The machines were gone.
No more beeping monitors. No more white coats.
Just a small house filled with prayers, medicines… and a boy who had already cheated death.
But survival wasn't the same as living.
---
He was now three years old —
but he didn't run like the other kids.
He didn't speak full words.
Didn't laugh loudly.
Most days, he simply sat by the window, blinking slowly at the world.
And his mother… watched him like a heartbeat she couldn't afford to lose again.
---
Every night was a test.
Sometimes his body would heat up like fire.
Other nights, it would go cold like rain.
Fevers came without warning.
Coughs that didn't stop for hours.
And breathing?
Still weak. Still shallow.
> "Nenu thappu chesaa…?" the mother whispered once to herself.
"Devudu rakshinchaadu… kani ee pain enduku inka vadaladam ledhu? "
---
The neighbors whispered.
> "Enduku maatladatledu?"
"Inka nadavadam ledhaa?"
"Aa pilladiki emi aina problem undha?"
But the parents didn't answer.
They were too busy holding onto every little win:
One step.
One smile.
One full night without medicine.
---
His father worked double shifts.
Every rupee went into hospital visits, protein powder, vitamins, and sometimes… just tissues to clean the blood-streaked cough.
No one outside knew the cost of keeping a child alive every single day.
---
One day, he fell unconscious again.
The family rushed back to the hospital.
This time, it wasn't about bringing him back to life —
It was about keeping it inside him.
---
The doctor looked at the reports and shook his head gently.
> "He's alive… but he'll always need care."
"He is a miracle child — but fragile."
And in that moment, the parents understood something hard.
> This wasn't a phase.
This was going to be their life.
---
But the mother didn't break.
Not this time.
> "Naa pilladiki poratame paalu laga perigaadu…"
"Aa poratame ippudu gelupu laga peru techesthadi."
And as if proving her right,
the boy opened his eyes again.
Softly.
Slowly.
Like the storm inside him had learned how to stay quiet — but never stop.
---
💔 He wasn't healed. He wasn't free. But he was still here.
And for now, that was more than enough.
---
✨ To be continued…