"Everyone dreams of being a genius. But no one ever talks about the price you pay for it."
Aarav's earliest memory wasn't about toys or laughter.
It was silence.
The kind of silence that hangs heavy between words left unsaid…
And glances never meant to be caught.
By the age of three, Aarav had already mastered multiple languages.
By four, he could solve puzzles that left even the sharpest adults dumbfounded.
His parents—once filled with awe—slowly grew wary of him.
Not because they didn't love him...
But because every achievement of his cast a shadow too deep for them to escape.
Behind closed doors, they hid him.
His brilliance became a secret.
A burden.
> "Don't show this to your grandfather,"
his mother once whispered, after he crafted a business model just from watching a conversation between CEOs on TV.
His father never praised him.
Only watched him with eyes filled with something Aarav couldn't name back then.
But now, he knows.
> Envy.
Because Aarav's grandfather—the ruthless, visionary patriarch of the Sharma Group—once had a dream:
To raise a successor molded from both brilliance and blood.
His wife, Aarav's grandmother, had been a legend in the business world.
But their only son, Aarav's father, was... average.
So the legacy skipped a generation.
When his grandfather discovered Aarav's genius at age five, he smiled.
Not out of affection... but opportunity.
He took Aarav under his wing.
That very night, Aarav's father didn't say a word.
Didn't even look at him.
Just stared at the blank television screen, lips pressed tight.
And something in Aarav... broke.
---
He used to laugh.
Play.
Climb into his mother's lap and giggle when she kissed his forehead.
Run to his father when he came home, hoping for a pat on the head.
But after that day…
He built walls.
---
The First Space — His Personal Space
A fortress with no doors.
No one was allowed in. Not even his grandfather.
Here, he buried his thoughts, dreams, and fears.
No one knew how he truly felt.
No one deserved to.
The Second Space — His Family
Still close, but at a distance.
He acted polite. Formal.
A perfect son.
But never again the same little boy who craved their warmth.
The Third Space — His Circle
Friends. Allies.
People who knew the Aarav that smiled on the outside...
But never dared to ask what hid behind those eyes.
The Fourth Space — Strangers
To them, he was cold.
Silent.
Unreachable.
An enigma wrapped in brilliance.
---
> "Everyone wants to be a prodigy.
But they don't know what it's like to be one."
> "It's not a gift.
It's a curse that forces you to walk ahead, always alone…
Always pretending you don't wish someone would just walk beside you."
---
And so, the boy named Aarav Sharma became a genius who built walls higher than anyone could see.
Not because he didn't want to be loved...
But because he once was—
And it was taken from him.
---
To Be Continued...