"Some hearts don't break loudly… they break quietly, piece by piece, while still smiling for others."
The morning sun slid gently over the city, casting long shadows behind apartment blocks and marketplaces. But at the far edge of the city, past broken roads and fields still holding dew, stood a small farmhouse — its walls made of weathered metal sheets, its roof solid with cement slabs.
Inside, a boy stretched and sat up from a simple cot.
Vikran.
His eyes looked tired, but not worn. His hair was uncombed, but he didn't care. He was already thinking about the day ahead — not for himself, but for the two people who mattered most.
A Morning Without Pause
His mother was already outside. The clink of a steel bucket. The quiet bleat of goats. The faint hum of her humming as she tended to the cattle.
"amma," he called softly, stepping outside barefoot.
She turned, gave him a gentle smile. Her clothes were worn, her hands rough, but her eyes carried nothing but love. She handed him a basket of vegetables. "Take this to the back and wash them, will you?"
He nodded and got to work without a word.
The Sister's Light
Inside the house, a voice called, "Anna! Where's my other sock!?"
Vikran smiled. His younger sister, all energy and attitude, burst from behind a curtain with her half-tied hair and a lopsided bag. She was the sun in their tired little world — and he made sure she stayed that way.
He handed her the missing sock and gently tapped her forehead.
"Eat your rice first."
"I will! Stop acting like Ma."
He laughed, but he didn't tell her how many times he skipped breakfast himself — just so there'd be enough milk for her tea.
The Home They Built
Their home was not made of luxury — but it held peace.
There was only one room. No dining table. A curtain divided their sleeping space. But there was no shouting. No tension. Not anymore.
Vikran sometimes glanced at the small photo in the corner.
It wasn't displayed on a wall. It leaned behind a tin box on a dusty shelf. His father's image — rough, cold, and always half-smiling through gritted teeth.
His father had been… a storm. Always drunk. Always shouting. Never working. He had never earned a coin for the house. Never brought home a single gift. Not even a biscuit for the kids.
Vikran didn't miss him.
When others at school talked about their dads, he stayed quiet. Or he simply said, "Mine died. That's all."
Sacrifice in Silence
His mother never complained.
But he saw her stomach clench when she drank only water for dinner.
He saw the way she stitched her old blouse by lamplight.
How she stood in the rain to protect the goat shed, even if she shivered through the night.
Vikran made it his duty to help — every morning before school, every evening after.
He was her son, but also her silent partner, her shield, and her biggest admirer.
She never asked him to become that.
But life did.
A Boy in the Crowd
At school, Vikran blended in.
He wasn't the top student. He struggled to memorize facts like the others. But when it came to thinking, solving, noticing — he saw patterns nobody else did.
He helped classmates, fixed broken benches, and returned lost pens without a word. When teachers praised him, he smiled lightly.
He didn't like attention.
Because if people looked too closely… they might see the weight he carried.
A Secret Place for Pain
There was one place where he let it all out — without ever saying a word.
In the evening, once his mother was tending to the crops and his sister was inside, Vikran would sit by the youngest goat in the shed.
He named it "Binni."
And to Binni, he whispered things he could never say aloud.
"I wish Ma would eat more."
"I wish I could buy her new sandals."
"Sometimes… I just want to cry. But I don't want her to know."
He pressed his forehead gently to the little goat's side.
"If she sees me break… she'll break too."
Stars Above, Storms Within
That night, Vikran lay under the firm cement roof, the walls around him humming slightly with the chill wind outside.
He stared upward, imagining the stars beyond it — not in wonder, but in hope.
"Will things always be like this?"
Not in despair.
But in unspoken yearning.
Final Line:
The boy who never asked for more… was destined for something greater than he could imagine.
But for now, he was just the boy behind the smile.
To be continued.