I See The Light

The Nightmare

Days passed, and Shiv’s situation grew worse. His uncle sent his wife and two daughters to the US, leaving Shiv behind. The absence of their cruelty should have felt like freedom, but it only deepened his isolation.

One night, Shiv fell ill with a fever, but no one cared for him. The entire day passed, and yet no one came to check on him. Despite the neglect, Shiv managed to survive and recover on his own, though the experience left him feeling more abandoned than ever.

Eleven years passed, and Shiv was still locked in that same room. The clothes that once fit him now hung loosely on his body, a reminder of how much time had passed. He had two possessions left—an old, broken laptop and a discarded mobile phone—which could easily connect him to the outside world. But he no longer trusted anyone, and he had given up on the idea of ever being free. His body had grown thin, like a stick, and his spirit was weaker than ever.

One day, Shiv's cousins returned from the US. There was a celebration at the house, but Shiv was still treated like an outsider, given food that was leftover from the previous day, like a stray dog. After dinner, Shriya went to his room, opened the door, and smirked as she saw him.

“You’re still here?” she mocked. “Ha ha, you smell so bad. You should take a bath.”

With a cruel smile, she tried to remove his clothes, but Shiv was too weak to resist. She has sexually harassed him, He didn’t understand what was happening to him—he had been trapped in this nightmare for so long that he felt completely disconnected from reality. As she locked the door behind her, she left him in torment.

Shiv was left emotionally shattered. He lay there, motionless, no longer able to comprehend the pain he was enduring. When he woke the next day, he saw the bruises and scratches all over his body. He was horrified by what had happened, and the realization hit him hard. He could no longer control himself. The rage, the confusion, the sorrow—it all consumed him.

In a fit of madness, Shiv began banging his head against the wall, trying to erase the memories and the pain. He scrubbed his body with such force that it left marks, but nothing could wash away the agony. His mind had snapped, and his once fragile spirit was now a wild, broken thing.

Seeing his deteriorating mental state, his uncle decided to send Shiv away. He couldn’t bear to have him around any longer. So, Shiv was sent to an abandoned farmhouse by the sea, a desolate place where no one lived. It was as though his uncle was trying to erase him completely from existence. Alone, and with no hope left, Shiv was left to face his darkest fears in that lonely farmhouse, a prisoner of his own mind.