Michael’s story: The Pain That Lasts
The hospital room was so quiet that you could hear the monitor ticking like a clock, keeping track of time that didn’t seem to matter to anyone. Michael was lying quiet, his face pale and a tiny tube in his nose. His body couldn’t do the task, so the machines performed it for him. His chest rose and fell weakly. Some nurses whispered to each other, and others sighed, but none of them seemed to care about the patient in front of them. There were no flowers, cards or even a phone call to check on his condition.
“Has anyone come to see you?” the doctor once asked. A nurse then replied in a hushed voice, “They were told, but they never came.” Days slipped into nights, and nights grew into weeks, but Michael was locked up in his silent prison of forgetfulness. In his nightmares, he heard voices. His mother’s calming lullabies and his father’s triumphant laughter… But these were lies that his imagination made up as he slept. In reality, his parents had fled like cowards into the night, convinced that he would never wake up again.
Richard’s parents, Clare and Richard, were also in a law office in another part of town at the same time. Their eyes were wide with greed, and their palms were quivering. Richard said in a low, almost joyful voice, “The will says that the assets will be transferred if he can’t do it or dies.” Clare didn’t even try to look sad. “I can’t believe how fast all of this is happening,” she said as she waved a legal paper in front of her face. “The house, the business, the savings, everything he worked for…”
Not a single word of fear about their youngster. Not a single thought about how he was doing. They just worried about the money they thought they would obtain. They never even got close to the hospital where Michael was fighting for his life and slowly bleeding to death with no one to aid him. They had decided that the inheritance was more important than their son’s life. Richard shook his head in false sadness and said, “That’s too bad.” “He was a smart kid, but that’s just how life is.” They signed the papers and hoisted a glass of champagne, sure that they had outlasted their son and gotten something positive out of his death.
Three months later, on a scorching Friday afternoon, Michael woke up. He blinked slowly, feeling weak and confused, and gazed about the tidy room. He called out, “Mom,” but there was no answer. The nurse paused in her tracks when she spotted him awake. “Thank God you’re awake, Michael!” “You did it!” she cried as she rushed to push the call button.
Michael tried to speak again. “Where are the people I love?” The nurse stopped for a time and gazed sadly at the floor. “They haven’t come,” she said in a hushed voice. “I’m so sorry, Michael.”
At that moment, something inside of him became numb. He was hurt like broken glass because he had fought alone, almost died alone, and his parents had chosen money over their only son. His heart, which was getting better, started to feel the weight of treachery, and for a moment, he stopped breathing. Things took a long time to get better. It felt like he was dragging bricks behind him every time he moved. Michael fought through the pain and the quiet, knowing that his parents weren’t there for him.
One morning, the doctor said, “It’s a miracle you’re still alive,” and laid a hand on his file. “Where have you been for so long?” We thought you wouldn’t be able to achieve it. Michael smiled weakly. He said, “It’s funny, they didn’t think I would make it either.”
The doctor seemed confused and raised an eyebrow. “Your family?”
Michael clenched his jaw. “They left me.” They thought I was going to die. I bet they’re using what they thought was mine. The doctor thought for a moment about what to say, but Michael told him to leave. He turned his head away and said, “Don’t worry, I’m used to her kind of love.” Tears welled up in his eyes as he remembered the love he never got but should have.
Michael worked hard to get his life back on track, but the mental wounds appeared to get worse as the weeks went by. His body was progressively getting better, but he still felt completely alone in the world. He was in pain because his parents had betrayed him. But something inside of him was different. Every day, anger and sadness slowly evolved into determination. He had made it, and now he knew what he needed to do.
One day, while he was walking down the hospital hall, he met a man who looked familiar, but he couldn’t recall who he was immediately away. The man had a serious look on his face when he glanced at him.
In a hushed voice, the man asked, “You are Michael, right?”
Michael looked at him more closely, trying to remember where he had seen him previously.
“Yes, who are you?” He said, trying to act casual, even though he knew something significant was about to happen.
Before he spoke, the man took a deep breath.
“Hi, I’m Charles, your mom’s brother. I knew about you before your mum died. She told me to come find you if you ever woke up. “You have the right to know what really happened.”
Michael stopped talking and opened his eyes wide when he recognised how big what he had just heard was.
“My mother… how?”
Charles added that his mother told him about the family she had left behind and how she had lost her inheritance before she died. She also told him how Michael’s parents had run his life so they could keep everything. Michael had never heard of Charles before, but after hearing his story, he saw that everything he had done in his life had been a lie.
That that afternoon, Michael had to confront the truth. Richard and Clare, his parents, had hurt him a lot. They had taken away his mother’s inheritance, which meant they had also killed her. Everything he thought he knew about his family fell apart at that instant.
But the news didn’t get to him. Instead, it made him want to take control of his life. He chose not to let pain and betrayal shape his future. His family’s fame, wealth, and inheritance didn’t mean anything to him anymore. What actually mattered was him, his life, and the right to live it fully.
Michael sued his parents. He used all his mother taught him to obtain justice for both of them. With Charles’s help and the evidence he obtained, he won the case. Manipulation and abuse made Richard and Clare lose everything they had worked for. Michael had obtained justice, but the best thing was that he was free from the emotional torment that had kept him locked up for so long.
Over time, Michael began to put his life back together. He gained his parents’ things, but what he really got was the strength to be honest and not deceive anyone. He was happy being alone, even if he didn’t have the family he wanted.
Michael didn’t go back to his parents or to Ogechi, the lady who had lied to him. Instead, he got back in touch with those who actually cared about him, like Sonia, his devoted friend, and Charles, who became a source of support and advise. Michael learnt to deal with the anguish, which never completely went away. Instead, it became a force that made him want to do better every day.
Michael eventually understood that the real wealth comes from the relationships we build with others who care about and respect us. He learnt how to live without being afraid, without the things that held him back in the past, and to take responsibility of his life.
Michael’s Release: The End
He was free from his family and his own pain because of the truth. Over time, Michael grew into a strong and successful man on his own. He never lost what he learnt from his pain: to look ahead and build a life based on respect and real love.
Michael knew that nothing could take away the peace he had found within himself, even if the past would always be there.
