บท 2: mother's prayers

The days after Raghav's passing were hard for Arjun and Meera. Life in the slum carried on, indifferent to their grief. The streets still buzzed with noise, and the daily struggle to survive didn't pause for mourning. Meera returned to work, her hands worn and calloused from scrubbing floors and washing clothes for others. Arjun stayed behind, alone in the small room, trying to figure out what the future held for them now.

One evening, as Arjun wandered through the narrow, crowded streets of the slum, he passed by a small stall where an old man had set up a makeshift projector. A group of children huddled around the screen, their faces illuminated by the flickering images of a movie playing. Arjun stopped and watched, his heart stirring as the actors on the screen laughed, cried, and lived out lives far different from his own.

The images on the screen were like windows into another world, a world filled with color, adventure, and possibilities that felt so distant from the reality of the slums. It was in that moment, watching the film unfold before him, that something sparked deep inside Arjun.

He wanted to tell stories.

Not just any stories—he wanted to capture the stories of people like him, people living in places like the slums, whose lives were often overlooked and forgotten. He wanted to show the beauty and struggle, the love and loss, the dreams that burned inside even the poorest hearts.

That night, as he lay on his mat next to his mother, Arjun whispered into the darkness, "One day, I'm going to make movies. I'm going to be a director."

Meera, half-asleep, smiled softly but didn't say anything. She had learned long ago that dreams were fragile things, easily crushed by the weight of reality. But there was something in Arjun's voice, something determined, that made her pause.

The next morning, Arjun woke early. The dream of becoming a director was like a fire inside him, and though he had no idea where to begin, he knew he had to start somewhere. But before he could chase his dream, he had a responsibility—to help his mother. With his father gone, Meera was the sole breadwinner, and her work was hard and poorly paid. Arjun couldn't let her bear the weight of it all alone.

"Amma," Arjun said one morning as Meera prepared to leave for work, "I want to help you."

Meera looked at him, her eyes weary but full of love. "You're still a child, Arjun. Focus on your studies. That's how you can help."

But Arjun shook his head. "I can't let you do everything alone. I'll study, but I want to work too. I want to help us save money, so one day… one day, we can leave this place."

Meera hesitated, but she knew her son was growing up faster than she wanted. The slums had a way of making children mature quickly, forced by circumstance to shoulder responsibilities far too soon. She didn't want Arjun to lose his childhood, but she also knew they needed every rupee they could get.

Reluctantly, she agreed. Arjun found small jobs around the neighborhood—delivering groceries, running errands for shopkeepers, and even helping with repairs in exchange for a few coins. It wasn't much, but every bit helped, and it lightened the burden on his mother's shoulders, even just a little.

In between working, Arjun spent his free time watching whatever films he could find. Sometimes, he would sneak into the local cinema, slipping through the side entrance when the ticket sellers weren't looking. Other times, he would sit with the other kids in front of the old man's projector, absorbing every frame, every line of dialogue, every scene.

At night, after Meera had fallen asleep, Arjun would lie awake, imagining the stories he wanted to tell. In his mind, he saw vivid images of life in the slums—stories of hope, resilience, and dreams. He saw his father's face, heard his mother's tired voice, and felt the pulse of the city around him. One day, he promised himself, he would turn these stories into films.

He started writing in a tattered notebook he found, filling its pages with ideas and sketches of scenes. He wrote about the people he saw every day—the vegetable vendor who worked from dawn until dusk, the children who played cricket with broken bats, the families who struggled to make ends meet but still found reasons to laugh. Every story was a reflection of his world, but in his mind, they were beautiful, worth sharing with the world.

Years passed, and Arjun continued to balance his studies with his small jobs. He saved every spare rupee he earned, not just for their daily needs but for his future, for the chance to make his dream a reality. He excelled in school, always telling himself that education was his ticket out of the slums, just as his mother had said. But in his heart, it was filmmaking that drove him, that gave him a reason to keep going, even when the weight of his responsibilities felt overwhelming.

Meera noticed how hard her son worked, how he sacrificed his childhood to help her and still clung to his dream. She was proud, though her heart ached for him. Late at night, when she was alone, she would whisper prayers for Arjun's success, hoping that the world would be kinder to him than it had been to her and Raghav.

One evening, as they sat together on the floor of their small home, Arjun looked at his mother and said, "One day, Amma, I'm going to make a film about us. About you, Papa, and this place. People will see it, and they'll understand."

Meera smiled at him, tears brimming in her eyes. "I believe you, Arjun," she whispered. "I believe you will."

And in that moment, Arjun knew that no matter how hard the road ahead would be, he had a purpose. He would chase his dream, not just for himself but for his mother, for his father's memory, and for all the unseen lives in the slums who deserved their stories to be told.