173 Hours Left

It was 2:17 a.m.

The city was asleep.

Aarav wasn't.The room was dark, illuminated only by the cold blue glow of his laptop screen. It washed over his face—lifeless, distant, much like the life he felt trapped in.His inbox was open."We regret to inform you..."The third rejection today.Aarav let out a quiet laugh.Not the kind that came from happiness.The kind that became a habit when disappointment repeated itself often enough."How many more times?" he whispered to himself.No answer came.The room was filled only with the hum of the ceiling fan and a strange, suffocating emptiness.He closed the laptop and lay back on his bed, staring at the ceiling.Sometimes he wondered if the problem wasn't the world.Maybe it was him.Everyone else seemed to be moving forward.Jobs.Relationships.Goals.Lives.And him?It felt as though someone had pressed pause on his existence.Suddenly, his phone vibrated.A message from Kabir."Bro, if you want to achieve something in life, be strong. Emotions are for weak people."Aarav read it.Then placed the phone aside without replying."Strong..." he murmured."How strong am I supposed to be? And why?"He closed his eyes.A strange thought slipped into his mind.If life can end at any moment...Why am I trying so hard?A heavy weight settled in his chest.His breathing quickened.It felt as if something inside him was cracking apart.And then...He raised his hand.Just casually.Without thinking.But this time, something was different.Faint glowing lines appeared across his wrist.At first, he thought he was hallucinating.But as he focused, the symbols became clearer.Numbers.173 : 42 : 11Aarav shot upright."What the...?"He rubbed his eyes.Looked again.The numbers were still there.Tick.Tick.Tick.The seconds were counting down.His heart slammed against his ribs."Is this... a countdown?"His mouth went dry.His mind blank."Impossible."He rushed to the bathroom and raised his wrist in front of the mirror.The numbers remained.Real.Moving.Alive.173 : 41 : 52A chill ran through him."Am I... going to die?"The words escaped his lips before he could stop them.They lingered in the room.As if waiting to become reality.Aarav stepped back.Trying to steady his breathing.But another thought terrified him even more.If this is real...Then I only have seven days left.The room fell silent again.But this silence felt different.Heavier.Darker.Dangerous.Slowly, Aarav clenched his fist.The numbers didn't disappear.They remained there.Stubborn.As if they were trying to tell him something.Time is moving... whether you believe it or not.And that night, for the first time in his life, Aarav truly understood something.Life could end at any moment.And he had only...173 hours left.

To be Continued ....