Suffering Does Not Come Alone

Chapter 1: The Storm Before the Calm

Ravi was a man whose life had known a lot of suffering. At 35, he seemed older, the years and struggles weighing heavy on his face and in his gait. Despite his best efforts to build a stable life for himself, fate seemed to have a different plan. When his father passed away, Ravi inherited a mountain of debt along with a small, rundown grocery shop in a quiet village. The shop was hardly enough to cover basic needs, let alone pay off debts.

Each day, Ravi would open the shop early, hoping for a rush of customers that never came. In a place where everyone knew everyone else, he was constantly reminded of his family’s debt and his own shortcomings. People gossiped behind his back, whispering about the bad luck that followed him like a shadow.

One night, as he sat on the dusty floor of his shop, staring at the piles of bills, he felt utterly hopeless. In that moment, the room felt darker than it had ever been, as if the walls were closing in around him. Then, the sound of the wind howling outside caught his attention. It was just the beginning of what would soon become a raging storm, with thunder cracking the night sky and rain pounding against the window.

He almost didn’t notice the faint sound of a knock at the door over the noise of the storm. But there it was, persistent and out of place. Ravi felt a chill crawl up his spine. At this hour, visitors were rare, and his mind immediately raced with thoughts of debt collectors or thieves. He took a deep breath, steeling himself, and went to open the door.

Standing outside, drenched to the bone, was an old man with eyes that seemed to carry centuries’ worth of secrets. There was something uncanny about him something that made Ravi instinctively want to close the door. But before he could do so, the old man spoke, his voice barely a whisper over the wind.

“May I come in?” he asked, his voice deep and calm.

Ravi hesitated. “It’s late,” he replied, glancing at the clock on the wall.

“Please,” the man said, his gaze unbreaking. “I won’t stay long.”

Ravi stepped aside, and the old man entered. He didn’t speak at first, simply looked around the shop, taking in the disrepair, the emptiness. Ravi watched him with a mixture of suspicion and curiosity, wondering what this stranger could want. Finally, the old man turned to face him.

“You’ve had a difficult life,” he said, not as a question but as a statement of fact.

Ravi didn’t reply, but he felt something stir inside him a mixture of anger and shame. Who was this man to point out his misfortune?

The old man continued. “I came to offer you something that may ease your burdens.” He reached into his coat pocket and pulled out a small, black box. He held it out to Ravi.

“What is this?” Ravi asked, eyeing the box suspiciously.

“A gift,” the man replied. “Inside this box is something that will change your life. But you must use it carefully. For suffering does not come alone. Accept this gift, and you must accept all that comes with it.”

Ravi was at a crossroads. He wanted nothing more than to be free of his misery, but he couldn’t shake the feeling that this was too good to be true. And yet, as he looked at the box, he felt an inexplicable pull, a curiosity that he couldn’t ignore.

Reluctantly, he took the box from the old man’s hands. The moment he did, a strange sensation washed over him a feeling as though the weight of the world had shifted. But when he looked up to thank the old man, he was gone. Ravi was alone again, left holding the mysterious box.

Chapter 2: Unveiling the Gift

Back in the dim light of his small room, Ravi sat on his cot, staring at the black box. His fingers trembled as he opened it, revealing a small, ancient-looking coin nestled inside. The coin was unremarkable at first glance, dull and worn, but as he held it up to the light, he noticed an inscription along the edges: Fortune comes with a price.

A chill ran down his spine, but his curiosity was stronger than his fear. He slipped the coin into his pocket and decided to try his luck at something small. Early the next morning, he placed a small bet on a local lottery with what little money he had left, feeling foolish for even trying. But to his astonishment, he won. It wasn’t a grand prize, but it was enough to settle his immediate debts and even buy some new stock for the shop.

For the first time in years, things seemed to be looking up. Word of his sudden good fortune spread through the village, and people began visiting his shop more often, eager to see the man who’d gone from pauper to prosperous almost overnight. But Ravi couldn’t shake the feeling that something was lurking beneath the surface, a dark undercurrent to his newfound luck.

Chapter 3: The Cost of Fortune

Days turned into weeks, and the coin continued to bring him fortune. His shop was thriving, and his debts were paid. He even managed to buy a small piece of land to expand his business. But soon, the price of his good fortune became apparent.

One evening, he received news that a close friend had been involved in a terrible accident. The friend, who had been by his side through the worst of his troubles, was now in critical condition. Ravi was devastated, but he tried to convince himself that it was just a coincidence.

As days passed, more tragedies began to unfold around him. His best customer lost his home in a fire; his only sister fell ill with a mysterious sickness. Everywhere he turned, those he cared about were suffering, and he couldn’t ignore the gnawing feeling that it was connected to the coin.

Ravi’s guilt grew with each passing day. He had everything he’d ever wanted, yet he couldn’t enjoy it, knowing that his fortune seemed to be bringing misery to those around him. The weight of his decision pressed down on him, suffocating him.

One night, he sat alone in his shop, staring at the cursed coin. He knew what he had to do, though the thought filled him with dread. He remembered the old man’s warning: Suffering does not come alone.

Chapter 4: A Price to Pay

Determined to put an end to the misery, Ravi set out to find the old man. He searched high and low, asking villagers if they’d seen the stranger, but no one had any answers. He was beginning to lose hope when he came upon an old shrine at the edge of the village, a place he’d never seen before.

Inside the shrine, he found the old man waiting, as if he had known Ravi would come. The old man looked at him with a knowing expression, but there was no sympathy in his eyes.

“I warned you,” the man said simply.

Ravi held out the coin. “Take it back,” he pleaded, his voice breaking. “I don’t want it anymore. I can’t live with the suffering it’s caused.”

The old man shook his head slowly. “There is no undoing what has been done,” he replied. “Once you accept fortune, you must bear the price. But…” He paused, looking at Ravi with a hint of compassion. “You may choose to keep the suffering for yourself.”

Ravi hesitated, realizing the weight of the decision. It would mean that he would bear all the hardship alone, sparing those around him. The idea terrified him, but he knew it was the only way to make things right.

With a heavy heart, he nodded. The old man reached out and touched the coin, murmuring something under his breath. A chill ran through Ravi’s body as he felt the weight of the coin shift, the burden now solely on his shoulders.

As he left the shrine, he knew his life would be filled with hardship. But as he walked away, he felt a sense of peace, knowing that his loved ones would be safe.

From that day on, Ravi’s life was difficult, but he endured each struggle with quiet resilience, comforted by the knowledge that the suffering was his alone to bear.

Epilogue

Years later, villagers would speak of Ravi as a man of unbreakable spirit. Despite the constant misfortunes that seemed to plague him, he remained kind and generous, always willing to help those in need. And though they didn’t understand the burden he carried, they admired his strength, knowing that in the end, suffering did not come alone it brought with it a deep and selfless courage.