Marina Beach, India

April 26, 2023, 6:30 PM

Alex Pandian stood near the shore, his gaze fixed on the endless horizon of the ocean. Alex skillfully flicked the cigarette skyward, adeptly catching its tip between his teeth. With a graceful motion, he ignited a matchstick, casting a warm glow as he lit the cigarette. As the flame danced, he watched it burn to the end, the searing pain in his fingertips unnoticed amidst the shadows and smoke.

A smile cracked on his face as he thought about his life. Alex comes from a lower-middle-class family, with a hardworking father, Anbu, known for his frugality, and a tirelessly toiling mother, Angela. Life hadn't always been so challenging for them. A decade back, they reveled in affluence, but tragedy struck when Alex's uncle, Durai, required two million Rupees to buy a house for his family, and Anbu, being a kind but naive man, lent it without a single thought. Angela was vehemently against this decision as she never trusted her husband's brother and always felt that he was slimy. But Anbu's trust and love for his brother stopped him from listening to his wife.

Alas, all men should trust their wife's intuition, for Alex's uncle landed a comfortable, high-paying job a year later but refused to pay back the borrowed money to Anbu. Anbu refused to believe that his brother's attitude would change so drastically, and he visited his brother's house every week, begging him to return his money. Alex's uncle grew weary and angry at his brother's behavior and pushed him out of his house on the tenth time. The shame of being thrown out in public by his own brother made Anbu vow never to go back there. He came home that day and seemed to have aged ten years. Over the years, Anbu and Angela had disturbed sleep and ate just for sustenance. The weary life and unpredictable future pressed down on their chest like a mountain.

Alex, unnoticed, had finished the cigarette and was lost in his memories. He was jerked awake by the sound of a couple laughing and coming to the shore to dip their feet in the sea. It was a heartwarming scene for sure, a lovely couple at the border of land and sea, with the sunset as the background, but Alex's heart was freezing cold. His gaze drifted past the couple to a lonely fishing boat that was coming ashore, battling the rocky currents of the sea.

He silently took out a letter from his pocket. It was the results of the IITJEE exam. His results were abysmal. He tried his best to cram all the junk knowledge one needed for the exam, and he clearly failed.

His hand started to shake a little thinking about how he was going to break this news to his family. Anbu had high hopes for him and asked for assurance from him every other day, whether he would score enough to get into a good college with a scholarship. Alex had no choice but to assure him each time that he would get the required score. Now it is all up in dust. His father and mother's dreams and hopes for a better life.

Alex was never academically strong; he usually got good marks in school because the standard was way lower than the stuff from IITJEE and also because he put his 1000 percent effort so as not to let down his family. He loved to draw, to paint. He was quick with his hands and could create beautiful pieces of art with paper like origami. But such skills are never valued in his city. Only the one with knowledge triumphs.

It makes one wonder what is the core of a human's culture, their creativity or their knowledge.

Alex takes a deep breath, trying to calm himself down. The cigarette was unhelpful today. His gaze drifted back to the boat that was still struggling in the sea.

"That's strange; the currents in Marina are never so strong," wondered Alex.

As he observed, his eyes started to widen. Behind the boat, an ENORMOUS wave was slowly creeping up towards the shore. It is a wonder how he only noticed it just now.

"Get back! Get away from the shore!" Alex shouted at the couple.

The couple quickly noticing the abnormal event let out a scream and ran back as fast as they could. They warned all the people who they passed by, triggering a mass evacuation.

Alex did not move from the shore. He knew it was pointless. The wave was just 100 meters from the shore, and he was not quick enough to run back for shelter.

He quietly gazed as the tsunami swallowed the boat and moved towards him.

He had many regrets. He wanted to take revenge on his uncle. He wanted to earn a lot and make his father and mother live a happy life. He wanted to marry a beautiful woman and have a kid.

But he also knew.

Even if he lived, there is almost no chance that he can take revenge on his uncle.

With his current marks, he would get only a mediocre college and would have to take an educational loan to study. He would land a low-paying job and spend years paying back his loan before he could even start saving.

When he has enough money to barely take care of his family he would be in his 30s.

He knows no beautiful woman would want to marry such a guy. He would end up marrying a random woman to make his family happy. If he had a kid then he would loop back into how his father is right now and lose sleep over how to save money for his kid's education.

A miserable life or a pathetic death. Those are the options that the universe had dealt for him.

Alex started to laugh. A laughter from the bottom of his stomach. It was like he was laughing at the world. Laughing at the people. Laughing at god.

When the universe makes your life into a joke. All you can do is laugh along with it.

The wave is now mere meters away from the shore.

"At least my family is miles away from here. They wouldn't be affected."

That was the last thought that went through Alex's head as the wave swallowed him. The laughter turned into a smile of relief. He closed his eyes, letting go of his senses as he was pulled along with the wave.

As he slowly drowned. A single thought overpowered his consciousness.

"If there is another life, I WILL live it my way."