In a hospital, outside the ICU room, a man sat on a bench, his face etched with worry lines, lost in the depths of his thoughts. As time passed, a young woman in uniform hurried into the hospital, her eyes brimming with concern.
Rushing to the man's side, she called out, "Brother, are you okay? What's happened to mom? Please, tell me," her voice trembling with fear and emotion.
Seeing his sister's distress, the man reached out, gently placing a comforting hand on her shoulder. "It's nothing serious, Maya," he reassured her, his voice soothing despite the turmoil in his own mind.
"Mom's been in bed for a while, and her immune system took a hit. But the doctors are taking care of her. She'll pull through, I promise."
With a tender pat on her head, he urged her to sit beside him, offering what little solace he could in the face of uncertainty.
After a tense wait, the doctor emerged from the ICU room, drawing the worried gaze of the siblings awaiting news. "Doctor, is everything alright?" the brother inquired anxiously, his voice tinged with concern.
The doctor offered a reassuring nod. "It's under control. But we need to proceed with surgery soon to avoid any complications," he advised, his tone calm yet urgent.
Accepting the news with a heavy heart, the brother nodded in understanding, a hint of regret shadowing his present condition. The doctor placed a comforting hand on his shoulder before departing.
The doctor then told them, "Now you can see your mother, but don't talk for too long. She needs to rest as well." Saying this, the doctor left.
Before they entered, the brother cautioned his sister against showing her distress in front of their mother. As they approached her bedside, their mother stirred, her eyes meeting theirs with a flicker of recognition.
Weakly, she reached out her hand, silently beckoning for theirs. Tenderly, the sister clasped her mother's hand, offering words of reassurance.
"Don't worry, Mom. The doctor says everything will be fine."
A faint smile graced their mother's lips as she spoke, her voice feeble yet filled with warmth. "I know. As long as I have both of you by my side, there's nothing to fear," she murmured, casting a loving gaze at her children.
Turning to her son, she entrusted him with a solemn request.
"Take care of your sister, Surya," she implored softly.
"I will, Mom. You just rest now," Surya promised, his voice unwavering with determination.
With a final smile, their mother closed her eyes, seeking respite in sleep. Surya gently guided his sister out of the room, ensuring their mother could rest undisturbed.
After they stepped out of the room, his sister confided, "Brother, I've been thinking... I want to drop out of college and find a job to help with Mom's medical expenses."
Surya's eyes widened in surprise, but he masked his concern with a playful remark. "Oh, little miss impulsive, what mischief have you cooked up now?" he teased gently, flashing her a reassuring smile.
"You forget, I'm the unsung hero behind those action-packed blockbusters. Without stunt performers like me, those movies would be dull as dishwater."
Hearing that, his sister said, "Ha, ha. You think too highly of yourself for being just a stuntman. The money you earn is very little, and I know it will not be sufficient to treat our mother's disease."
The smile on her face turned to grief as she completed the sentence. Surya reached out, tenderly patting her head.
"Hey, hey, don't fret about all that. The fight coordinator's got my back. He's always there to lend a hand when I need it. You just focus on your studies, alright?" he reassured her, hoping to ease her mind.
Surya knew that mere words couldn't erase the weight of their financial worries, but he did his best to offer his sister some hope. "Alright, if you're serious about helping, then focus on your studies," he urged gently, his voice laced with encouragement.
"Get top grades, land a job at a top-notch company, and once you're earning, you can start chipping in. Who knows, with your support, maybe I'll become a superstar on the silver screen."
His sister's smile widened at the playful notion, and Surya couldn't help but join in her laughter. He reached out, pulling her into a warm embrace.
"There's no need to fret, sis. I'll handle things from here. Together, we'll get Mom the treatment she needs," he promised, his embrace a silent reassurance of his unwavering determination.
As his sister departed, Surya watched her leave with a forced smile, concealing the turmoil raging within him.
But the moment she was out of sight, a solitary tear escaped his left eye, betraying the facade of strength he had presented.
Despite his efforts to reassure his sister, the truth gnawed at him relentlessly. Their financial situation was far from stable—it was dire.
Surya found himself ensnared in a labyrinth of debt, each loan pushing him deeper into the abyss. The meager earnings from his stunt work barely scratched the surface of his mounting debts, the weight of which threatened to crush him beneath its burden.
He had borrowed from every conceivable source, from banks to acquaintances, even resorting to loan sharks with exorbitant interest rates. Yet, each debt only served to exacerbate his predicament, leaving him trapped in a cycle of endless indebtedness.
As he approached his thirties, the likelihood of getting selected for movies began to diminish. He then opened his phone to check the bank balance and felt nothing but sadness in his heart upon seeing that it was in single digits after paying the recent medical bill.
As he was about to close his phone, a notification popped up:
"Do you want to clear all your existing loans along with completing treatment for your mother and encouraging your sister to focus on her studies? If so, just reply 'yes' to me."
Initially, he felt suspicious about the message, but realizing he had nothing to lose, he decided to give it a try and replied to the message. Within a second, another message came from a different number:
"The job is quite hard yet dangerous. You have to be my face in the underworld. But don't worry, even if something happens to you, your family will continuously receive help in any kind of situation. If you agree to proceed, reply 'yes' to me."
Surya hesitated a little upon seeing this message, but then another message came from the same number:
"You don't have to worry about it. I will ensure that no one will harm you or your family, whatever the circumstances may be."
Despite feeling hesitant, Surya found himself in a situation with no other alternative solution. So, he decided to trust this unknown person somehow.
This time, rather than immediately acquiescing, Surya found his voice, grappling with the weight of doubt and uncertainty that clouded his mind.
"How can I trust you?" he typed out hesitantly. "I don't even know you. What if you betray me, and my family loses their only hope?"
An hour passed in agonizing silence, the absence of a response weighing heavily on Surya's already burdened shoulders. With each passing minute, his anxiety mounted, a sense of dread settling over him like a suffocating shroud.
With each passing moment, the realization dawned upon Surya that he may have squandered his only chance at salvation, his hopes shattered by the cruel hand of fate.
Fueled by desperation, he attempted to reach out once more, his fingers flying across the keys in a frantic attempt to elicit a reply.
Yet, despite his efforts, the chat remained devoid of any messages, the sender's digital trail vanishing into the void.
As Surya sat in a daze, the messages that had once filled his screen vanished into thin air, leaving him to question the very fabric of reality.
"Could it be that he was merely caught in the grip of a surreal dream?"
Before he could make sense of it all, his phone shattered the silence with a sudden ring, signaling an incoming call from his sister.
With a mixture of confusion and trepidation, Surya answered the call, only to be greeted by his sister's voice on the other end.
Her words pierced through the fog of his bewilderment, her question cutting straight to the core of his being. "Brother, why did you pay my college fees instead of using that money for mother's treatment?"
Surya's mind reeled at the accusation, his heart heavy with guilt and disbelief. How could his sister question his motives in such a manner?
Before he could formulate a response, the call abruptly disconnected, leaving him staring at his phone in stunned silence.
Frantically, his sister attempted to reach out once more, her calls echoing unanswered into the void. With each futile attempt, her concern grew, her mind consumed with worry over her brother's inexplicable silence.
Perplexed by the sudden end of the call, Surya's confusion deepened as he repeatedly uttered, "Hello, hello, what happened sis?" Yet, his words echoed into the void, met only by eerie silence.
It was only when he glanced at his phone that he realized the call had abruptly ended, leaving him alone with his thoughts and a lingering sense of unease.
Just as uncertainty threatened to engulf him, a new message flickered across his screen, this time from a different number.
Surya's heart skipped a beat as he read the enigmatic words: "Now, can you trust me? If so, then call the following number."
The message hung in the air, its implications swirling in Surya's mind like a tempest. Caught between doubt and desperation, he grappled with the weight of the decision before him.
Should he heed the cryptic message and take a leap of faith into the unknown, or should he remain ensnared in the suffocating grasp of uncertainty?
Surya's heart skipped a beat as he felt a gentle touch on his shoulder, his nerves on edge from the tumultuous events unfolding around him.
As Surya turned around, he found himself face to face with the doctor who treated his mother. Relief flooded through him at the familiar presence, momentarily dispelling the shadow of uncertainty that loomed over him.
He greeted the doctor with a grateful smile, his heart still heavy with the weight of unanswered questions.
The doctor's words cut through the air, drawing Surya's attention back to the present. "I heard you paid an advance for your mother's treatment. Did you receive a good offer or something?" the doctor inquired, her tone tinged with curiosity.
Surya's mind raced as he struggled to make sense of the doctor's question. Had the unknown benefactor somehow reached out to the hospital staff as well?
Unable to discern the truth amidst the maze of uncertainty, he offered a simple nod and replied, "Yes," his voice tinged with hesitation.
The doctor nodded in understanding, seemingly satisfied with his response. As she turned to leave, Surya couldn't shake the feeling of unease that lingered within him.
The events of the day had left him teetering on the edge of a precipice, uncertain of what lay ahead. But as he watched the doctor disappear down the corridor, a flicker of hope ignited within him, casting a ray of light into the darkness of his uncertainty.