Chapter - 1 [New day old hell]

<p>Drip* Drip* swoooosh*<br/>July 26th Year 2010, Bangladesh<br/>A boy walking down the street is seen covered with bruises. He might be crying, but the rain seems to be blocking his tears and cries. Who might he be? What happened to him?<br/>Other passers by don't seem to have the time nor the heart to ask the boy those questions. <br/>The boy starts murmuring <br/>"Why? Why does it have to be me? What did I do to be punished like this? Why does my mother have to die and my father becomes a drug addict? It's not fair!!"<br/>Hello my name is Rahmat Ali. I am 10 years old this year....maybe. I don't remember my birth date anymore. I mean why does a boy from a poor family even need to know his birth date.<br/>I live on the outskirts of Dhaka the capital in the slums. My mother's name is..... it doesn't even matter anymore. My mother died of illness when I was 5 years old and my father didn't care enough to make sure she saw the doctor. He is a drunkard and a drug addict. His profession is a rickshaw driver. But all the money he earns goes to debt and his addiction. I had an older sibling but my father beat him to death and I bearly kept my little sister alive somehow.<br/>Drip*Drip*<br/>The world isn't fair. I realised that way too early. You could say I've already gone insane. But death is just where I grew up. In the slums you don't have to look far for a body. I've kinda gotten used to it by now. <br/>As the boy entered the slums. The smell of the bodies and the people about to become bodies became so intense that someone could faint with simply one whiff.<br/>The people of the slums gave me a nickname because of a certain characteristic of mine.<br/>"Hey is that Haughty Eyed Ali?"<br/>'Haughty Eyed Ali' is my nickname. You could tell it was made by a stupid person by how dumb it sounds. They call me that because apparently my eyes can see way too much. That's not true(?) I don't have some special power. I can just observe and act accordingly.<br/>"Hey! Where have you been? You little punk, did you go steal food again? I warned you didn't I? If you keep this up you really might just kick the bucket."<br/>A middle-aged man with torn clothes said to Rahmat <br/>"Maybe that would be for the better. You look after yourself first Uncle Qurban "<br/>Ali replied and walked away.<br/>"The world is just way too cruel on such a child. Oh God please grant that child a part of your mercy for our sakes at least!"<br/>Qurban thought to himself as Rahmat kept walking.<br/><br/>Finally Rahmat reached a makeshift hut. It looked like it could fall apart anytime. It seems to be his house.<br/>"I'm home."<br/>Rahmat said in a low tone.<br/>"Brother!! You're home! Oh no you're hurt. Any luck today?"<br/>Rahmat's little sister Samiya said greeting her brother.<br/>"I'm fine..... are you alright though?"<br/>Rahmat said while looking at his sister who looked half dead.<br/>"Of course I am."<br/>Samiya said while comforting Rahmat.<br/>"Now take this and throw one in 'his' room."<br/>Rahmat said after giving Sumiya 2 old fruit cakes.<br/>"Ok" <br/>Sumiya replied and took the pieces of bread.<br/><br/>"I will be going out for a while. Don't get close to him okay?"<br/>Rahmat said with concern as he walked out.<br/><br/>Now, I know its bad here and there is absolutely no way anyone could ever even dream of living here by choice. I mean are you retarded or something? <br/>But every coin has a flip side. Thats true for everything in life.<br/>In my case, in the slums you occasionally find some crazy bastards who reaaaaally want to change their fate. They don't really get to have a choice. <br/>But that's almost impossible. Being alive here is a sort of miracle but wishing for more miracles won't get you anywhere. Thats where tanacity and persistence come through. <br/><br/>Rahmat headed for a dirty field. Upon arrival 6 other kids are seen. <br/><br/>You can't win a war by yourself. Life is the hardest war to win, and its a team game.<br/>Thats why without good teammates you're done for.<br/><br/>"OI! You're late. Were you simping for your sister or something today too?!"<br/><br/>This rude motherfucker is Zidan Khan. One annoying ass bitch who's got a temper but he is kinda tough.<br/><br/>"Shut it bitch! Come again when you have something to brag about."<br/>"You little piece of....."<br/>(He got held back by another guy)<br/><br/>"STOP IT YOU TWO!"(Loud af)<br/>This guy is the loudest of the group. He is Sheikh Ibrahim. He is loud af but he is also built like a tank. Though we're all 10 years old this guy looks 14.<br/><br/>"Everybody calm your asses. I found a new science book. Thats why we are all here."<br/>This serious nerd is Anjum Das. He is the collector of information and pretty smart.<br/><br/>"Which class is it from?" (very soft voice)<br/>This girl is Alia Roxana. The reason why we are still sane. Her cuteness is second only to my sister(based) <br/><br/>"It's 5th grade I think but here is the problem. We found the book from a dustbin near the school and some pages are ripped."(Calm af)<br/>This perfectly sane person is Rocky Christopher. I know thats not a name you'd expect from someone in Bangladesh but he has his own story apparently. So this guy is the decision maker and the strategist. why? 'cuz he's rational af. <br/><br/>"Find an economics book or something. We can't do anything learning science and stuff in these parts of the country." (Sharp voice)<br/>She is Jahanara Akhtar. All she has on her mind is money. But at least she has some dignity <br/><br/>This is my group of friends. though I haven't said it yet. They are all in an equal or worse situation than me. <br/>Birds of a feather flock together. This is our bet on life to maybe turn it around.<br/>Till the day we can wake up to a new tomorrow without the worry of getting beaten or getting robbed of our dignity. Till a morning where we can forget our old hell</p>