Chapter 18: The Thin Line Between Right and Wrong

What is right? What is wrong?

Who decides?

Is it the parents who sacrifice everything, expecting their child to carry the weight of their dreams?

Is it the child who fails, not because he wants to, but because he is drowning in an ocean he never chose?

Or is it society, which preaches "Work hard, success will follow," while watching thousands fall and never rise again?

Or perhaps—

Is it the system itself?

Debasish’s Dilemma

Debasish sits in front of his laptop. The screen glows in the darkness.

A perfectly crafted study plan is right in front of him. A map to redemption. A way forward.

And yet…

His fingers hesitate on the keyboard.

What if he doesn’t want redemption?

What if, deep down, he knows that no matter how hard he tries, 45 days won’t be enough?

What if this is just another illusion—another lie he tells himself to feel better for a while before falling again?

He glances at his bookshelf. NEET prep books stare back at him.

But his mind drifts to something else.

A different kind of future. A story waiting to be written.

Not equations. Not chemical reactions.

Words. Emotions. Truth.

His truth.

The Coaching Trap

A thought creeps in. One he has always tried to ignore.

"Did I ever really have a choice?"

He thinks about the years spent in coaching centers. The cycle of mock tests, ranks, shame, and guilt.

At first, they tell you success is just one year away.

Then it becomes two years.

Then, a drop year.

Then, another.

By the time you realize what’s happening, you’ve lost years—stuck in a system that profits from your fear, your desperation, your belief that you can’t escape.

But what if…

What if NEET coaching isn’t a stepping stone?

What if it’s a loop?

A machine designed to keep students trapped, giving just enough hope to keep them going, but never enough to truly break free?

What happens to those who never escape?

Do they move on? Or do they become ghosts, haunting the same coaching centers, sitting in the same seats, watching new faces replace them—just as hopeless, just as lost?

"If I fail this time… will I be next?"

The thought terrifies him.

The Choice

He takes a deep breath. The cursor blinks.

Does he type out a study schedule, one that might give him a slim chance at saving his future?

Or does he open a blank document, pouring out everything—the pain, the regrets, the suffocation of expectations?

Would it be selfish to walk away from everything his family gave up for him?

Or would it be braver to carve his own path, even if it meant disappointing them?

Does he even have a choice?

Or has his fate already been written by others?

The Question No One Wants to Answer

Tell me—

If Debasish chooses to study, fighting against all odds, forcing himself to believe that a miracle is still possible…

Does that make him strong? Or just another fool clinging to false hope?

And if he chooses to let go, to accept that maybe this path was never his, that maybe he was never meant to be a doctor…

Does that make him a coward? Or finally free?

And more importantly—

If NEET coaching is a trap, then why does no one talk about it?

Why does no one warn students before they enter?

Is it because deep down, everyone already knows the truth?

The Mystery That Remains

The screen flickers. The keyboard is waiting.

One decision. Two paths.

You want to know what Debasish chooses?

Look deeper.

Not into the story.

Into yourself.

Because maybe… just maybe…

This was never just Debasish’s story.

Maybe this was never fiction at all.

The Shocking Truth

But wait.

There’s something else.

Something terrifying.

Something real.

The countdown in the story—the 45 days left for NEET—it isn’t fiction.

It’s today.

Right now, in this moment, from March 20 to May 4, exactly 45 days remain for NEET 2025.

This isn’t just Debasish’s story.

It’s yours.

And now, the question isn’t—What will Debasish choose?

The real question is—

What will you?

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