the long sleep ep2
654 Words
Sure! Here’s the second episode of The Long Sleep, where Arman wakes up from his coma and faces a world that feels completely unfamiliar.
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The Long Sleep
Episode 2: The World He Left Behind
1. Waking Up
A sharp beeping sound echoed in the silence.
Beep. Beep. Beep.
Arman’s eyelids felt heavy, as if they were made of stone. His body refused to move. He struggled, trying to understand where he was.
Then, he heard voices. Distant, but growing clearer.
"Doctor! I think he’s waking up!"
A woman's voice. Panicked. Excited.
Arman forced his eyes open. Bright lights above him blurred his vision. The room smelled of antiseptic. Machines beeped beside him. A tube was in his nose, and wires were connected to his arms.
He blinked. A blurry face hovered above him.
"Arman? Can you hear me?"
His throat felt dry. He tried to speak, but only a weak whisper escaped.
"Whe… where am I?"
Tears welled in the woman’s eyes. "Oh, Arman… you’re awake!"
It was his mother. But… something was different. She looked older. Weaker.
Fear gripped his chest.
"Amma… what happened?"
The doctor stepped forward. "Arman, you’ve been in a coma. For years."
Silence.
His heart pounded.
Years?
No. That couldn’t be true.
2. A Changed World
The next few days were a blur. Doctors came and went, checking his vitals. Nurses adjusted his medications. His mother barely left his side.
He kept asking the same question.
"How long?"
No one answered at first. But finally, the truth came out.
"Arman, you were in a coma for five years."
His mind refused to accept it. Five years? He had fallen asleep in one world and woken up in another.
And when he finally looked around, he noticed something strange.
The nurses wore masks. The doctors wore gloves. Even his mother had a mask on.
"Why… why is everyone wearing masks?"
His mother’s expression darkened.
"Beta… a lot has changed since you’ve been asleep."
She told him everything. About the pandemic. The lockdowns. The fear that had gripped the world.
And how, for five years, she had prayed every day for him to wake up.
3. The People He Lost
When he asked about his father, she looked away.
His heart sank.
"Baba?"
She took a deep breath. "Your father… he passed away last year."
The words hit him like a punch to the chest.
His father—the man who always told him to move forward—was gone. And he wasn’t even there to say goodbye.
Tears burned his eyes. He turned away, staring at the ceiling.
His mother squeezed his hand. "He waited for you, Arman. Every day, he sat by your bed, hoping you’d wake up."
Guilt weighed on his heart.
And then, another thought struck him.
"Laila… where is she?"
A small smile appeared on his mother’s face. "She became a doctor, just like she always wanted."
His chest swelled with pride. At least one dream had survived.
4. Facing Reality
Days turned into weeks. Arman slowly regained his strength. Walking felt like learning to move all over again.
One day, his mother handed him a phone.
"There’s something you should see."
His fingers trembled as he scrolled through the screen. Messages from Sameer and Bilal. Their lives had moved on. They had jobs. Families.
And he… was still stuck in the past.
He put the phone down. "I don’t know how to live in this world, Amma."
She cupped his face in her hands. "Then learn, beta. Life waits for no one."
Her words reminded him of his father.
Maybe it was time to move forward.
Even if the world he had known was gone.
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End of Episode 2
In the next episode, Arman will try to rebuild his life, but the scars of the past won’t let go so easily.
Would you like any changes before I continue with the next episode?
- Writer
