1 The envelope

9 PM, in the spacious bedroom.

After gulping two sips of water, he was striding again, roaming in a continuous pattern for ten minutes. He was biting the edge of his thumbnail, pausing only for a while, to recollect his experience. His manners were weird but overthinking gave him pleasure. Then, he wrote something on a piece of crunched paper and settled his torso on a couch.

Then all of a sudden, with the force of his naive palm, he tugged the drawer of his wooden study table, exposing the contents inside. It was a sort of blond envelope with a red stamp on it. With eyeballs bulging and an anxious face, he loosely grasped the letter. He hugged the letter to his heart and tried harder to make tears fall.

The letter bore a huge name at the top " Cassius B UNIVERSITY " written in 18-inch font, with a symbol of a flame beside it, and the remaining contents in 12-inch font of times new roman. A two-inch gap was also allowed between the heading and the content.

The letter contained words like 'won' and '$20000' indicating that Sebastian had won a scholarship worth 20000 dollars. The letter was signed by the principal of the reputed university. It was an occasion that can shock every single member of his town from head to toe. Sebastian had frozen to the place at first read but came to some realization.

Sebastian feared the culture of his society as well as his humble house. He had known the way his cousin spoiled his life. He was 3 years elder than Sebastian. His cousin, Ethan Blackwood, aimed at starting his own business to serve the family. His dreams were soon crushed by his uncle making him do jobs. Ethan got into bad company, lost his self-control, and was then sent to a rehabilitation center.

Sebastian shared the same history when some strangers mocked him and asked him to get checked. He was always a nerd and introvert in the eyes of his fellow mates. They mocked him, asked him to complete assignments with the bully threats, and so on. He had friends who turned out to be worse than a foe.

Such thoughts always intoxicated Sebastian, and mocked his desires. His only hope was his mother he trusted with all his might. He had grounded his faith in her because she never turned him down. His mother was dynamic but also worried for him. Would she be allowing him or ceasing him from traveling abroad? Sebastian's mind was battling with endless thoughts.

His eyes then shifted to the video game he had paused. " I can decide with the gameplay. If I win, I would pluck up the courage to communicate my letter to the family members otherwise I would crumple it and throw it in the trash. But that's not easy." said Sebastian in a low, monotonous tone.

He started his game and had 5 stats left in the last battle. " Yeah!" giving a victory sign as he won, Sebastian stood from his couch. He was then taken aback by the thought of the same letter. He grasped the letter and hide it in the cupboard in frustration.

Something below his thighs vibrated as he was laid on his sofa cum bed. It was his smartphone with an anonymous text message on Messenger. " Did you show your letter to your family?" the unknown sender texted. Such a message made Sebastian jerk." Who is he? How does he know about the letter?" spoke Sebastian in a tense tone. His face flamed with heat as he let out those words.

Sebastian dialed the number but every time the line turned out to be busy. " Tensions in my life are unending like stars in the sky. I must sleep for the devil rules over me. Only god protects me in good sleep. God, please bless me." saying so he pulled the blanket over him and closed the lamplight.

His phone continued to vibrate with a few more notifications. The home screen of the mobile displayed the same number. Being disturbed by the non-stop messages, Sebastian decided to block the number. " Maybe it is a classmate or Ethan. But I am not sure. I cannot report or block the number. I must know who is eying on me."

Sebastian inhaled a deep breath and texted the number. His first question was regarding the sender's identity." May I be obliged to know who is on the next side?" he turned calmer to please the reader. With keen eyes, he waited for the reply.

He was shocked when the answer came that he was just a supporter of his and sooner or later Sebastian would meet him. Such a reply created more tension than solving the previous one. But the thought that the person was not a criminal or abducted calmed Sebastian.

Sebastian scrolled through the remaining messages only to find out that the stranger knew him. He had written about Sebastian's bullies in the past, his interests, his family, and so on. He was someone Sebastian had never met as Sebastian shared his secrets with none other than his mother. He doubted that his mother pranked him.

" Mother must have changed the number and she is fooling me." laughed Sebastian." but she knows about my letter?" He spoke in a worrisome tone. " I must check her phone to make sure of the identity of this sender, until then good sleep be welcomed." Sebastian found a way to relax his spirits.

Shortly after hitting the pillow, Sebastian was lost in his quiet repose. His body was lying straight to the right side on a single bed by the window. The room was situated on the ground floor of the house.

With lights turned off, Sebastian thought his tensions were wiped up. It was his way to escape the problems of every day. Even during his cousin's tragedy, he had to overthink a lot. But situations taught him how to release stress from the head.