A single bead of sweat trickled down Raj’s forehead, navigating its way past the flies playing kiss chase around his eyes. It quickly discovered his smooth cheek, growing smaller with every inch, before finding its way to the tip of his pointed chin. It paused there as if to survey the descent ahead of it, before leaping freely into the warm Indian air. Raj awoke, using his right had to swat instinctively at the flies buzzing next to his chestnut brown eyes. He saw a dark stain on the floor beside him caused by his sweat. It vanished almost instantly, taken hostage by the unforgiving heat that had caused it. An invading cylinder of light seeping through a gap in the straw roof told Raj it was morning.

            Raj began his morning routine, dressing in a dull grey t-shirt. It had become frayed at its edge, and holes were beginning to develop under each armpit. His shorts, which used to be a vibrant yellow, were brown with dirt. Shoes were a commodity his family could not afford. He stepped out into the blistering heat and quickly hopped from foot to foot until his tender soles acclimated to the hot floor. His mother was already awake, and had begun milking their goat. The sound of the desert flooded Raj’s ears, the heat causing the various insects to sing their consistent high pitched drone, he ignored it, leaving it to become little more than white noise.