Before She Fades Away
Naina was studying in her room when her mother called out, “Naina! Dinner is ready, come here.”
She quickly ran to the kitchen and asked, “Mumma, what did you make today?”
Her mother smiled and said, “Your favourite — pizza.”
Hearing this, Naina’s face lit up with joy, and she happily enjoyed dinner with her family.
Naina was a very sweet, intelligent, and lively girl. She was excellent in her studies, and her dream was to become a doctor one day and help those in need. She was the only child of her parents — their entire world. There were just three of them in the family, and they lived a very happy life… until one night.
Naina was sleeping in her room when she suddenly started coughing. She got up and went to the kitchen to drink some water. But just as she was about to take a sip, her coughing got worse — so bad that her parents woke up from their sleep. They quickly ran to her room, but she wasn’t there. Following her voice, they rushed to the kitchen, where they found Naina in a terrible condition. She was coughing badly, sweating, shivering, and the most shocking thing — blood was coming out of her mouth.
Her parents panicked after seeing her like that. Without wasting a second, they rushed her to the hospital. On the way, Naina had already fainted, which made them even more terrified. As soon as they reached, she was admitted immediately.
Three hours passed. The doctor finally came out of the emergency room — and from the look on his face, it was clear that the news wasn’t good.
“What I’m about to say… will need a lot of strength and courage to hear,” the doctor said softly to her parents. “Your daughter has cancer. She won’t be able to live for more than two years.”
Those words shattered them completely. Both of them broke down in tears, unable to believe what they had just heard. Naina’s mother fainted on the spot. Naina wasn’t just their daughter — she was their miracle child, born after years of prayers, struggles, and countless hopes.
After a while, Naina regained consciousness. She asked many questions, but her parents had no answers — or maybe, they just didn’t have the courage to tell her the truth. They simply said, “It’s nothing serious, beta. Don’t worry. Everything’s fine.”
Later, her parents asked the doctor if there was any chance of treatment. The doctor sighed deeply and said with regret, “No… I’m sorry.”
From that day on, her parents made a promise — that however much time Naina had left, they would fill every moment of it with happiness.
Days turned into months, and one and a half years passed. Slowly, Naina began to realize what her illness was and how little time she had left. Her hair had fallen, her body had grown weak — but she never let sadness show on her face. She wanted to keep her parents away from worrying. She was brave, and far wiser than her age, 14 years.
One day, Naina went out with her parents for an ice cream. While they were enjoying their treat, a car stopped nearby. A couple stepped out with their little boy — he was blind. They, too, had come to eat ice cream. But after a few minutes, the couple quietly walked back to their car, leaving the child behind.
The boy couldn’t see them go, but he could feel their absence. “Mumma... Papa... where are you?” he cried helplessly.
Seeing this, Naina and her parents felt bad and worried for the boy. They move towards the boy, and made him calm. Her father noticed a small note clutched in the boy’s hand. It read —
“Whoever is reading this note, this is to inform you that parents of this boy, Vidyut, died in a car accident 2 days ago. We don’t feel good doing this, but we can no longer take care of Vidyut, our nephew. Please don’t try to find us, and let us live on our own"
Tears filled in their eyes as they read the note.
Naina kept looking at the boy silently. She didn’t say a word — as if her heart had suddenly gone still. Then, she turned to her parents and spoke in a soft voice that broke them completely:
“Mumma, Papa... I don’t have much time left in this world. My time is almost over. But before I go, I want you to fulfill one last wish of mine. Please adopt Vidyut… and when I’m gone, donate my eyes to him. Tell him it’s the first and last gift from his elder sister to him”
Her parents were burned out with tear with the feeling of both sadness and proud. They did exactly the same.
But before that day came, Naina spent her remaining time in the most beautiful way possible.
After Vidyut came into their lives, the house that once felt heavy with silent pain slowly began to fill with life again. Vidyut was shy at first. Since he could not see, he relied on the sounds and warmth around him to understand the world. Naina made it her mission to become his little guide.
Every evening, she would sit beside him and describe the world to him in words.
“Do you know what the sunset looks like?” she once asked him gently.
Vidyut shook his head.
“It’s like the sky is painted with orange and pink colors,” Naina explained softly. “As if someone spilled light across the clouds.”
Vidyut smiled as he listened carefully, trying to imagine it in his mind.
Sometimes she described flowers to him. Sometimes the way rain looked when it touched the ground. Sometimes the stars in the night sky.
To Vidyut, Naina’s voice became his window to the world.
Even though her body was getting weaker day by day, she never stopped smiling in front of him. When he asked why she sometimes sounded tired, she would simply laugh and say, “Doctors say I need extra rest because I talk too much.”
Her parents watched all of this quietly.
Every moment felt both beautiful and painful at the same time.
They could see their daughter slowly fading, yet her heart was brighter than ever.
One evening, when the house was calm and quiet, Naina called her parents into her room.
Her voice was gentle but serious.
“Mumma, Papa… promise me something,” she said.
Her mother held her hand tightly. “Anything, beta.”
“After I’m gone, please don’t cry too much. Vidyut will need you both. He shouldn’t ever feel alone again.”
Her father turned his face away, unable to hide his tears.
Naina continued softly, “And promise me one more thing… keep telling him stories about me sometimes. Not sad ones. Tell him I was happy.”
Her parents nodded silently, their hearts breaking with every word.
A few weeks later, the day they feared the most finally arrived.
Naina’s health suddenly worsened. She was taken to the hospital once again. This time, the doctors already knew there was very little they could do.
Her parents stayed beside her the entire time.
Naina slowly opened her eyes and whispered weakly, “Mumma… Papa…”
“We’re here, beta,” her mother said through tears.
A faint smile appeared on Naina’s lips.
“Take care of Vidyut… okay?”
And with those final words, her eyes slowly closed forever.
The hospital room fell silent.
It felt as if the world itself had stopped breathing.
But Naina’s final wish was fulfilled.
After the eye donation surgery, Vidyut finally received the gift that would change his life forever.
Weeks later, when the bandages were removed from his eyes, light touched them for the very first time.
At first, everything looked blurry.
Shapes slowly became clearer.
And the first thing he saw was the tearful but loving faces of the two people who had now become his parents.
“Mumma… Papa?” he asked hesitantly.
They hugged him tightly.
From that day on, Vidyut began seeing the world through the eyes of the girl who once described it to him so beautifully.
And even though Naina was no longer there, her light continued to live on — in every color Vidyut saw, in every sunset he admired, and in every smile he shared.
Because some people may leave the world…
but their kindness never truly fades away.
