The ambulance arrived within minutes.
But to Vash, those minutes felt like an eternity.
His body lay motionless on the road while people gathered around him.
Priya was crying uncontrollably.
"Please save him!"
Rohan stood beside her, frozen.
He couldn't take his eyes away from Vash.
The boy who had been laughing with them only minutes ago was now lying completely still.
The ambulance doors opened.
The paramedics rushed toward Vash.
"Move back!"
They placed him carefully onto a stretcher.
Priya tried to follow them.
"I'm his friend!"
A paramedic stopped her.
"You can't come."
"Please!"
But the ambulance doors closed.
The siren screamed.
And Vash disappeared down the road.
---
The Hospital
Vash was taken to a private hospital.
His injuries were severe.
His spine had been badly damaged, and his body had suffered multiple injuries from the impact.
Doctors worked for hours.
His grandmother sat outside the emergency room.
Her hands trembled.
She kept staring at the closed doors.
Her husband sat beside her.
Neither of them spoke.
They had already lost their home once.
Years ago, Vash's parents had left him in their care.
Now, they were terrified that they might lose him too.
Finally, a doctor came out.
The two grandparents immediately stood.
"Doctor?"
The doctor removed his mask.
"We managed to stabilize him."
Vash's grandmother nearly collapsed with relief.
"But his condition is serious."
"What can we do?" his grandfather asked.
"He needs long-term treatment and constant care."
"How much?"
The doctor hesitated.
Then he told them alittle less than 500 thousand.
The number made them both silent.
It was far more money than they had ever possessed.
Vash's grandfather lowered his head.
"We'll find it."
The doctor looked at him.
"You should understand that the treatment may continue for a very long time."
His grandfather nodded.
"We'll find it."
He repeated the words 500 thousand.
But this time his voice was shaking.
---
The Cost of Saving Vash
Vash's grandparents owned a small house and their noodle-and-chicken shop.
The shop was their only real source of income.
They had spent their entire lives building what little they had.
But none of that mattered now.
Their grandson needed treatment.
So they sold their house.
Then they sold almost everything they could.
After everything was sold they can only gather 80 thousand.
The restaurant remained.
It was the only place they had left.
From that day onward, the small restaurant became their home.
At night, they slept in a tiny room behind the kitchen.
The sound of refrigerators and cooking equipment became their new lullaby.
They didn't complain.
Not once.
Vash's grandfather opened the restaurant every morning.
His grandmother cooked noodles and chicken all day.
And every evening, after closing the shop, they went back to the hospital.
They sat beside Vash.
They talked to him.
Even though he couldn't answer.
"Wake up, Vash," his grandmother would whisper.
"Your grandfather made too much food again."
His grandfather would smile.
"He always liked my chicken."
His grandmother would wipe her eyes.
"He used to steal it."
"Still does, probably."
They would laugh quietly.
Then the laughter would disappear.
Because Vash never moved.
---
One day
Priya's Family came .
Priya's family was wealthy.
Very wealthy.
Her parents had never worried about money.
But money could not erase what had happened.
When they learned how much Vash's treatment would cost, they decided to help.
They paid for of his medical expenses.
Vash's grandparents tried to refuge
"We can't accept this much."
Priya's father shook his head.
And gave 500 thousand but Vash's grandparents accept only 300 thousand that he knows he need that money.
"You don't need to thank us."
"This happened because of our daughter," Priya's mother said quietly.
Vash's grandfather looked at her.
"No."
He shook his head.
"Don't say that."
"But—"
"Your daughter didn't hurt him."
His voice became softer.
"Vash saved her."
Priya's mother looked down.
She knew.
Everyone knew.
That was exactly why her daughter couldn't forgive herself.
--
News of the accident spread through Vash's school.
His classmates were devastated.
He had been an ordinary boy.
A little naughty.
Sometimes lazy.
Always joking.
And now he was lying in a hospital bed.
The school decided to organize a donation camp for his treatment.
A small table was placed near the school entrance.
A box sat on it.
HELP VASH RECOVER
Students donated whatever they could.
Some gave a few coins.
Some gave their lunch money.
Some gave more.
Teachers contributed too.
Even students who barely knew Vash donated something.
The amount wasn't enough to cover everything but still it is 120 thousand.
But it meant something.
It meant that Vash hadn't been forgotten.
---
Rohan
Rohan never forgot him.
Not once.
Every day after school, Rohan went to the hospital.
Sometimes he stayed for ten minutes.
Sometimes for an hour.
Sometimes he simply sat beside Vash's bed and talked.
"You know what happened today?"
No response.
"Math teacher gave us homework again."
Silence.
"I think she hates us."
Nothing.
Rohan laughed awkwardly.
"You would have made some stupid joke by now."
He looked at Vash.
His smile disappeared.
"I miss you, idiot."
Sometimes Rohan brought his schoolbooks.
Sometimes he brought snacks.
Sometimes he brought nothing.
He just came.
Every day.
For months.
Then years.
---
Priya
Priya came too.
At first, she came almost every day.
She would stand beside Vash's bed and stare at him.
She couldn't speak.
Every time she saw him, she remembered that road.
The truck.
The horn.
Vash pushing her away.
Then the impact.
She began crying every time.
Her parents tried to comfort her.
"It's not your fault."
But Priya didn't believe them.
"He was there because of me."
"No."
"He wouldn't have been hit if I wasn't there."
Her mother hugged her.
"You can't blame yourself forever."
But Priya couldn't stop.
For about two weeks, she continued visiting Vash.
Then one day, she stopped.
She couldn't bring herself to enter the hospital anymore.
Every visit destroyed her emotionally.
She couldn't eat properly.
She couldn't sleep.
She stopped talking to her friends.
Her parents became worried.
They eventually made a difficult decision.
They would leave the city.
They hoped that a new place would help their daughter recover.
Before leaving, Priya went to the hospital one last time.
She stood outside Vash's room for several minutes.
She couldn't make herself enter.
Through the glass, she could see him lying on the bed.
Machines surrounded him.
He looked peaceful.
Almost as if he were sleeping.
Priya pressed her hand against the glass.
Tears rolled down her face.
"I'm sorry, Vash."
Her voice broke.
"I'll never forget you."
She turned away.
And left.
Vash never saw her.
Or at least, nobody knew whether he did.
---
Two Years
One year passed.
Then another.
Vash remained unconscious.
Doctors continued his treatment.
His body slowly stabilized.
But his mind remained somewhere no one could reach.
His grandparents never gave up.
Rohan continued visiting whenever he could.
Priya was now far away in another city.
Life continued around Vash.
Children grew older.
Teachers changed.
The restaurant became older.
The world moved forward.
But Vash remained trapped in the same moment.
The moment before the truck hit him.
The moment when he pushed Priya away.
The moment everything changed.
Then, exactly two years after the accident—
something happened.
---
The Awakening
It was late at night.
The hospital room was quiet.
The lights were dim.
Machines continued their steady rhythm.
Beep.
Beep.
Beep.
Vash's fingers moved.
Just slightly.
Then stopped.
A few seconds passed.
His fingers moved again.
The monitor suddenly changed.
His heart rate increased.
Beep. Beep. Beep.
Vash's eyes trembled beneath his eyelids.
For two years, there had been nothing.
No movement.
No response.
Nothing.
Then—
his eyes opened.
Just a little.
The ceiling above him was blurry.
White.
Bright.
Unfamiliar.
Vash tried to breathe.
His lungs felt heavy.
He heard a voice.
"Vash?"
He couldn't recognize it.
His eyes moved slowly.
Someone was standing beside his bed.
His grandmother.
Older than he remembered.
Tears filled her eyes.
"Vash?"
Vash tried to speak.
His lips moved.
No sound came out.
His grandmother grabbed his hand.
"Vash! Can you hear me?"
He looked at her.
Something strange happened inside his mind.
The room suddenly became filled with information.
The sound of the monitor.
The temperature.
The light intensity.
The distance between objects.
The rhythm of his grandmother's breathing.
The movement of her heart.
Thousands of details.
Millions of calculations.
All appearing in his mind at once.
Vash's eyes widened.
For one brief moment, he understood something.
Something he shouldn't have been able to understand.
Then his vision began fading.
His grandmother's voice became distant.
"Doctor!"
Footsteps rushed toward the room.
Vash tried to keep his eyes open.
He couldn't.
Darkness returned.
His eyes closed.
And once again—
Vash fell into sleep.
But this time, something inside his mind was awake.
Something that had been waiting for two years.
Something that was no longer completely human.
And somewhere deep inside Vash's unconscious mind, a single thought appeared:
SYSTEM INITIALIZATION...
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