Chapter 15: One Man's Fight Against Life
Part 2: Cracks in the Routine
The next morning didn't feel different.
Arman still woke up at 6:45 .Still brushed his teeth in silence. Still wore the same kind of shirt, the same dull colors that never asked for attention.
But something had changed.
The notebook lay open on his table.
"I'm tried. But I am still here."
He started at the words longer than he should have.
They didn't look like much-just ink on paper. Yet they felt heavier than anything he had carrin years.
He closed the notebook quickly, as if someone might see it.
They city was already awake when he stepped outside. Nothing had slowed down. Nothing had softened.
At the tea stall, the old man handed him his cup.
"You didn't come yesterday evening, " he said casually.
Arman paused. That was new.
"I was.....busy."
The man nodded, but his eyes lingered for a second longer than usual.
"Hmm."
Arman didn't like that look.
It felt like someone was trying to read a page he had kept hidden for too long.
He finished his tea faster than usual and walked away.
Work was the same.
Numbers. Screens. Silence.
But today, the silence felt louder.
Every click of the keyboard echoed in his head. Every passing second stretched longer than it should. He found himself staring at the same line of data for minutes without realizing it.
"Arman."
He blinked.
His supervisor stood beside him.
"You okay?"
That question again.
"I'm fine."
The answer came automatically. But this time, it didn't sound convincing even to him.
The supervisor frowned slightly but said nothing more.
At lunch, Arman didn't open his food.
Instead, he pulled out his phone and started at the contact list.
There it was.
Ma .
He hadn't deleted it.
He couldn't.
His thumb hovered over the name.
For a moment, he almost pressed if as if expecting her to answer from somewhere beyond silence.
He quickly locked the phone and put it away.
"Stupid, " he muttered under his breath.
But the word didn't carry anger.
It carried something softer something closer to pain.
That evening, something unexpected happened.
Arman didn't run.
He stood there, letting the rain soak through his shirt, his hair, his skin.
Cold.
But real.
For the first time in a long while, he felt something that wasn't numbness.
He closed his eyes.
The sound of rain drowned out the noise of the city. For a brief had gone quite in a different way-not empty, but peaceful.
Just....concerned.
"I'm okay, " Arman said.
She raised an eyebrow. "Standing in the rain like that doesn't look okay. "
He didn't reply.
She hesitated, then stepped closer and titled the umbrella slightly over him.
Now they were both under it.
Arman stiffened. He wasn't used to this-someone stepping into space without being asked. "You don't have to pretend all the time," she said quietly.
His eyes snapped toward her ,"what?"
She shrugged," people who say I'm fine that quietly...usuall aren't. "
The words hot hander than they should have.
"Do I know you?" Arman asked, his tone slightly defensive.
"No."
"Then why are you-"
"Because I've been there, " she interrupted gently.
Silence fell between them.
Rain continued to fall around the small circle of shelter they shared.
Arman looked away.
"You don't know anything about me."
"True " she said."But I know that look."
He didn't ask what she meant.
He already knew.
They walked together for a short distance, neither speaking much. The umbrella moved with them, a small shield against the strom.
At the next corner, she stopped.
"I go this way," she said.
Arman nodded.
She hesitated, then added, "try writing again ".
His breath caught.
" How do you-"
"You have ink on your fingers, " she said with a faint smile.
Before he could respond, she turned and walked away into the rain.
That night, Arman didn't lie down immediately.
He sat at the table.
The notebook was still there.
For a long time, he just started at it.
Then, slowly, he opened it again.
Below yesterday's words, he wrote:
"Someone noticed. "
He paused.
His hand trembled again-but this time, it wasn't it wasn't just from weight.
It was something else something unfamiliar.
Something....lighter.
Outside, the rain continued to fall.
Inside, for the first time,Arman felt a small Crack in the walls he had built around himself.
And sometimes, a Crack is all it takes-
For light to find its way in.
(To be continued....)