ℕ𝔸𝕃𝔸ℕ𝔻𝔸, 𝔹𝕀ℍ𝔸ℝ

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Under the streetlight, a girl moved slowly down the deserted road. Her head hung low, eyes fixed on the ground as if shielding them from the world. The smile that once lit her innocent face was now buried beneath the veil of exhaustion and failure. Her eyes, swollen and red-rimmed from weeks of relentless crying, told a story of their own.

The loose, simple white kurti she wore billowed in the evening breeze with each heavy step. A mischievous gust of wind clung the fabric to her petite form, mocking her underweight frame. Her hair, once neat, now battled the wind, framing her worn face in a tangled mess.

A loud, heart-wrenching voice echoed inside her: Why?! The questions of self-doubt and pain swirled within her, so heavy that even her sobs could no longer suppress them.

Faded childhood memories flashed before her eyes, and her chest tightened. Fresh tears rolled down her cheeks uninvited. She saw her parents: their bitter arguments, the cruel fights, the silence afterward that had always felt louder than any yelling. Home had never been a place of safety. Neglect had grown in her heart like weeds in a wheat field, and indifference had wrapped itself around her mind like a suffocating snake.

And then there was the world outside. The country she was born into, run by leaders who made promises they never seemed to keep after winning elections. Greedy people in power, and fools in public. Everything felt too much. She didn’t know when the line between anger and despair had blurred.

"Where is my fault?" Her face contorted, body trembling as another wave of sobs escaped her chest. Is it my fault I was born into this family? Into this country? Is it my fault I couldn’t see the future? Her hand reached out to wipe the tears, but her cheeks seemed to cling to the wetness.

"I did what I thought was right at the time. I did what I could." Her voice broke between gasps, but she kept walking, lost and alone. The darkness thickened, curling around her like a maze with no exit.

Her legs carried her to the riverbank, as if drawn by some invisible force. The leaves from nearby trees rustled gently in the breeze, carrying a faint scent of mud and water. She settled quietly among the bushes and gazed up at the moon.

It hung low and hazy, casting a sparkling glow on the river below. The silence soothed her frayed nerves, but questions still hummed beneath the stillness, refusing to fade. For a moment, she wondered if she would ever feel alive again? If she would ever escape this loop?

With a somber expression, she pulled out the result card from her pyjama pocket and stared blankly at it. Four attempts. Four failures. Her dream of becoming a doctor, the only career she had ever truly envisioned, now felt impossibly distant. At twenty, she should have been on the cusp of something solid, yet instead, she felt directionless, unsure where to go next.

She looked out at the water, its surface shimmering with moonlight. But her mind kept spinning in a loop of grief, loss, and a faint ray of hope that seemed impossible to grasp.

It wasn’t as though she was the only person who had faced failure. Many students had, and some didn’t even have a fallback. She still had one. But could that really make a difference? She had still wasted three precious years of her life.

Pulling her legs close, she rested her chin on her knees, hugging them tighter. The ground beneath her felt uneven, slightly damp, but she didn’t move. Her eyes searched the river’s shifting currents for answers. Maybe she should have focused on the present, on what she could still control. Maybe she needed to find a new dream, a new direction.

But what if I fail at that too?

Three years. A time that could be seen as failure, or maybe as growth. On the surface, it looked wasted: no degree, no career, no direction. But deep down, the question echoed: Was that time really a failure, or the greatest class in the school of life I’ll ever have?

She stood, brushing leaves from her kurti, and began walking. Gravel crunched softly beneath her slippers, pressing into the wet earth.

I really wanted, still want to become a doctor. But now... I just can’t. It’s suffocating.

Her eyes drifted upward. The night sky stretched wide and endless—stars twinkling, the moon slipping in and out of dark clouds. A faint breeze touched her cheeks, and the quiet beauty of it all pulled the corners of her mouth into a soft, aching smile.

She inhaled deeply, the cool air filling her lungs. "Maybe it’s better to move on," she whispered. "Even if it means leaving a beautiful dream behind."

A loud sob tore through the silence. Her body tensed, and she whirled on her heels, eyes narrowing, trying to make sense of the darkness pressing in around her. The river glimmered faintly under the moonlight, its surface restless, but the shadows beyond were dense and unmoving. A chill crept up her spine.

Am I alone... with a ghost? Mummy...

A figure stood by the water’s edge, hunched and trembling. The sobbing grew louder, twisting her fear into something else.

"Hey!" she called out, her voice ringing across the quiet river.

"Hey! Are you listening? Stop!" Each word carried a desperate call across the darkness, hoping the stranger would hear her and walk away from the cliff.

💫💫💫💫💫💫💫💫

The stranger, a girl of about the same age as the one before, stood by the river, her figure silhouetted against the hazy evening sky. Elbow-length black hair whipped wildly in the wind, strands lashing across her face. Her simple, worn-out dress clung to her thin frame, hinting at days of wear without care.

Her eyes, red and hollow, carried a story too heavy for words. Dried tear tracks marked her cheeks, leading down to lips pressed tightly together. As she stared into the dark, swirling water below, her body trembled. Goosebumps rose across her skin, and her fists clenched instinctively.

The distant hum of the city faded, swallowed by the river’s restless churning. Just as she leaned forward, a cry tore through the air—

"Hey! Wait!"

Her steps faltered, pulling her back involuntarily. She turned, startled. Fear, confusion, and something softer, perhaps even hope, flickered across her face.

The other girl exhaled shakily, raising her hands and motioning for the stranger to step back.

Her eyes were cautious, her mind whispering warnings about strangers and the paranormal stories she had read in the news. Yet she couldn’t simply stand by and watch someone end their life before her eyes. So, muttering under her breath, Bajrangbali ki jai, she approached the stranger, folding her hands defensively across her chest.

"Say it with me: Jai Bajrangbali."

The stranger’s gaze narrowed. Seriously? I’m about to die here, and she’s testing whether I’m human or a ghost? She cleared her throat and replied flatly, "If you want, I can recite the entire Hanuman Chalisa for you. I’m a human, not some ghost. But honestly, even ghosts seem to live their lives happier than we humans do!"

The girl’s eyes widened, blinking in genuine confusion. "Do ghosts live on after death?"

The stranger’s eyebrows knit together. "If you don’t stop this nonsense of yours, I’ll drag you into the river along with me and then we can both find out!"

The girl stepped back, her forehead creasing. "Look, I didn’t come to irritate you," she said. "I just want to know, Why are you taking such a big step?"

The stranger let out a bitter laugh. "Why should I tell you? Who even are you? The Prime Minister himself can’t fix this mess! This country is a nightmare! I don’t want to live anymore. Get out of here! Get lost!"

The girl drew in a slow breath and took a careful step forward. "I may not be the Prime Minister," she said gently, "but I’m still a human being. Talk to me. I promise I won’t judge you. They say sorrows decrease and happiness increases when shared."

The stranger's jaw tightened. Her lips pressed into a thin line as her eyes welled up again. She looked down and spoke in a barely audible voice, "I failed... my fifth attempt at the medical entrance exam. I'm useless. I should die. I don't deserve to live."

The girl's eyes softened, and she put a hand on the stranger's shoulder. "Please, don't think like that." Her voice faltered as she struggled for words that were both soothing and practical. "It's just an exam. If not this, then maybe something else..."

The stranger's eyes flared, and she jerked the girl's hand away. "Easy for you to say! You don't know what it's like to fail again and again. To feel completely worthless!" Her lips parted to say more, but the words collapsed into a broken sob. 

Her voice cracked between gasps. "Yes, it's just an exam... but without it, I'm nothing. I don't feel like existing anymore. What's the point of living now?"

The girl's lips pressed into a thin line before she spoke, "Look, life is lik—"

"No!" the stranger snapped, locking her eyes with the girl's. "You don't understand! I've sacrificed everything for this: my happiness, relationships, health... and still, I failed. I just can't anymore. I don't want to live!"

The girl shut her eyes and exhaled. Stepping back, she wiped the sweat from her forehead, and looked up at the dusky sky where the first stars had begun to appear, flickering faintly behind drifting clouds.

"I understand." Her low voice broke the silence. "And you need to understand this too. This one exam is not the end of the world."

The stranger wiped her nose with the back of her hand and let out a bitter laugh. "Yeah, sure. Maybe not the end of the world. But it does end lives in this world."

The girl's eyes narrowed, and she turned to face the stranger fully. "I've failed this exam four times. But never, not even once, did I think of ending my life."

The stranger's head lifted slowly, her gaze locking onto the girl. "Four times?" she whispered.

The girl gave a firm nod, her lips pressing together. "And I know how hard it is. But you're not alone."

The stranger's shoulders sagged under the weight of her grief. "I feel so worthless," she murmured. "I've let everyone down." A tear slid silently down her cheek.

The girl stepped forward, placing a gentle hand on her shoulder. "I know it hurts. But it's not just you or me. Everyone faces failure, everyone tastes rejection. But they don't give up, they don't end their story because of one ruined chapter." She chuckled faintly, trying to cheer up her lost companion.

The stranger stared at the ground, her voice cracking again. "You don't understand. This was my only dream. I gave up on everything for it."

The girl tightened her hold slightly. "I do understand. And I'm telling you, this isn't the end. Life has more pages. New dreams will come. You just have to stay long enough to see them."

The stranger looked up, tears blurring her vision. "But what's the point? I've failed. I am a failure."

The girl's lips curled into a soft smile. "You're not a failure. You're just a human being, trying to find your way. Life is messy, it breaks you sometimes. But that doesn't mean you stop walking. You have to hold on, even when it hurts."

The stranger's eyes flickered toward the churning river, her eyes reflecting a glimmer of hope. The breeze from the nearby trees soothed her face, and her eyes closed on theur own. Her ears perked up as the girl started speaking again.

"You know, we all dream of something." The girl clasped her hands behind her back, a soft smile played on her lips as she watched the moon. "But life has its own plans. We end up somewhere else, and that's okay."

The stranger fidgeted with her fingers, her eyebrow creasing. "But what if I'm not good at anything else?"

The girl averted her eyes towards the stranger and put a hand on her forearm. "How will you know unless you try?" She paused, searching her face. "You don't need to be sure about anything right now. Just be open to try, to explore, to discover. Who knows? You might find something even more fulfilling than becoming a doctor."

The stranger's gaze lifted, eyes filled with silent questions. "How can you be so calm?" she asked in a whisper. "How can you tell me to move on so easily, when you've failed this exam four times? Don't you fear failure? Or how people talk, how relatives look at you?"

The girl's expression faltered for a moment, the smile dimming briefly before returning in place. "I just want you to stop drowning in this sea of grief and doubt. What you do next, that's your choice. It's your life, you have every right to decide your path. Take your time, think it through, then choose."

The stranger's lips drew into a tight line, and she gulped. "But what about the taunts? The mocking glances?"

The girl sighed, a half-smile following the exhale. "Their opinions don't define us. They only see the result, never the journey."

The stranger blinked. "Are you enrolled in any college?"

The girl hesitated, caught off guard by the question, then nodded slowly.

The stranger's smile wavered, tears spilling over again. "You have a degree to fall back on. You'll graduate by next year. But me?" Her voice cracked between a faint smile. "I gave everything to this one dream. And now it's gone. I have nothing. No backup. No safety net. I never thought of anything else but this." Her knees gave away, and she broke into sobs, voice muffling as she covered her face with both hands.

The girl's words of encouragement faded into the background. Her throat felt dry, and she swallowed hard before speaking again, "I know it's difficult. But please remember, you're not alone. Many have stood where you're standing now... and found the strength to move forward."

The stranger shook her head, face still buried in her palms. "But what about my parents?" she choked out. "They'll be so ashamed of me..."

The girl moved closer, the damp grass brushing against her knees as she knelt beside the stranger. She reached out, gently prying the trembling hands away from her tear-streaked face. "They won't abandon you." She brushed the tears away with her thumbs. "They're your parents."

The stranger's eyes snapped open, her lips quivering. "But... But what if they don't understand? What if I'm just a disappointment to them?"

The girl tightened her hold on the stranger's hand. "Then that's something they have to come to terms with. You can't live your life under the weight of their expectations. Right now, your healing matters most."

Silence settled between them, broken only by the occasional sniffle and the distant chirping of crickets. A soft gust of wind rustled the river's surface nearby, the sound calming, like a lullaby in the dark.

The stranger wiped her face with trembling fingers, her breath still uneven. Slowly, she raised her gaze to the girl. Her voice was hoarse and hesitant.

"Do you believe in destiny?"

A/N: Hi! How's it?

Bajrangbali ki jai or jai Bajrangbali = Glory to the monkey God Hanuman.

A group of readers are getting confused at who is who. So, "The girl" is the girl you met in the first chapter. And "the stranger" is the girl who was attempting a suicide. This is how things happen in our country. We are a very friendly people. So, while we might not ask for someone's name, yet we will know their whole story. But again, if you are still confused over who is who, point out the paragraph inline. I'll help you in understanding the situation. But, please, don't ask me to name these characters in these particular scene. And, do you think it's time for etiquette?

Now, share your insights:

1. How do you think the stranger will react to her words?

2. Will she be able to process the girl's message, or will her own grief consume her?

3. Do you believe in destiny?