." he stuttered. "My dog, uh, she's a good tracker." He sat next to me. He took my hand in his and placed the stack of cash in my palm. "Anyways. You deserve to get the attention of the MIT head and impress him. He'd be missing out if you didn't. The world would be missing out on an inventor like you." My heart skipped a beat.

I sat there in silence. The unsettling feeling started growing again in my gut. "I know this sounds weird but," I whispered, "There are articles about you online, saying that you're a criminal. But you're here helping me. Why?"

Percy fell silent for a minute. He shuffled in his seat next to me. "I...can't tell you anything about the articles or the rumours or the accusations or whatever." His eyes were averted, and his voice was stiff.

"Is there....anything I can do to help?" I asked, softly. "You're just in freshman year. You don't deserve to be involved in dangerous things like this. You don't seem like that type of a person." Percy suddenly looked up and locked eyes with me, and his eyes were filled with a deep misery.

"Not if you want to get in trouble too," he warned. His eyes morphed from misery to something deeper; the air turned cold and there was something about his gaze that seemed almost powerful, primordial even. I felt freaked out and asked, "Who are you, Percy Jackson?"

He got up to leave. "What do you think?"

Before I could react, the bell rang and it was time to go to class. I turned back to Percy, and said, "I don't know who you are. But no one's ever done anything like this for me. I don't know how to thank you. I don't know about what's going on, but you deserve to have a normal life."

His eyes turned sad. He didn't reply.

After that day, things didn't get better for Percy. He started skipping school more often, his grades were slipping. His eyes were always red as if they'd either been crying or not sleeping. His only friend, a girl named Rachel, was bullied on the daily. At lunchtime, I heard him quietly chatting with her, and I regularly overheard words like 'war' and 'death'. He was regularly yelled at, and was constantly on the edge of being expelled.

I kept away from him, but a part of my heart still ached everytime I remembered how he saved my life and how I could never return the favour. "Not if you want to get into trouble too" he had said.

The next year, he went missing. His picture was all over the news. Theories exploded in our school, ranging from him being kidnapped by a mafia boss to being a mafia boss himself, and running away from the police. Teachers used him as an example for what would happen if we didn't listen to our parents. Parents who waited to pick their kids up would sneer about his mother and stepfather.

The commotion died after a while, and if Percy ever was found again, there was no official news about it except a few gossiping mouths in the streets of New York.

Me? The head of MIT was so impressed by my robotics skills the day of the workshop that he made sure I got a scholarship. I graduated school with the highest honours. I got admission into this incredible institution, and learned so much. And here I am today, in front of all of you, batch of 20XX, with this degree I have worked hard for by your side for the past few academic years.

So who was Percy Jackson? Was he a terrorist? A juvenile misfit beyond all hope? Was he a mafia boss, a gangster, a criminal? Or was he the gentle-hearted fourteen year old boy who saw me, bruised and bloody on the cement ground all those years ago, and decided to help a poor boy achieve his dreams?

I could never tell you. That's how humans are. We aren't open two dimensional displays of artworks. Within our colours hide layers of character and woven stories of the past. Neither the moms who whispered about him, the teachers who used him as an example, the bullies who were beaten up by him could never see Percy for who he was. But I got a glimpse that day all those years ago.

So as I stand here today at this prestigious graduation ceremony, with the highest honours of my class, I'd like to thank my Mom for supporting me throughout this journey. I love you so much. I'd like to thank all my professors and fellow students.

And, I'd like to thank Percy Jackson. And I'd like to use his example to beg all of you to be kind and do kind. His simple act of kindness helped me achieve my dreams, and I will forever carry that on and help other underprivileged kids like me.

Percy, I hope you're somewhere out there, happy. And single. Because I am. Just for the record.

*********************************************