A young boy who is doing push-ups in the middle of a forest with his big brother, drenched in his own sweat and determination showing in his eyes.
Ashra is sometimes stubborn about his passion, but he clearly understands everything around him. He knows he can't depend on someone every time. That's why he wants to become stronger quickly. So he can help those in need.
"Fifty Two!"
"Fifty-three!"
"Fifty Four!"
His hands were trembling so hard, feeling the dirt below his hands after he gritted his teeth.
"No... I can do this!"
Rudrax, his big brother, is sitting on his back, hand on his knees, completely relaxed. His body is a little bulkier than the average person's. He has big muscles. He is in his early twenties.
"Are you sure you can do this? You can't even do a hundred push-ups. And you say you will surpass me."
Rudrax is quite a strong man, for him it's not even a warm-up, let alone skip how much workout he can do. While Ashra is giving his all might, though, for him, Rudrax is quite heavy and is a double of his body but he didn't give an excuse for this matter.
His saliva comes off his mouth, showing how hard he is trying.
"I will surpass you! No matter what!"
Rudrax let out a small laugh.
"You know, if I am trying to be honest, I can do this all day in a single row."
Ashra's eyes widened his laugh slipped out from his face. Though his muscles are at his limits but he still doesn't want to accept how weak he is compared to his brother.
"Ha! If you can do this! I can do it too!"
Rudrax is letting out a sigh.
"At least first try to finish a hundred push-ups. You can save that for later."
He knows Ashra's limits, but he knows his ambition too. That's why he wants to push his limits for his sake; it's not like he is trying to be tough, but he just wants him to grow stronger fast.
He tries to encourage Ashra.
"Just ten more! C'mon, you can do it! Don't disappoint me this time!"
Ashra screamed through his whole body, trying to gather all his energy in his hands just to push off a little more.
'Oh damn body! Just a little more!'
'I can do this. No, I have to do this.'
"Ninety Eight!"
"Ninety Nine!"
"Hundred!"
His body collapsed on the dirt, his muscles feeling like they were going to tear apart. He lay on his back. His breaths were heavy but not shallow.
"Oh, finally I did it..."
Rudrax gets up from his back. A fulfillment looking in his expression. Like he had wanted this moment for a long time.
"Good work. That's what I want to see in you."
Ashra is still lying on his back. His breaths are slowing down.
"Yeah... thanks."
Rudrax takes out a wooden bottle, which is filled with water, from his bag.
"Here. Take it."
He threw his bottle to the side of Ashra. He grabbed it with his hand.
"Thanks again."
Ashra thoughtfully drank the whole water. The bottle slipped from his hand. Because he doesn't have any energy left to even hold it. Water splashed down in his face.
'I just want to rest. I don't even wanna move my body for a while.'
With that thought, his eyes closed, and he fell asleep the next moment. Though it's not the first time that he's done this. It's become his daily routine.
A small smile appeared on Rudrax's face.
"Huh, done already?"
***
The sun started dipping on the horizon, making the sky an orange colour.
Ashra woke up and stretched his hands backward to relieve some tension in his muscles.
"Finally, I'm up. It's been a good nap."
He stood up and stretched his body backward, relieving back pain this time.
"Ah! Now I feel better."
He started to look around with his eyes, puzzled. Looking for Rudrax, who is nowhere around.
"Where did he go?"
Rudrax suddenly came from behind. A wild animal on his shoulder. He surely has taken his time to find an animal for dinner, though it's not easy to find an animal in this forest because there are not many animals in here.
"Hey Ashra! So you finally wake up. You really sleep too much."
Ashra feels happy from inside after seeing him again if they are meeting after a long time. A small smile appeared on his face.
"What's with that big thing?"
Rudrax walked closer towards Ashra.
"It's a dinner for us. Food helps humans recover quickly. Though currently you might need it."
He closed his eyes like he wanted to remember something he forgot. He remembers and opens his eyes.
"Uh... Ashra, if you can walk to the river. Can you bring some water? I forgot it in a hurry. "
Ashra folded his arms and started looking at the sky, then he looked sideways with his eyes. Like, he doesn't want to do. Though he can't say no but he doesn't want to do this either.
"Yeah sure."
Rudrax, with an unpleasant look, saw him and thought over.
'What took him that much time to answer it?'
He gives the bottle to Ashra in the meantime.
"Here. It will be a big help. By the time you come. I should have prepared the dinner for us."
Ashra took over the bottle and started to walk towards the river.
"Okay. I'm going now."
***
Though his body is not healed completely, he has that much energy left, at least he can walk on his own. It's not hurting much more than before because, after doing training every day, he has built endurance. He is starting to know his limits.
"Oh, I'm feeling hungry now. I'd better bring water fast. I really want to eat something."
His mind is filled with thoughts of hunger. He is feeling hungry. It's normal for him because he also does a lot of training, which makes him more hungry.
He reached the river and started to fill his bottle with water. His gaze shifted to another person with a yellow outfit who was sitting far to the riverside.
"Who is there...? Well, who cares? I don't have much time. I should hurry up."
He can't be able to see him properly because he is out of his vision, though he doesn't care about the person he is? Because he has no time to find out about him.
After filling his bottle, he went back from there to his place.