The Light Within the Darkness
A Story of Losing Everything and Finding Yourself Again
The world is a dark place. Don’t believe others who tell you otherwise.
It was the first Saturday of November when my boss called me into his office and fired me. Can you believe him? He made me go to the office on a weekend just to fire me. Like I was some cracker lit just to be fired in someone’s home.
But I had nowhere else to go. With all the debt we had to pay back, I couldn’t face my wife. I was crestfallen. Everything seemed dark — my life, my career, and my dream of starting my business. I had planned to save money to start my venture, but now with the job gone, my dream had to wait, maybe for eternity.
I didn’t know what to do. Finding another job in the falling economy was difficult. But I was angry because I was fired for not cooperating with my boss. It wasn’t right.
Still trembling at the thought of an uncertain future, I somehow walked to my car and placed my office bag on the back seat when I saw the envelope. I remembered the letter and thought of using it. But something in me stopped me from going ahead. I remembered how my wife had suggested that I never use it.
I gripped the steering wheel and sat in my car for some time, my thoughts vacillating between my next step and the letter in the envelope.
But darkness was gripping me. As the situation seemed hopeless, I felt heavy. I closed my eyes and everything seemed dark. Just black. Deep, thick black.
Like someone had dipped my face in ink.
A strange silence wrapped the air. Not peaceful silence — the creepy kind where even your heartbeat sounds like a crime.
I tried to move my legs.
Something felt… tight.
Something held me down.
My chest tightened.
My breath stopped halfway.
“What is this?” I whispered, half scared, half angry. “I have to do something. I can’t lose this job.”
An idea struck me. I decided to approach my super boss and tell him about the wrongdoings happening under my boss. I would tell him how my boss was bribed by the contractor to get the contract. How together they were misappropriating funds and looting public money.
***
I drove straight to my super boss Mr. Ankit’s home, which was located on the outskirts of the city where no one except my boss, his wife, and their anxieties lived.
“Sir, Mukesh Sir has been misappropriating funds. The contractor bribed him,” I said in a single breath, faster than the rapper in a rap song. My mind yelled back, “yo,” to appreciate me.
No answer. Ankit Sir looked straight into my eyes. “Do you have any proof?”
I nodded and pulled out my phone to show him a picture. It clearly showed the contractor handing money to Mukesh. I had followed him and clicked the picture from a distance. I remember that day clearly because that’s when I realised the phones that cost us almost our organs can actually be used to catch theft. They weren’t supposed to just show our ugly faces wrapped in a filter to the world, which anyway doesn’t care about how you look.
Ankit Sir looked at my phone and then at me. “Do you have this picture anywhere else?”
I shook my head. He nodded and returned the phone to me. When I looked at it, the picture was gone. Vanished. Faster than a politician’s promises.
I furrowed my brows and looked at Mr. Ankit. He chuckled. “Don’t ever come near the office. Else I will ensure you get arrested.” He closed the door, leaving me in the dark.
I hated how loud my breathing sounded at that moment — like the darkness was listening. Watching. Judging.
I swallowed hard.
“This can’t be happening.”
And then the thoughts started.
Why did Ankit Sir delete the picture? Is he also part of the contractor bribes?
Why does it feel like the whole world has closed in?
Why do I feel chained… trapped… stuck?
I crawled back into my car. Every thought made the space feel smaller.
“I don’t see anything ahead,” I whispered to myself. “My whole life feels like this… this darkness. What will I do now?”
My voice sounded sad, dramatic — and a little stupid — but the fear was real.
I felt suffocated.
I felt powerless.
I felt… doomed.
Everything seemed wrong. Off. Tilted.
I cursed myself for going against the bosses.
For believing stupid things like “Always do the right thing.”
For ever thinking I would be rewarded for staying true to my values.
I took another breath, slow and shaky.
The air felt thick, like it had weight.
“Okay,” I told myself. “Stay calm. Control your mind.”
Good advice. Zero results.
Because at that exact moment… my mind gave me another idea. I looked back and saw the envelope. I remembered the letter. I also remembered my wife’s advice. But I had no choice. I picked it up and decided to use it.
Then I heard something.
A faint rustling.
A soft movement.
Someone — or something — breathing near me. I listened to the sound of the steps. It wasn’t one person alone. God, are they going to kill me now?
My heart jumped so high it could have hit the ceiling if I could see it.
Who was near my car?
I held my breath and listened.
There it was again — gentle, steady steps.
Definitely not mine. Because mine were paralysed with fear.
My throat tightened.
Fear crawled down my spine like a cold insect.
“Who’s there?” I whispered, my voice cracking.
No reply.
The breathing stayed slow. Calm. Almost peaceful.
But the world inside my head wasn’t peaceful at all.
I searched for something strong in the car. All I could find was my bag and the letter in my hands. I couldn’t kill someone with papercuts, for heaven’s sake, I convinced myself.
I somehow got out of my car. The sound of the footsteps grew louder as they approached me. I closed my eyes, holding the letter like a weapon.
Then I felt something wet on my feet. And something similar on my back, right where my shirt and trousers were in a lip-lock.
I opened my eyes and found two dogs — eight legs total — licking my feet and ass. I almost gasped my heart out and drove away as quickly as I could.
***
I lifted my right hand while driving. The letter was my only chance. I hadn’t disclosed it to anyone. It had details of the contract, the misappropriation of funds, the bribes, and the proof. Everything.
No one knew about it except my wife, Neha. She also worked in my office in a senior position, but in the finance department. She had suggested I not show the letter to anyone. In fact, she wanted me to get rid of it.
But why would she say that? Was she too afraid for me? Did she know something else?
My mind was now drenching with thoughts. I had to find out and also get my job back. That was the only way I could realise my dream of starting my business someday.
***
I drove to my house. As I walked toward the door, I heard a few voices. I went closer and put my ear against it.
My heart froze.
I recognised those voices. They were Ankit and Mukesh, my bosses. What were they doing in my house?
I turned to leave, but before I could run away, I heard the door open.
“Where do you think you are going?”
Neha walked up to me and stood in front of me. She grabbed the letter from my hands. “Told you to get rid of it.” Then she tore it into pieces. With that, my plan of using the letter had failed.
I looked at the torn pieces lying near my feet. I was shaken. Why did she tear the letter? Why were my bosses here? Was Neha involved too?
Mukesh walked up to me and patted my arm. “You are such an idiot. Never disclose secrets to the culprits.” He winked at Neha.
Ankit just chuckled and shook his head in disapproval as he walked past me.
My heart was crying. My wife was involved in the entire corruption scandal. There was no way of getting my job back. My relationship was gone. My dream was lost.
Now I could feel the darkness engulfing me.
“Why… why did you do it?” I gasped.
“For our better future.” Neha smiled and placed her hands on my cheek.
I pulled back and shook my head in despair.
The darkness inside my brain cracked like a dropped plate.
In the last few hours, I was not just out of a job — my entire life seemed like a lie. I had no future in my work. No hope in my relationship. My dream was dead. All I had was darkness around.
The world is a dark place, I remembered.
But then, as I walked down the road, away from everything, I saw something.
***
A man stopped near me. He looked at me and started walking towards me. I noticed him limping. God, is he going to mug me now? Today, of all days, when I have lost everything? I stood up and turned.
“Sir,” he called. “Can you give me twenty rupees (0.23$)? Even ten rupees would do. I promise to return it.”
I turned. “Ten? Why?”
He waved and called someone from the dark. Two little kids appeared.
“I am not a beggar, Sir,” the man said. “I couldn’t sell enough vegetables today. But I need to feed my kids.”
I looked at the man’s attire. He was wearing an old brown shirt and trousers. His kids, not more than five, walked and stood near him.
“Let me buy the veggies,” I said, pulling out my wallet and trying to give him a hundred-rupee note.
The man smiled and shook his head. “The veggies are stale and dry now. If you want the veggies, please come tomorrow at the market.” He pointed towards the place where he sells them.
That hit me hard. Here was a man begging a stranger for money to feed his kids, but he still wouldn’t do the wrong thing. I imagined how dark his world must be. How constant the struggle. How worries and problems must be engulfing his life. And yet here he was, smiling and facing it all.
I loaned him the money and started walking back. As I walked, I remembered my childhood when I was bullied. The world seemed dark back then. I remembered my school days when judges’ bias cost us the district tournament and eventually a career in sports. The world had seemed darker back then.
I remembered my college days, when I was suspended for standing against the wrongdoings of some faculty members. It was darker back then.
I remembered how, in spite of everything, I had survived the darkness. By doing what’s right. By doing what I believed in. By persisting. By fighting for myself.
I closed my eyes and looked within. I realised the world has always been the same — a place filled with the wrongs of some people. But in spite of that, some people find the light in darkness. The light that gives them hope to persist and live a life they dream of.
Everything else around me was dark, but I could see everything clearly — through the light that was lit inside me.
I picked up my phone, opened the drive, and sent the details of the corruption to the Managing Director of the company.
Within a few months, the MD offered me the job back. I refused. Instead, I chose to start my own venture. The light amidst the darkness gave me the courage to push for my dream.
The world is a dark place. But the light within can help you sail through the darkest times— towards a better future.
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