It was a gloomy day, and the temperature was dropping by the minute. The black clouds moved in front of him, almost as if they were following him. As the rain began to fall, he continued strolling along the roadway. He recently resigned from his job, sold his car, and used the funds to pay his debts. He'd lost all motivation to complete his life's journey.

He couldn't stand in the rain because it felt heavier on his shoulders. As his legs began to feel heavy, he knelt down the road. As he stared up at the sky, he cried aloud, as if cursing the clouds. He screamed till he had a sore throat. Vehicles slowed as they watched him weep his heart out in pain.

"Only if I could go back..." he whispered to himself as he passed out on the road in the pouring rain.

When he opened his eyes, he found himself in a hospital unit. Softly waking up, he sat on the bed with a pillow on his back. He took a breath and tried to recollect what had happened. Before he realized what was going on, he noticed an old woman approaching him.

"Are you all right?" she inquired.

"I...Why am I here right now?" he said, taking a step back.

"I brought you here because you passed out on the roadway in the torrential rain," the elderly woman stated.

Meanwhile, the doctor arrived and prescribed some medications. He was advised he needed to get some counselling and rest. He was allowed to go after two hours.

"Are you all right?" the woman inquired once again.

He fixed his gaze on her "Mam, what's the issue? Everything is well with me."

The elderly lady was visibly distressed "It's only that I'm concerned; do you recall anything? What caused you to pass out in the middle of the highway?"

He continued going, oblivious to her, and when he exited the hospital, he sought for an auto rickshaw. The elderly lady continued to trail him.

"Hey! Listen, please" he continued "Thank you for helping me but I am not interested to tell someone about what happened"

One rickshaw came towards him and was about to sit in, he turned back, put his hands in his pocket and gave some money to the old woman, "Thanks again!"

When the old woman saw him go, she kept the money in her handbag and left the hospital as well. The weather began to warm, the clouds dissipated, and the sun's rays began to fall on the ground.

He opened his door and looked around his room after arriving at his house, which is a little one-bedroom flat. His bed was still a mess, and some of the previous day's food was still on the floor. The sink tap dropped little beads of water, the dishes remained unclean, and his room was untidy.

He couldn't force himself to answer the phone that rang in the corner of his bed. He pushed himself to get up and go to his bedside, though. He took up the phone and went through the list of missed calls.

34 Mom missed calls, 23 Dad missed calls, and a few more miscellaneous missed calls

He mumbled to himself, "Fu..."

He clicked his tongue and summoned all of his remaining willpower to contact his mother. As the phone rang for a while, his heart began to race, and every second felt like an eternity to him until his mother eventually picked up the phone.

"What exactly are you up to? Why don't you pick up the phone? "Before he could respond, her mother screamed.

He didn't want her to know about the event last night or how he got up in the hospital, so he said, "I was....sleeping."

"Okay...whatever, I am sending a maid for you," his mother said after a little pause.

"But why...?" he asked.

"No! Don't say anything else; you don't have time to take care of yourself. At the very least, someone would keep your house clean and cook for you."

"All right, when do you think she'll arrive?" he asked

"She said she'd come at 4:00 p.m."

He inhaled deeply and remarked, "That's all right! Goodbye, "and went into the bathroom after hanging up the phone, tossing it back on the bed. He took off his glasses and washed his face in the cold water. After that, he looked in the mirror at himself. He saw a hazy picture of a girl in front of him, and he attempted to focus harder to get a better image, but the girl moved away. After putting his spectacles back on, he could see his face again.

The ring of the outgoing call. He said, "Doctor, it's happening again."

"Don't be too concerned about it, as I already indicated. The trauma is seeking to be forgotten by your mind. Everything would work out in the end. Make it a habit to rest on a regular basis. This will be a challenging period, but don't give up ", the doctor advised

He sat on the bed with his phone on the table and the curtains drawn. He stared at the ceiling for a while, saying, "Not this moment.... this, too, will pass," before closing his eyes and falling asleep.

The doorbell rang, but he was fast sleeping. The knocking went on...

He awakened slowly and walked to the door. When he looked at the clock, it was 4:01 p.m.

He mumbled to himself, "How can people be so punctual?"

He slid open the door cautiously, and to his amazement, it was the same woman who had rescued him on the highway. She locked her gaze on him for a long time. "Oh, my god, it's you; are you all right?"

"Oh, no, not again, what are you doing here?" he enquired

"I was assigned for household duties," she explained.

He took a step back and said, "Are you one of them? You're probably too old to work. I'll inform my mother. You are free to leave."

"No, I'm OK; I'm capable of working. I didn't ask for any further funds either "she said

"I can't see an elderly person working so much, unfortunately," he remarked, "but I'm sure you can spend some time with your family."

She couldn't say anything else and returned with a frown on her face. She murmured, "I have no one." Before he could shut the door, he spotted a cat sticker on the woman's handbag, and her faint face flashed once again.

"Wait! What store did you acquire the bag from? "he asked

"It's my granddaughter's purse, isn't it cute?" she said as she glanced up and swiftly moved towards him.

"What is her name? I believe I saw this someplace "he stated

"First, please allow me in," the elderly lady requested.

To let her in, he totally opened the door. She entered the home gently and took a look around. "It's so filthy," she grumbled, "how do you live in this garbage?"

He looked back as he said, "Yeah, I live alone and..." With a knife in her hand, the elderly woman charged at him. When she swung it over his chest, he quickly moved backwards.

"Hey.. old woman, " he said as he slid back into his bed. "What in the world are you doing?"

“You.... You....Killed my granddaughter, Why?" she cried out.

"Me?" he said, his mouth still wide.

To be continued...…..