Chapter 4: The Weight of Silence

7:00 PM – A Call No One Wants to Make

Ankita Mittal locks her hostel room, sighing as she leans against the door. Another exhausting day—lectures, assignments, endless deadlines. But she doesn’t complain. She doesn’t have the luxury to.

Her phone buzzes. "Maa Calling."

She picks up immediately, already sensing something is wrong.

Meera: "Beta… I need to tell you something."

Ankita: (Voice sharpens) "What happened, Maa?"

Meera: (Softly) "I went to the doctor today. They said it’s getting worse."

A beat of silence. Ankita straightens, gripping the phone tighter.

Ankita: (Whispers) "What do you mean… worse?"

Her mother hesitates. She doesn’t want to burden her daughter. But she can’t hide it anymore.

Meera: "My blood pressure… and the heart problem. The doctor said I need rest. But beta, how can I? School, tuition, the house…"

Ankita clenches her jaw. She knew something was wrong. The exhaustion in her mother’s voice, the forced smiles—it had been there for weeks. But hearing it confirmed makes her stomach drop.

She feels an urge to yell, to tell her mother to stop taking everything on herself. But she knows that won’t help.

Ankita: "Did you tell Papa?"

Meera: "No. He worries too much. And Debasish… I don’t want to break his focus."

A bitter laugh escapes Ankita. Break his focus? What focus? Debasish was drowning in his own mess, and their mother was still protecting him.

For a moment, she wants to argue. Why is it always her? Why is she the one who has to hear this first, to carry this weight? But instead, she swallows the words, burying her frustration deep inside.

Ankita: "I’ll handle it, Maa. You just… take care."

Meera: "Beta, you have your own struggles. I don’t want to trouble you—"

Ankita: "You’re not troubling me, Maa."

But she feels troubled. Overwhelmed. Suffocated.

After a few more reassurances, the call ends, but Ankita doesn’t move. Her hands tremble.

She looks at her bank account. Not enough.

She looks at her schedule. No time.

She looks at the ceiling, trying not to break down. How does she handle this alone?

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11:30 PM – Debasish’s Regret

Debasish stares at his phone. No messages from Ankita today. That’s unusual. She always checks in, even if it’s just to scold him.

He doesn’t know that right now, Ankita is sitting in her room, holding back tears, wondering how she will manage their mother’s medical expenses.

He doesn’t know that their mother is hiding her pain—for him.

Instead, he’s drowning in his own failure.

Another wasted day. Another mock test tomorrow. Another battle he isn’t ready for.

His eyes wander to his books, untouched. His phone, gripped in his hands, the very thing chaining him to his failures.

He should be the one supporting his sister. He should be making his mother proud. Instead, he’s stuck—scoring below 400, wasting time, sinking deeper.

A wave of guilt crashes over him. How did it come to this?

His mind replays every excuse, every wasted hour. He had promised himself a thousand times, "Just five more minutes." But five minutes had turned into hours, into days, into regret.

The worst part? His mother still believed in him. Still protected him.

He clenches his fists, anger bubbling inside. Not at anyone else—at himself.

"Tomorrow will be different."

But will it?

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