His Anonymous Love

Episode 8

Kabir sprinted frantically into the house. The hallway was in total chaos, crowded with doctors and paramedics. Saman stood collapsed in a corner, sobbing uncontrollably. On a medical stretcher lay Simran, unconscious, her face pale as ash under an oxygen mask.

"Saman! What happened to Simran?" Kabir gasped, grabbing her shoulders in sheer panic.

"Her condition suddenly collapsed, Kabir... she couldn't breathe," Saman cried, her voice breaking. "The doctors say she doesn't have much time left."

Kabir’s mind went completely numb. He ran alongside the stretcher all the way to the ambulance and followed them to the hospital.

Outside the emergency ICU ward, Kabir paced back and forth in agonizing suspense. It was two in the morning.

When the head doctor finally stepped out, a somber, heavy silence hung over his expression. "She insists on seeing you... but please, do not cause her any stress."

Kabir walked slowly into the ICU. The monotonous beep... beep... of the heart monitor echoed throughout the cold room. The moment Simran opened her eyes and saw him, she carefully lowered her oxygen mask and tried to offer a faint, delicate smile.

"Kabir..." her voice was barely a whisper. "My journey is coming to an end."

"Don't say that, Simran! Nothing is going to happen to you," Kabir pleaded, tears streaming freely down his face as he took her cold, fragile hand into his own.

"Every journey has a destination, Kabir," Simran murmured, her grip tightening ever so slightly around his fingers. "I was never afraid of dying... but ever since you came into my life, I fell in love with living. You gave me more joy in these final days than I ever thought possible."

Gathering every last ounce of her strength, she looked into his eyes. "Promise me one thing... after I am gone, you won't stop living. You will complete your writing, and you will go to the library every evening and smile... just like you used to."

Choked with grief, Kabir nodded.

Simran took one long, peaceful breath. Her eyes softly closed, and the jagged line dancing across the heart monitor flattened into a single, continuous plane.

A long, unbroken tone echoed through the ICU.

In a single heartbeat, Kabir’s entire universe had crumbled into quiet ashes