“Ahsan, today is your birthday. Let’s plan something special for dinner to celebrate it!” his sister suggested.

Ahsan replied, “Yeah, that’s a good idea! Let’s go out somewhere nice tonight.”

By the evening, everyone was ready to head out, but unexpectedly, the electricity went out, putting the house in darkness. Their mother rushed to Ahsan’s room, and like always, he was trembling out of fear. She hugged him immediately and asked his sister to bring some water. After giving him the water, the rest of the family tried to distract him and help him relax.

Ahsan had a fear of the dark, and everyone in his family knew it. They never quite understood how he developed this fear, and despite asking him several times, Ahsan always avoided giving them an answer. They tried countless ways to help him overcome it, but nothing seemed to work. No matter how many times they reassured him or tried different approaches, his fear remained. So, whenever darkness fell, it became second nature for his family to alert one another and reach out to him, offering comfort and support to ease his anxiety.

After some time, Ahsan finally calmed down, and they all went to a restaurant to celebrate his birthday. The restaurant was awesome and the ambience cheered everyone up. They placed their order and started chatting.

Taking it as the perfect opportunity, Ahsan’s mother, with her comforting voice and reassuring tone, gently took his hand and said, “My dear son, it saddens me to see you tremble. I want to understand what’s making you this way. You weren’t like this before, and I truly want to help you. Please, tell me, why are you always afraid of the dark?”

Ali sighed before responding, “Mum, I am sorry, I didn’t tell you before ... it is just that a toxic friend once played a terrible prank on me.”

The family immediately became attentive to Ahsan. “Remember last year when I went to a sleepover at my friend’s house? A couple of friends were already there. It was supposed to be a fun memory, but it didn’t turn out that way. That night, they thought it would be funny to lock me in a dark room and see how I’d react. But things quickly went wrong. After banging on the door for a while, they tried to open it only to find they had lost the key. I spent nearly half the night in there and ended up fainting.

“Unfortunately, my friend’s parents had also gone out, so we had to wait for help until the next day. The following morning, when their maid arrived, she found the key and opened the door. It was a dreadful night spent in that dark room. So, whenever the lights go out, I can’t help but remember that night, and it sends a chill down my spine.”

His mother gently placed her hand on his shoulder and said, “My dear, I can only imagine how terrifying that must have been. But you are safe now, and we are here with you. I want you to know that darkness doesn’t have the power to hurt you. It’s just a part of life, and we’ll face it together, one step at a time.”

Just then, the waiter arrived with their meal and served them. After celebrating Ahsan’s birthday and enjoying the food, they returned home.

Years later, Ahsan had grown into a confident man, working a steady job. One evening, an incident occurred that helped him face his long-held fear of the dark.

As it was time to leave the office, his boss called him into his office and said, “This project is very important. I need you to stay late and finish it by tomorrow.” Ahsan agreed, eager to prove himself.

After working for hours, he finally completed the task. As he prepared to leave, he suddenly realised his cabin door was locked, and it could only be opened from the outside. Panic set in. Feeling anxious, he sat down and thought of calling someone, but then remembered his phone’s battery was dead. To make things worse, the lights went out.

In the pitch dark, he felt the old fear grip him. He cried out in frustration, “Why me, always?”

His body shook with terror and sweat began to form on his brow. As the minutes dragged on, his anxiety grew. After what felt like an eternity, his mother’s comforting words echoed in his mind, “You have to calm yourself, my son. Breathe and trust that you are strong enough to face this.”

Realising there was no one else around to offer comfort, Ahsan took a deep breath. He closed his eyes, focusing on her words. Slowly, the panic began to subside. He reminded himself that darkness couldn’t hurt him; it was only a momentary obstacle. With each breath, fear loosened its grip, and the calm his mother had always tried to teach him began to take hold.

Ahsan found solace in the reassuring voice. “You are never alone, my son,” she had always said, “even when it feels like the world is dark, we carry our light within us.”

And in that dark cabin, for the first time, Ahsan truly understood what she had meant.

Suddenly, his mind clicked. He recalled seeing a torch in his drawer once, and he also remembered that his manager kept a set of spare keys in the cabinet for emergencies. Mustering the courage, he reached towards his drawer, determined to find the torch.

Finally, he succeeded in finding the torch and managed to unlock the door, emerging from the dark room. As he drove home, he realised that when we panic, our mind starts to play games. The darkness had never been the real enemy; it was his fear, amplified by his past trauma, that had held him captive.

Published in Dawn, Young World, February 8th, 2025