Knock... Knock...
The sound echoed through the empty house. Aayu’s hands trembled as sweat beaded on his forehead, despite the freezing temperature outside. His breath fogged up the cold glass as he leaned closer to the door’s keyhole. His heart pounded like a drum.
Through the peephole, he saw him—one of the bullies from school. The boy who had threatened to kill him just yesterday. Aayu’s mind raced.
"Why is he here? Did he really mean it?"
The streets of Yakutsk were often eerily quiet in winter, the snow muffling every sound, but tonight the silence felt more dangerous. More alive.
Chapter 2: A Normal Day That Wasn’t
Only one day earlier, Aayu’s life was already far from perfect. He lived with his mother in a small apartment. She worked long hours at an ice cream shop in a mall and was often too tired to talk when she came home. That night, she had told him she would be working late.
"You’ll be okay walking home, right?" she asked.
Aayu nodded. He didn’t want her to worry.
School was a battlefield. Aayu was small for his age and quiet. Easy prey. The same group of bullies targeted him regularly, led by a boy named Misha—taller, cruel, always looking for a victim.
On that fateful day, they cornered him near the old construction site.
"Hand over your money, freak," Misha demanded.
But Aayu had had enough.
"No!" he shouted, surprising even himself. Then—punched! He struck Misha in the face and bolted.
"You’ll regret this!" Misha screamed. "I know where you live. I’ll kill you!"
Later that night, Aayu sat in his room, replaying everything. He remembered being younger, coming home with bruises, his mother hugging him silently because she didn’t know what to say. He remembered teachers turning a blind eye.
Chapter 3: The Fear That Followed
That night, Aayu couldn’t sleep. Every creak in the floor, every gust of wind outside made him flinch. He locked all the doors and windows. He even shoved a chair under the door handle.
But now—just one day later—Misha was outside. The threat was real.
He thought of running. The chimney? No—it was blocked by an old bird’s nest. The stench had gotten worse every day, and it was too narrow anyway.
He grabbed a knife from the kitchen, his hands still shaking. “Only if I have no choice,” he whispered to himself.
Then, an idea.
He opened a window and yelled loud enough for the neighbors to hear, “I’ve called the police! They’re coming!”
He ducked out of sight and watched. Sure enough, Misha hesitated. Then he slipped into the bushes outside the house, trying to hide.
Now was his chance.
Chapter 4: The Run
Aayu burst out of the house like a bullet. Knife in hand, he sprinted through the snow-covered streets. He didn’t look back. But he should have.
Misha tackled him near the corner store. The snow cushioned the fall but not the fear. A struggle. Kicking. Screaming.
A woman in a second-floor window above the shop opened her curtains. For a brief second, their eyes met. Aayu froze. But the woman, startled, quickly closed the curtain. She didn’t want to get involved.
In a blind panic, Aayu thrust the knife forward. Once. Twice.
Then silence.
Misha lay still, blood staining the white snow.
Aayu stumbled back, horrified. He dropped the knife. He couldn’t breathe. He couldn’t think.
Chapter 5: Consequences
He ran. He didn’t know where. Eventually, he reached his friend Sasha’s house. He was crying, covered in blood. Sasha’s mother opened the door and gasped.
“What happened? Aayu, what did you do?”
He confessed everything. Between sobs, he told them the whole story. Sasha’s mother called the police.
The trial was quick. Aayu was just a child, but a life had been taken. The court ruled it was self-defense—but he was still sent to a juvenile facility until he turned 18.
Chapter 6: After the Years
Fifteen years passed.
Aayu returned to Yakutsk, now a man. His childhood home stood in silence. Inside, dust covered the furniture. His mother’s photo sat on the shelf. A neighbor told him she had passed away two winters ago.
He stood in the living room and cried—truly cried—for the first time since that night.
The weight of guilt and sorrow clung to him like the cold air outside.
Chapter 7: A New Beginning
A month later, Aayu left Yakutsk for good. He moved to India, the birthplace of his grandparents. The warmth of the land was a stark contrast to the frozen past he left behind.
He changed his name. Started small. Volunteered at a school. Over time, he became a teacher. The children looked up to him, unaware of his past.
He lived simply. Some nights he would stare at the stars, wondering if Misha could have changed too—if he’d been given the chance.
Every day he taught, he told his students: “Be kind. Always be kind. You never know what someone is going through.”
At night, he sometimes dreamed of snow and blood. But when he woke up, it was to laughter, sunlight, and the chance to help others—not hurt them.
Chapter 8: Shadows of the Past
Years into his teaching life, Aayu met a boy named Kabir. Small, shy, bullied. One day, Kabir came to school with a swollen lip.
“Who did this?” Aayu asked gently.
Kabir didn’t answer. But Aayu knew.
He felt the old rage bubbling inside him. That night, Aayu couldn’t sleep. He wrote a letter to the headmaster, proposing an anti-bullying campaign.
The school accepted. Aayu gave the first talk.
He didn’t share his full story. But he spoke of scars, fear, and how silence kills. The children listened. Some even cried.
Chapter 9: Letters from a Frozen City
One evening, while cleaning his desk, Aayu found an old envelope—his mother’s handwriting.
He opened it, hands trembling.
“My dearest Aayu,
You are stronger than you think. I wish I could’ve protected you better. If you ever read this, know that I am proud of the man you’ll become. I believe in you.
Love,
Mama.”
He clutched the letter to his chest. In that moment, he felt both broken and whole.
Chapter 10: The Teacher and the Survivor
Years passed. Aayu became the head of the school. Kabir flourished under his care, later joining the student council.
One morning, a new teacher arrived. Her name was Alina. Quiet, thoughtful. One afternoon, she asked Aayu about the snowflake tattoo on his wrist.
“It’s a reminder,” he said. “That we all carry winters inside us. But spring comes, too.”
She didn’t ask more. But she stayed.
Aayu finally felt peace—not because he forgot the past, but because he used it to build a better future.
The End
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