Ayu received a daunting task from the system: arrange ₹3 lakh without using any money from his mother's account and settle the hospital bill before 8 a.m. sharp.
The weight of the demand was suffocating, sending his thoughts spiraling into chaos. Time was slipping away, and the pressure gnawed at him relentlessly.
He stood beside his mother, who lay peacefully asleep, her fragile form illuminated by the dim hospital lights. Taking a deep breath, he whispered a silent promise to her, then informed the nurse and stepped out of the ward.
The cool night air greeted him as he descended the stairs near the entrance. He sat down, lit a cigarette with trembling fingers, and took a deep drag, his eyes fixed on the endless expanse of the night sky. "I have to make this work," he thought, his pulse racing as the enormity of the task loomed over him. The receptionist had given him until 10 a.m., but the system's merciless deadline was at 8 a.m. He glanced at the clock, which read 3 a.m. Only four hours remained.
The tension settled deep in his chest. Steeling himself, Ayu resolved to face whatever lay ahead, his mind already churning with desperate plans.
Though the system's promised reward offered a glimmer of hope—enough to repay anyone willing to lend him the money—the immediate challenge felt insurmountable. Ayu had no choice but to seek help.
Flicking his cigarette into the darkness, he pulled out his phone and dialed his childhood friend Ram. The phone rang once, twice, three times... but there was no answer. After several attempts, Ayu muttered under his breath, "This guy must be asleep. Fine, let me try Alok. He always picks up."
At that moment, Alok was in a car with his stepmother, Jyoti, on their way to his grandfather's home. The quiet hum of the vehicle was broken by the buzz of his phone vibrating insistently on the seat beside him.
"Alok, your phone is ringing," Jyoti said, gently nudging him awake.
Groaning, Alok rubbed his eyes and squinted at the screen. "Ayu? Seriously, at this ungodly hour? This guy has no sense of timing." With a sigh, he answered the call. "What now, man? It's the middle of the night. Can't you let me sleep? You've completely ruined my night."
Ayu felt a brief wave of relief when Alok picked up. But before he could explain, Alok continued grumbling.
"Alok! Is that how you talk to your friend?" came Jyoti's reprimanding voice from the background.
Hearing her voice, Ayu's frustration flared. Ayu thought, 'He must be with a girl, that's why he ignored my calls.' Gritting his teeth, he retorted, "You jerk! I called for help, not to hear your nonsense. I'm not like you, partying all night with girls!"
Alok burst into laughter. "Idiot, I'm with my mom! We're driving to my grandpa's place." His tone softened. "Now tell me, what's wrong?"
Ayu sighed, guilt creeping into his voice. "I'm sorry, man. I need money. Can you arrange something?"
Alok sat upright, concern replacing his earlier irritation. "You need money? What's going on? How much are we talking about?"
Ayu explained in a shaky voice, "It's my mom... she had an accident. The hospital bill is ₹3 lakh, and I only managed to get an extension until morning to settle the bill. I need help."
Alok's carefree tone vanished. "What? How did this happen? Where are you? I'll come right now!"
Before Ayu could reply, Jyoti's voice came through the line, calm but firm. "Alok, we're 70 km away. You can't just turn back now. Let me talk to Ayu."
Taking the phone, Jyoti said, "Ayu, I just heard about your mother's accident. Is she okay? Don't worry. I can transfer ₹1.5 lakh from my account right now. Share your bank details with Alok. Once we reach our destination, I'll see if I can arrange more." Ayu choked back tears. "Thank you, Aunty. I promise I'll pay it back as soon as possible."
"Don't worry about that, beta," Jyoti said gently. "Just focus on your mother. Let us know if you need anything else."
As Ayu was talking, he received a new call from Ram. Quickly, he answered and added Alok to a conference call. "What's up, Ram?" Ayu asked, his voice tired but hopeful.
"What's up? Seriously? It's 3 a.m., man! Why are you calling me so late?" Ram snapped.
Before Ayu could respond, Alok jumped in. "Ram, Ayu's mom had an accident. She's in the hospital, and he needs to pay the hospital bill of ₹3 lakh before 8 a.m. this morning. Ayu needs our help right now, Ram."
For a moment, there was silence. Then Ram burst out, "Are you kidding me? Do you think this is some prank? Who calls in the middle of the night with stories like this?"
Ayu, suppressing his frustration, said firmly, "Ram, I'm not joking. I wouldn't call you this late at night unless it was serious. I need your help."
Ram paused, guilt evident in his voice. "Okay, I'm sorry. Is Aunty okay? How much do you need?"
"I've arranged ₹1.5 lakh from Alok's mom. I still need ₹1.5 lakh. Can you help?" Ayu
asked.
Ram thought for a moment. "I can manage ₹70,000. I have ₹30,000 in my account and ₹40,000 from my mom. That leaves ₹80,000 to figure out."
Alok chimed in, "Ram, remember the ₹30,000 I gave you to hold? Add that too."
"That makes it ₹1 lakh," Ayu calculated. "We're still short of ₹50,000."
Ram reassured him, "Don't worry. I'll head to the hospital with the money. We'll figure out the rest. Which hospital is Aunty in?"
"Golden Health Hospital," Ayu replied. "Thank you, Ram."
Ram: "Don't worry, brother, I'll be there right away." Then Ram hung up...
Alok: "Ayu, send bank details and UPI ID. Mom is asking for it for the money transfer...."
Ayu: "Alright, bro. I'll send it right away... Bye!" Then he hung up..Quickly, Ayu sent his UPI and bank details to Alok. Staring at the screen of his phone, he laughed through his tears. Ayu thought to himself, 'I have amazing friends'...
Wiping his tears, Ayu thought to himself, "Ram must be bringing the money by now, and Jyoti Aunty will transfer her share soon. I just need to arrange another ₹50,000... but from where can I arrange it?"
Should I ask Nikhil Uncle? No, Mom always said not to take money from him. That leaves Rambabu Uncle. But calling him at this late hour... What if he gets angry and fires me from the job? That would be another blow.
Ayu checked the time on his phone and was startled—it was almost 4 a.m. "How did time fly so quickly?" he muttered.
Looking at Alok's call history, he realized 20 minutes had passed since the call ended. He had spent the entire time thinking about the remaining ₹50,000.
Shaking his head, Ayu stood up, composed himself, and walked into the hospital.
At the receptionist's desk, he said, "Ma'am, my friend Ram will arrive soon. Please guide him to Ward No. 13, Bed No. 2. I'll be stepping out to get food."
The receptionist smiled. "Sure, sir. If your friend arrives, I'll inform him. And if you're going to get food for your mother, please consult the nurse first about what's suitable."
Ayu nodded. "Thank you, ma'am. I'll ask the nurse." Returning the smile.
Ayu headed toward the ward. Upon entering, he saw his mother sleeping peacefully. Not wanting to disturb her, he approached the nurse. "Nurse, I'm stepping out to get food for my mother. The receptionist suggested asking you what would be suitable. Will plain rice porridge work, or should I get something else?"
The nurse replied, "Plain rice porridge is fine. If you can get pomegranate juice, that would be good too."
Ayu : "Okay, thank you, ma'am. And one more thing—if my friend Ram arrives, please guide him to my mother's bed."
The nurse nodded. "Sure."
With that, Ayu left the ward. As he made his way out of the hospital, he found his cycle parked near the guard's office at the hospital's entrance.
As he picked it up, the guard said, "Sir, you left your cycle lying on the ground at the entrance. Please be more careful in the future."
Ayu nodded. "I'm sorry, I was in a hurry. It won't happen again."
The guard smiled and nodded. "Alright, no problem, sir. Please be careful next time."
Ayu returned the smile weakly and thanked him. He mounted his cycle and headed toward a nearby eatery to find some food for his mother. --- Ayu pedaled a short distance before spotting a small canteen.
He approached the counter and asked, "Do you have rice porridge and pomegranate juice?"
A waiter replied, "Yes, we do."
"Please pack plain rice porridge and pomegranate juice. Also, make me a sandwich for here," Ayu said, taking a seat. He waited for a little while. The waiter returned with his sandwich shortly, and by the time Ayu finished eating, the rice porridge and pomegranate juice were packed. He paid the bill and pedaled back to the hospital.
At the hospital's entrance, Ayu parked his cycle near the guard's office again. Holding the packet of porridge and juice bottle, he entered the hospital and headed toward the ward.
As Ayu entered the ward, he made his way towards the nurse and asked, "Nurse, I've brought porridge and pomegranate juice. Should I feed her now, or wait until after the morning tests?"
The nurse replied, "Leave it with me. I'll wake her up and feed her. The tests will be between 9 and 10 a.m. By the way, your friend Ram came here after you left. He waited for you here for some time but then he left in a hurry telling me to inform you that he'd wait for you in the parking lot."
Ayu frowned and thought. "The parking lot? What's he doing there instead of sitting with my mother?"
Curious, Ayu handed over the food and walked toward the parking lot. He found Ram hiding behind a car, peeking at something. Ayu crept up quietly and peeked over Ram's shoulder to see what he was looking at. What he saw made his jaw drop.
"Ram, what the hell is this? Why do you always manage to find such scenes?" Ayu whispered.
Startled, Ram almost yelled, but Ayu clamped a hand over his mouth. "Shut up! It's me, Ayu. Stay quiet, or we'll both be in trouble if they see us."
Ram composed himself. "Bro, you came at the right time. I was scared stiff watching this alone!"
Ayu rolled his eyes. "Idiot! Why did you come here? I told the nurse and receptionist to guide you to my mother's bed. You should've waited there! Now, thanks to you, we're stuck in this mess!"
Ram smirked. "What can I say? Curiosity got the better of me. By the way, should we record this? Who knows, it might come in handy someday."
"Just do it fast, and let's get out of here," Ayu hissed.
Ram began recording the scene, but as he clicked the final picture, his phone's flash went off. The people on the other side of the car shouted, "Who's there? Come out!"
Panicked, Ayu and Ram ran for their lives, zigzagging through the parking lot. They jumped over a wall and re-entered the hospital through a side entrance, breathing heavily.
---
Back in Ward No. 13, the two collapsed into chairs near Ayu's mother's bed. "You idiot," Ayu said, glaring at Ram. "You came here to give me money and help me in this situation, but no, instead of remaining by my mother's side, you go and play detective!"
Ram, feeling guilty, opened his mouth to apologize, but Ayu's phone rang.
Ayu, still glaring at Ram, reached out to take his phone out of his pocket to check who's calling him at this late at night. It was Alok. In a hurry, Ayu picked it up. And Alok's voice came from the other side.
"Ayu, I've sent the money. Check and let me know, if money is successfully transferred or not." Alok said.
Ayu checked his messages and saw ₹1.5 lakh had been credited to his mother's bank account.
Overwhelmed, he said, "Thanks, bro. Tell aunt, I will try to return the money as soon as possible, and thank auntie for me as well."
Alok replied, "No worries. Let me see if I can arrange ₹50,000 more from anywhere else, I will let you know."
"Alright, and thank you again, bro," Ayu said, hanging up the call.
Ram, who had been remaining silent until now, slowly pulled out ₹1 lakh from his bag. While giving the money to Ayu, he said: "Sorry, bro, and here's ₹1 lakh—₹70,000 from me and ₹30,000 from Alok."
Ayu reached out to take the money from Ram and also said: "Sorry, bro, for my early outburst; it's just that I didn't know that the pressure of this situation would take such a toll on me and make me burst out like this."
Ram smirked and replied: "I know that, which is why I didn't say anything; otherwise, did you really think I would remain silent? You should already know what my reply to your outbursts would be, right?"
Ayu smiled and said: "Right, bro, I know what your reply could be, other than showing me the middle finger."
Ram smirked: "Right; just relax, and why didn't you say anything about our parking lot adventure to Alok?"
Ayu smirked. "I'll tell him when he's here. Now, let's focus on finding the remaining ₹50,000."
As Ayu pondered, the clock struck 5:45 a.m. "Should I call Rambabu Uncle?"
Ram raised an eyebrow. "Your store owner? Try it. He's a tough guy, but it's worth a shot."
Just as Ayu was about to dial, his phone rang. It was Rambabu.
The name "Rambabu Uncle" lit up on the screen, breaking the silence. Ayu's heart raced as he quickly picked up the call.
Ayu: "Hello, Uncle."
Rambabu: "Ayu, beta, I heard about your mother was in 1accident. Are you at the hospital now?"
Ayu: "Yes, Uncle."
Rambabu: "Why didn't you inform me about something so serious? How is your mother now?"
Ayu: "She's doing a bit better, Uncle. The doctors are taking care of her."
Rambabu let out a deep sigh, his tone softening. Rambabu: "That's good,How much is the hospital bill?"
Ayu: "Three lakhs, Uncle."
Rambabu: "Three lakhs? That's a lot! How much have you managed to arrange so far?"
Ayu: "I've managed 2.5 lakhs, Uncle. I just need to arrange 50,000 more."
Rambabu: "Why didn't you tell me earlier, beta? How did you manage to arrange so much money in this sort spine of time?"
Ayu: "A friend of mine, Alok—his mother helped, and I had some savings too."
Rambabu: "Alok sounds like a good friend. So, you just need ₹50,000 more?"
Ayu: "Yes, Uncle... just ₹50,000."
There was a moment of quiet before Rambabu spoke with firm resolve.
Rambabu: "Don't worry, beta. I'll transfer ₹50,000 to your account right away. Go clear the hospital bill. Don't let any treatments or tests get delayed because of money."
Ayu: "Uncle, thank you... but I didn't want to trouble you."
Rambabu: "Don't be silly, Ayu. You're like family to me. Hospitals can make things difficult if payments are delayed. Go to the reception and settle it immediately. If there's any other issue, call me. Understood?"
Ayu: "Yes, Uncle. Thank you so much."
Rambabu: "No need to thank me, beta. Just take care of your mother. I'll send the money now."
The call ended, leaving Ayu staring at the screen in stunned relief. A weight seemed to lift off his shoulders. Turning to Ram, a wide smile broke across his face.
Ayu: "Bro, Rambabu Uncle just transferred ₹50,000! We have all the money now. Let's go to the reception and make the payment."
Ram clapped Ayu on the shoulder before pulling him into a quick hug.
Ram: "See? I told you everything would work out. Now let's get the bill cleared and focus on your mom's recovery."
The two walked toward the reception, their steps lighter and their spirits soaring.
The two walked toward the reception, their steps light and spirits high. As they approached the desk, Ayu addressed the receptionist with a polite smile.
"Ma'am, how can we make the bill payment?"
The receptionist responded professionally, "Sir, you can pay via card, online transfer, or cash."
Ayu considered for a moment before asking, "Is it possible to split the payment—half online and half in cash?"
The receptionist nodded. "Yes, sir, that's absolutely fine."
Ayu scanned the QR code on the desk for the online payment, while Ram dug into his bag, retrieving the remaining cash. He handed the money over to the receptionist, who carefully checked and confirmed the transaction.
"Here's your receipt, sir," she said, handing it to Ram with a courteous smile.
Just as they turned away from the desk, a voice echoed in Ayu's mind:
"Task has been completed."
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To be continued....