Born in apocalypse

"You don’t seem right, Dhruv. Have you eaten something bad or things like that?" the sweet yet suspicious voice of a caring mother rang in the surroundings as she looked at her son with a concerned look.

"Nahhh! Mom, I’m all okay. It’s just the lack of sleep, nothing more than that," Dhruv said as he began to enter a place where many guards were standing. This is where he would have to verify his tickets so he can enter the beach.

This was the second day of their vacation in the city of Cyra. After meeting his meet with the receptionist, he and his family wandered over the city nonstop for about six to seven hours, which was more relishing than they had thought.

Today they had planned to relax on the beach in the morning and then, after seeing the aquarium and getting their dinner, they would call it a day as well.

"Well, if you say so, but I don’t think this is a result of just the lack of sleep," she said, stopping speaking and letting her son think for himself.

This was the best thing she could do at the moment, as Dhruv’s mind was already in a mess for some unknown reason.

"Here," he said as he passed his tickets to the guards. After the verification, he got a five-hour pass for the beach.

There was a benefit in coming early as there were quite a few good spots left. Finding a perfect place, they began to prepare that area for themselves. After placing everything down, it was time to change their clothes for a more appropriate set.

Everyone had done that, and only our protagonist had forgotten to do so. He just had to change the shirt, so he didn’t think much and began to change it right then and there...

He put the shirt he was wearing into the bag and brought out the right one. Without waiting for anything, he was about to change when a voice interrupted him.

"Huhhh! Now I get why you look anxious... my dear son. Why are there tattoos all around your body?" Looking in her son’s direction, she whispered in a very calm tone.

Her tone was the only calm thing here, and Dhruv clearly felt that. Knowing he had to be correct here, he took some time to think about an answer. A few seconds had gone by, and he was still cursing himself...

’Shit... I should have gotten something to cover it up... ’ Blaming himself Dhruv started running his brain at its full speed.. All this so he could come up with a good excuse.

Looking in his mother’s direction, he opened his mouth with an awkward smile on his face, "These are just temporary ones, Mother. I have done it to become a cool boy so I can get a daughter-in-law for you. Don’t you think it is a good strategy?"

Dhruv was about to get proud, that he had come up with a perfect excuse... but all this shattered as he heard someone controlling their laugh.

"Pftt.."

"Pffttt..."

Looking to his right, Dhruv saw the betrayal of his younger brother. With a slight faith, he looks to his right... Having some faith made it even worse to swallow the betrayal. She was laughing as well.

"And who told you that you can poach a girl with these tattoos..." Controlling her laughter her mother asks the question.

"Toby?... yes, it was Toby, Mother, who told us that this was a very important thing for..." Dhruv controlled the words he was about to say.

’Huuuh! Why was I about to say that these ’tattoos were a very important thing for... our survival.’’ Confusion began to shroud him as Dhruv couldn’t answer even the thing he was about to say.

Getting even these little things wrong, Dhruv had begun to feel like a machine who is running on autopilot. Why...What... How—all types of questions began to form in his brain as he was about to get trapped into them...

He truly have destroyed everything if a voice didn’t bring him back to reality.

"I don’t think you have introduced this Toby to me," Dhruv’s mother thought out loud as she looked at her with a calm expression.

"Ohhh! Yes.. so Toby is the one... is the one??" he was about to answer when once again the words got stuck in his mouth.

’Who is Toby... how do I know him... Why did he suggest me to get a tattoo and why is it related to my survival...’ After pausing for a while, he began to think from a different direction,

’If I think about it, why did I get a tattoo in the first place... it’s not like I like tattoos...’ Dhruv thought, getting more confused by the moment.

He didn’t dislike tattoos, but he didn’t like them to the point of having multiple of them engraved on himself as well. If it were a small one, he could dismiss it as a result of a mood swing, but this... This is far more than that.

Knowing that he wouldn’t get any answers out of thin air, Dhruv began to focus on the tattoos that were all around his body. He couldn’t see the ones that were on his back, but he could stare at the ones that were right on his chest.

’Universe filled with stars, in which four of them are shining the brightest... what could this mean..’ Dhruv thought while rubbing his head.

Even after getting medication, he still often gets these mild headaches, when he thinks a lot. During these headaches, it always felt like a mild current was passing through the body, trying to awaken something.

"Huhh! What happened... you don’t know him. Quite expected from a rookie. If you’re going to lie, at least try to make them as believable as possible, young man." A chuckle escaped her mouth as she found that her son was unable to tell a lie... which was a good sign, at least for her.

"I will pay close attention to them, Mother."Saying these words he began to walk away from something.