A Defiant Roar

The weak morning sun, filtering through the window, seemed to paint the dust motes dancing in the old room with a golden hue, their movements a vibrant, ethereal ballet. On his bed, Yeint lay on his back, gazing at these dancing specks. He held his hands out in front of his face, watching them move, then turned them over, letting the sunbeams stream through his fingers. Was this reality, or merely a figment of a dream he couldn't escape? He couldn't tell. His existence, submerged for eight hours a day, six days a week, in ledgers and figures, felt no different from that of a robot programmed by its surroundings. He hadn't found, or perhaps hadn't truly sought, a way out of the trap of the real world.

"Yeint... Mother isn't feeling very well, dear," the faint, weary sigh from the dark corner of the room struck Yeint's chest like a powerful blow. Though some of his acquaintances and childhood friends called him 'Nge'yarr'—a nickname that hinted at hell—his mother had never used it. She wished for the entity known as 'Hell' to cast no shadow over her son. But as a man named Yeint, courageous in all things, he found himself with no title of bravery left amidst the hospital bills, medication costs, and mounting debts. His mother knew this, and so did he. The salary of an ordinary accountant was hardly enough to glance back at courage.

That night, Yeint remained alone in his office. His fingers trembled as he stared at the company's secret bank account on the computer screen, the calculator beside it. He knew cancer was a force that would eventually claim its due, but he could no longer bear to witness his mother's pain, masked by a forced smile amidst her suffering. "Do what you need to do with a clear conscience, son," she had said, "Mother is feeling better. When I have leave, we'll go back to Kyarku for a while to rest. Then Mother can rest and recover." His mother's true desire to return to their village, Kyarku, was something he knew best. Though she filled her thoughts with dreams of recovery, her son knew her eyes betrayed her.