A New Path

Arman lay in bed, staring at the ceiling as the doctor left the room. His mind swirled with thoughts about his newfound powers. What exactly had happened to him? How could he control this strange force inside him?

He flexed his fingers, feeling an odd sensation coursing through his veins. It wasn't painful, but it was… different. Like something was waiting beneath the surface, eager to be unleashed.

For a moment, he thought about testing his abilities. What if he tried focusing, channeling whatever energy was inside him? He closed his eyes and took a deep breath, concentrating. But nothing happened.

Maybe it wasn't that simple.

With a deep breath, he pushed himself up and stretched his arms. His body felt strangely light, as if the injuries from before had never happened.

"Well," he muttered to himself, rolling his shoulders, "I guess I should head home for now."

He grabbed his belongings and walked toward the door, glancing around the hospital room one last time. There was probably some discharge paperwork he had to deal with, but since the doctor had already given him the green light to leave, he figured he could just walk out.

As he stepped into the hallway, he sighed. Man, Dad's probably gonna kill me. He could already imagine the scolding he'd get. He needed to come up with an excuse—something believable.

But just as he was lost in thought, a voice boomed inside his head.

"Hey, kid."

Arman froze, his heart skipping a beat.

"Seriously?! Stop doing that!" he snapped internally. "You scared the hell out of me!"

"Stop overreacting and listen," the spirit said, unimpressed. "You can't go home. If you really want to learn how to control my power, we need to go somewhere where no one can interrupt us."

Arman frowned. "What? I can't just disappear! My dad will freak out! Besides, where exactly are we supposed to go?"

The spirit chuckled. "Don't worry. I have a place in mind. But first, we need to get out of here unnoticed."

Arman sighed. Just when he thought things were finally settling down, his life was about to take another unexpected turn.

Before Arman left the hospital, he checked his phone. Multiple missed calls and messages from his friends, but none from his parents.

He frowned. That's weird. If they knew I was missing, wouldn't they have called?

Then it hit him—his phone had been dead ever since the incident. His friends must've visited him directly at the hospital, but his parents never got the news.

"Guess no one thought to inform them," the spirit mused.

Arman sighed. That means they have no idea what happened to me.

Which also meant… he was about to walk into a storm when he got home.

As he walked toward the hospital exit and stepped onto the streets, something caught his eye. A pamphlet was taped to a nearby wall—it was from a tourist agency, advertising a field trip at a surprisingly low cost.

His eyes lit up. Maybe I could go on this trip...

But then his excitement faded. No, it won't work.

"Why not?" the spirit asked.

"Because I have social anxiety. I can't just go on a trip with a bunch of strangers! I barely even go out much. And if I tell my parents about it, they'll definitely figure out something's wrong."

The spirit remained silent for a moment before asking, "So… don't you have any friends?"

"Of course, I do!" Arman replied quickly.

"Then there's no problem," the spirit said. "Take your friends with you."

Arman hesitated. "But won't that cause problems for us?"

"No, it won't," the spirit assured him.

Arman thought about it. If he could convince his friends to come, it wouldn't seem suspicious. Plus, having familiar faces around would help with his anxiety.

"Alright," he finally said. "I'll ask them. Let's see if this plan works."

With that decision made, Arman pulled out his phone and scrolled through his contacts. He hesitated for a moment before calling his best friend, Riyan.

The phone rang twice before Riyan picked up.

"Yo, Arman! You're alive? I thought you were gonna be stuck in the hospital for weeks!" Riyan said with a laugh.

"Yeah, I got lucky, I guess," Arman replied, forcing a chuckle. "Hey, listen. There's this trip coming up—some tourist agency thing. I was thinking of going. You interested?"

"A trip?" Riyan sounded surprised. "Wait, you? The same Arman who hates socializing and avoids going out? Who are you, and what have you done to my friend?"

Arman sighed. "I just... I need to get away for a bit. Thought it might be fun if we went together."

Riyan was quiet for a moment before responding, "Huh. Well, yeah, I'm in. I could use a break too. Who else is coming?"

"I haven't asked anyone else yet," Arman admitted.

"Cool, let's get Ayesha and Zubair on board. If the four of us go, it'll be more fun," Riyan suggested.

Arman nodded to himself. That actually sounded like a solid plan.

"Alright. I'll call them now."

After a few more calls, Ayesha and Zubair agreed to join them. Ayesha, always the adventurous one, was excited about the idea. Zubair, on the other hand, took some convincing, but eventually, he gave in.

With his friends on board, Arman felt a sense of relief. Everything was falling into place.

"See? That wasn't so hard," the spirit said.

"Yeah, yeah. But what happens after we get there?"

"You'll see soon enough."

Well, let's go home then. I still need to convince Mom and Dad though," Arman said.

He started walking, and as he reached his house, he entered, calling out loudly, "I'm home!"

His mom replied from the kitchen, "Welcome home son."

But then his father came out from the living room, his expression dark. Arman swallowed hard. He could tell he was screwed.

"Hey, Dad! How are you?" he said nervously, forcing a smile.

His father walked up to him and smacked him on the head.

"You damn brat! Where were you all this time, huh?" he yelled. But then, to Arman's surprise, his father's face softened, and his voice wavered. "Do you know how worried your mom and I were about you?" His father suddenly sniffled, rubbing his eyes.

Arman's eyes widened. Wait, is he… crying?

"You… you almost gave us a heart attack! You think you can just disappear and show up like nothing happened?!" his father continued, his voice shaking.

Arman immediately felt guilty. "I'm sorry, Dad… I—I didn't mean to worry you."

His father huffed, then grabbed Arman into a tight hug. "You idiot! You better not do this again!"

Arman hesitated before saying, "Uh… Dad, I actually have some good news. For the first time, I decided to go out on a trip. And don't worry, I'm not going alone! Riyan, Ayesha, and Zubair are coming with me too."

His father pulled back and raised an eyebrow. "What? You just came back, and now you're talking about leaving again?"

Arman quickly put on his saddest face. "Oh… so you don't like the idea? Alright then, I'll just tell my friends we're not going…"

His father sighed in defeat. "Oh, no, don't do that! Fine, you can go. How can I say no to my son when he's asking for something like this for the first time?"

Arman grinned and hugged his father. "You're the best, Dad!"

Just then, his mom walked out of the kitchen, arms crossed. "So… only your father is the best, huh?"

Before she could continue, Arman rushed over and hugged her too.

Arman laughed. For the first time in a while, things felt normal. But deep inside, he knew—this was just the beginning.