"Are you really a witch?" A wild girl appeared in front of Abhi during the lunch break.
"No."
"Vampire?"
"No."
"Tch... I got excited for nothing." The girl clicked her tongue in disappointment.
Abhi knew this girl. She was a weirdo in her class with questionable likes and dislikes. Her name was Arya, and Abhi actually liked her. Arya was a cheerful girl. She always treated Abhi kindly.
"Why were you excited?" Abhi asked confused.
"I always wanted to meet a witch or a vampire," Arya replied.
"...I will inform you if I find one."
"Thank you. Did you really make their panties disappear?" Arya asked hopefully.
"No."
"Can you make mine disappear? Please..." Arya's eyes were sparkling.
"... No." Abhi sighed as she replied. Arya was indeed a weirdo.
"Why?"
"I cannot explain." Abhi wanted to stop the conversation as fast as possible.
"Ok. What did you do with their elastic?"
"I made it reach its end of life," Abhi replied.
"Actually, Tina sent me to request you to return it to its original condition." Arya finally told her the purpose of her visit.
"So that's how you knew about the incident." Abhi understood the full story.
"Yes. Please restore it."
Abhi didn't want to do it. But at the same time, she didn't want to reject a request from Arya.
"You never stood up for me when I was bullied," Abhi complained.
"Because you never stood up for yourself when you were bullied. Why would anyone help you if you yourself don't want to help you?" Arya replied without even thinking.
"I... I didn't have the courage or strength."
"You didn't even ask for help. They asked me for help. So I'm helping. Remember, I was also bullied once..."
Abhi remembered that Arya was once bullied for being chubby.
"Fine. I will restore them."
Abhi closed her eyes and sensed the girls and the goods to be restored. Tina and her friends were in the class itself as they were not confident enough to walk outside.
"Done," Abhi said.
Arya looked at the bully trio. They looked relieved and scared.
"Thank you. I am really excited about this magic of yours. I will find you later."
Arya ran after the bullies who left the class.
Abhi looked at her hands. They were shivering. Beads of sweat rolled down her forehead. She suddenly felt hungry.
Arya returned within a minute.
"Hey... You did it wrong. Now it's too tight!" Arya was struggling to control her laughter.
"I know," Abhi replied.
"You did it intentionally?"
"Yes."
"Noice..." Arya gave a double thumbs-up.
"Now teach me what trick you used," Arya demanded.
"Trick?"
"Don't play. I know you used some trick to fool them. Teach it to me."
'This girl thinks that I used some trick. That is good. Otherwise, I will be forced to do random magic. I should be careful from now on.'
"I will teach it later. Now go away." Abhi got rid of Arya.
***
The class continued.
The God of Death had lived for millions of years and had more knowledge than all the humans on earth combined. So, she easily answered all the questions in the class.
History, geography, mathematics, science and all other subjects. She knew all of them except for one: Literature.
"What is the point in memorising a poem written by some old man about a flower that fell down?"[1] Abhi questioned the teacher.
"It is a way of learning our language and culture. Without it, you will lose a part of your identity." The teacher patiently explained.
"I don't agree. There are other forms of more entertaining art..."
"If you don't want to study, then just leave. I don't want you to disturb others." The teacher lost her patience in an instant and shouted at Abhi.
"Sorry." Abhi sat down.
The class continued.
Arya was eagerly looking at Abhi. Even the retired bullies were looking at the teacher to see how Abhi was going to punish her.
To Arya's disappointment, Abhi didn't do anything.
They were not the only people looking at her.
Abhi's crush, Alen was also looking at her. Abhi looked at him out of habit.
'He looked at me!'
Abhi's heart was in a mess again.
She averted her gaze.
***
Time passed quickly.
The classes were finished. Students started leaving school.
Abhi walked out of the class. She went to the corner where her bicycle was parked.
"Who are you?"
"Huh?" Abhi turned around.
Alen, her crush, was standing behind her.
"What do you mean who I am?" Abhi asked.
"You used to be the slimy Abhi, and now you are suddenly 'the witch'. Do you think I wouldn't notice?" Alen asked as he slowly walked towards Abhi.
"You were watching me?" Abhi asked with a shocked expression.
"That... Don't have the wrong idea. I don't want my name tied with yours. I was only concerned a bit because it looked like you were extorting money from them."
"I had a new revelation after the near-death experience this morning."
"A near-death experience gave you revelation? I need one like that too." Alen frowned as he looked at Abhi.
"Then you go find a truck. I don't have time. I have to go." Abhi wasn't comfortable.
She was happy, shy and scared. All these emotions were new to the girl who used to be the God of Death. So she wanted to leave as soon as possible.
"You are still just a kid. Don't try to take revenge and lose your own character." Alen said as he left.
Abhi felt strange. She tried to suppress her feelings. But it kept on surfacing.
On the way home, she ate ice cream.
***
As Abhi neared her home, she was greeted by her excited dog. It was a dog named 'Dong'. Abhi wondered how Dong could greet her so happily every day.
She felt guilty.
Dong waited for his master every day. But that master was no more. The original Abhi was dead. There was a mother, a father and a sister at her home. The girl whom they all loved and cared for was gone. That too was due to a mistake from her side.
Sigh...
Once Abhi crossed the gate, she felt an unknown feeling filling her body and soul. It was the feeling of belonging.
That small house was filled with people who genuinely cared for her. A place where she could be the queen. A place where she could be a shameless pig.
'So this is what it feels to be home.'
Abhi felt an unknown feeling of happiness as she petted the needy dog.
She met the family members.
Angry dad, annoyed mom, slimy sister and a happy dog. It was a perfect family.
***
While Abhi was enjoying every moment of her human life while the entire universe was in chaos.
"How stupid were you to scheme against her? Do you know the severity of the crime you have committed?" A rough voice filled the enormous hall.
At the end of the hall, there was an enormous throne.
A towering 18-foot-tall person sat on that throne. He was visibly angry, and his beard was shivering.
In front of him, nearly thirty people were kneeling.
"You bunch of nameless gods thought you could handle her? How... how..." The person on the throne couldn't finish his sentence in anger.
"Your highness... Everything was going properly. But she..."
"SHUT UPPP!" The person on the throne roared.
"Justice, tell me what to do." The person on the throne asked the lady who was sitting next to him.
The lady named Justice was sitting in a meditative posture. Her eyes were closed. But she saw everything.
"Crime: Scheming against a named God and ruining the balance of the world. Punishment: Soul imprisonment of eternity." The woman named Justice replied nonchalantly.
"That is a waste of resources. I will use their soul to power the rebirth cycle. That way, we will be able to slightly reduce the burden created by the absence of God of Death. What do you think?" The person on the throne asked.
"Permission granted," said Justice.
"No.. Sir please listen to us. We can..." The pleadings of the culprits came to an abrupt stop.
They froze in place.
The person on the throne had his arm lifted in the air. He made a tugging motion.
The bodies of the kneeling culprits became powder and disappeared. Their transparent souls floated into the hands of a person who was sitting in a corner. He collected the souls and nodded.
The person on the throne was the king of Gods. His name was King of Gods.[2]
"What is the situation?" King asked.
"The Asura realm has contacted us. They want us to take responsibility." A nameless God replied to King.
"What are their demands?" King suppressed his anger and asked.
"They want us to take care of the birth and death cycle in the middle realm and God realm. They will handle the Asura realm themselves." The nameless God replied.
"Just that much? They are being too generous." God of Fire, who was sitting in the hall, asked in surprise.
"Because they are worried about Death's wrath if they take advantage of the situation." The nameless god replied.
"Who isn't? I'm worried about what she will do once she returns." King massaged his temples.
In the past few hours, he had diverted half of his manpower to handle the death and birth cycle in the universe. He was feeling tired already. The only relief was that the Asura realm wasn't courageous enough to take advantage of the situation.
"About that, I have some ideas if you are interested." The nameless God eagerly looked at the King.
"Speak." King granted him permission to speak.
That nameless God was a God who lived for less than 10,000 years. But through his hard work and intelligence, he raised his position and reached the royal court. Even the King paid attention to him. With enough service, he will be granted a name within 100,000 years. Till then, he had named himself 'Six'.
He excitedly started explaining his idea to King.
***
"WITCH"
The next morning, Abhi stared at the big letters written on the board using chalk.
Some were giggling and talking as they looked at the words on the board and Abhi.
Abhi decided to ignore it. She went to her seat.
The class started.
"Everyone, please write down the timetable for your first term evaluation. The same can also be downloaded from the school website." The class teacher dropped a bomb after the roll call.
"From today onwards, make a timetable and start studying. Don't procrastinate. ..." The teacher gave some advice before starting the lesson.
Abhi paid attention to the class. Even though she had immense knowledge, there were topics about which she had absolutely no idea.
Hours passed in the blink of an eye.
In those few hours, the nickname 'witch' became famous in the school.
"I swear. I didn't do it. I absolutely don't want to anger you." Tina was shivering as she faced Abhi. She came to Abhi on her own to clear her name.
"Then who did it? One of your lackeys?"
"No. I think someone saw us and heard our conversation yesterday."
"Who?"
"Sherly. She usually stays alone in the auditorium." Tina replied.
"Ok. I will find her and ask." Abhi left without waiting for a second.
Sherly was an introvert who was not in her class. But she was in the same grade. Abhi went directly to her classroom.
"Did you ..."
"Yes." Sherly didn't even let Abhi finish the question.
"Why?"
"I saw you doing it. You are a witch." Sherly replied without blinking.
"Still, why are you doing it?"
"Because this school does not want a witch that harms mortals."
"I didn't harm them. I only taught them a lesson."
"It is against the witch laws to use your powers on mortals," Sherly replied.
"How do you know the witch laws?" Abhi was surprised.
"Because I am a witch. So, be careful. From now onward, everyone will be considering you a witch. If you use your power inside the campus, someone will notice, and you will be caught. You know what happens to witches who were caught in the act." Sherly warned Abhi.
"I... Thank you for looking out for the mortals. I will not harm any humans or animals." Abhi decided not to correct the misunderstanding and to end the talk.
Abhi left the classroom and returned to her own.
Sherly's face changed. She took out a mobile phone and sent a text message.
'Witch spotted. Get ready for the hunt.'
Unknown to Abhi, she had become the target of a bunch of witch hunters.
______________________
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[1]: A classic poem about death written by a poet inspired by the death of a flower.
[2]: The name of God of death is 'God of Death.' Name of God of justice is 'God of Justice'.