AN : This is not edited so if you find any typo or grammatical error then feel free to point out. Thank You <33

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17th June 2020

No. 51 Squadron, Srinagar
Jammu & Kashmir

The first year flying officers started coming out of their rooms, all dressed up for their early morning training like any other IAF officer.

It was five in the morning and the weather was pleasant. The sky had black clouds covering it because the rain was arriving at any moment.

These days it was raining every day, even though very little but it was.

Dressed in their tracksuits, they moved to the enormous field of the 51 Squadron Indian Air Force Station, Srinagar.

It's been three months since these young boys got their posting here and yet their enthusiasm and excitement didn't side even a little bit.

And why would it be?

It's a huge thing for anyone to be able to serve their country and to safeguard the lives of your countrymen putting your life at stake.

They got the chance to complete their dreams and living your dream is a blessing indeed in today's world.

Our Country's Armed Forces didn't feel that they were doing some favor on their country by protecting it but rather felt like it's a blessing to be able to do so.

The same was with the bunch of these new flying officers who just joined the Indian Air Force.

"Just look at him. I really want to be like him you know." One of the newly posted officers admitted to his friends who were running with him across the tracks.

"Whom are you talking about?" One of them from the group asked.

"Aah, you don't know? He's talking about Squadron leader Aahnik Singh Rathore who's there." The other friend of his replied to him and with eyes, he pointed at certain someone.

All the officers looked together in one direction and most of them had smiles on their faces with their eyes twinkling like they were looking at their most favorite star in a dark night.

"Look at him. He shines even from far." One of them spoke looking Aahnik with dreamy eyes.

His other friends looked at him in disbelief.

"Oye! You're looking at him as if he's your new-found crush." His friend slapped him on the head and others laughed.

"I can't help and you all will do the same if you guys will notice him closely. He's the definition of perfection in this campus," he spoke with a smile looking at the man he doesn't of becoming like.

There was standing Squadron Leader Aahnik Singh Rathore in the far corner of the field with his colleagues.

He was the youngest Squadron Leader in the past twenty years that the Indian Air Force has got.

His intelligence was no myth for he was just 26 and too young to have got this post.

His juniors respected him like no one else and his seniors were about proud of him.

Aahnik Singh Rathore the elder son of Karan Singh Rathore who was a renowned politician was nothing less than a mysterious book.

He was a man of his own rules and ideologies and no one could change it. Words weren't his friends and he believed in actions more than anything.

Even though he interacted less with anyone yet he wasn't known as someone who was rude or arrogant but rather had an image of someone who'll go to far ends to help you on your one request, who was friendly with everyone yet very reserved.

He understood everyone's feelings yet nobody could know what goes in his mind. In short, he was a mystery very hard to solve.

"I wish I was as good as him." The flying officer spoke his heart and his friends couldn't help but agree with him. They passed by him and wished a good morning to which they got a positive nod and nothing more.

They didn't even complain because they were used to this.

After the lunch break, Aahnik was sitting in his room going through a book that was written by someone who has served the nation for more than 30 years being in the Indian Air Force.

Aahnik wasn't a fan of novels but he was a lover of books that talked about science, geography, life experiences, and different books that people wrote describing their experiences on the battlefield of serving the nation.

He spends hours and hours reading these books whenever he had a break or an off which was rare because indulging himself in his work was his first favorite thing.

His phone started ringing suddenly out of nowhere and it was his mother who was calling him.

He very well knew why she was calling him.

"Hello Maa" he answered in a low voice and guilt started eating him. He had a few minute's conversations with her mother who was asking him about his return to his hometown Shimla.

He felt guilty of not returning to his house in the past three years. It was Diwali when he visited his house the last time and thereafter he went back to Shimla.

He was punishing his mother and his brother for no reason and he knew that but it was impossible for him to stay in that house. It suffocated him because he knew he didn't belong there.

You shouldn't be fond of those things which aren't yours.

He was returning to Shimla after a week as he got his holidays now after getting his posting as the Squadron leader three months back. A dream that he saw since he was a kid.

He kept his phone back and picked up his book to keep it back on the shelf.

He was keeping the book when there was a knock on the door.

"Come in" he answered because his colleagues will never knock to enter this room after all they shared it with him.

One of those things that are normally common in all the three armed forces was the sharing of rooms and dorms.

They are always taught to share it and leaving alone wasn't an option.

It was a junior officer who had come with a message.

" Jai Hind Leader!, Commander has informed that you'll have to pick up our Captain today from the airport in the evening at 5 p.m." he informed saluting him gave him an official letter which had the instruction.

You can't move a single stick in IAF without an official paper.

Yes, he did remember that their current Captain is coming to visit them and look after everything because this Srinagar station had been recently moved a few months back to Srinagar.

"Okay, I'll go. You may go now." He firmly instructed and the officer left with a nod.

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I'm sorry for being late. I had to do a lot of research on the Indian Air Force to match perfection.

Also, I'll update on every alternate day from now on.

Enjoy