"It began with hope. And ended in quiet suffering."
Aranya, a bright and lively 17-year-old, once dreamed of becoming a classical dancer. Diagnosed with a rare degenerative nerve disorder, her life gradually shifted from stage lights to hospital lights. As months pass, pain becomes her only constant. Doctors try every experimental treatment, but nothing works. Her body stiffens, her nerves rebel, and her speech grows slurred.
Her mother, Jaya, becomes her shadow—tireless, heartbroken, refusing to believe her daughter is slipping away. The chapter closes with Aranya's face twitching in pain, her eyes asking questions no one wants to answer.