Rewind

Rewind

Karim: Hey you are kidding right, this isn’t real is it. It can’t be happening, hey tell me.

Karim: I’m Karim(25). I'm a college student. Last year I passed my SSC exam. My parents were furious after my results came out. To be honest, I myself was kind of shocked, but what to do, what’s gone is gone. I live in Aractic, it's a city in Bermuda. I live here with my family, which consists of me, my little sister, and my parents. After I passed high school, I had dreams to study at Marshal Arai College. My classmates are also getting admitted there, even though it didn’t require high-end results to get in. However, it would take a heavy amount of money.

Arisa: Brother, are you in there? Mother is calling. Come out, dinner is ready.

Karim: Go eat, I’ll be there after finishing the game.

Arisa: (leaves the room)

Karim’s mother: Karim, open the door. Your father has arrived.

Karim: (opens the door and joins the family at the dinner table)

Karim: Have you gathered the money to pay for the exam?

Mr. Basir: Yes, the money is ready. But hear me out, son. Do you really want to study there? You know after that incident, how we’ve been struggling as a family. This amount of money… I know you wished to study there, but if you had better results, you could have entered a better college. Maybe a government college would’ve been better for our family. There’s still time. I know it will be hard to be alone without your old friends, but sometimes you need to make sacrifices for the greater good, boy.

Karim: (throws glass on the floor and storms out of the dining room)

Mr. Basir: There he goes again. Why won’t that boy think once about what’s better for him? I know what he’s feeling, but he just can’t see through what I want him to do. If only he listened to me.

Karim: I just wanted to fulfill my one dream. If only I had another chance in life. If only I could change the way it is.

Voice: Is it so? If you had another chance, if you changed the way it is, would you be happy with the outcome?

Karim: Who is it, who speaks?

(A man appears behind Karim, places his hand on his shoulder, and speaks.)

Man: You don’t have to look back, just listen. What if I give you another chance? Will you be happy to change the past? Will you accept your fate and face the consequences that come with it? Remember, if you fail to make any changes to your life, you will end up just as you are, as things have been written for you. But remember this, even if it stays the same, the little changes you make might bring a different outcome.

Karim: (without thinking) Yes, I accept.

(The man closes Karim’s eyes with his hand, and Karim falls asleep.)

Karim: (wakes up hearing a child’s voice knocking at his door.)

Karim: (opens the door, sees Arisa, and notices she looks smaller than usual) Wait, why is she so small? Then he notices his father getting ready for work. His parents look much younger too. What happened here?

Karim: (runs to the dining room and looks at himself in the mirror, stunned)

Karim’s mother: Karim, get ready, or your father won’t be able to drop you off at school.

Karim: (looks at his phone and then at his watch. It’s 11:23 / 09-10-12)

Karim: Dad, you can go. I’ll go alone today.

Karim: (goes back to his room and realizes what has happened. A few days pass.)

Armin: Karim, please take care of Arisa. Your father forgot his laptop, so I’m going to his office to return it.

Armin leaves.

Karim: (Things are going well, he is studying hard, and everything seems fine until one fateful day when his father has an accident.)

Karim: Hello, who is it?

Unknown person: Is this Karim? Is your father’s name Mr. Basir and your mother’s name Mrs. Armin?

Karim: Yes, who are you? How do you know their names?

Unknown person: I’m a doctor from Omaha Hospital. Your parents have been admitted here. Can you come as soon as possible?

Karim: Hospital? What happened? Hello, sir, what happened to my parents?

(Arisa comes out and grabs Karim’s legs, asking what’s wrong.)

Doctor: It seems like your father had a heart attack while both of them were on the bike before crashing.

(The world stops for Karim. He almost loses his senses, until his sister shakes his legs.)

Doctor: Hello? Is anyone there?

Karim: Yes, yes. I’m coming.

Karim: (takes Arisa in his arms, runs out of the house, takes a taxi, and reaches the hospital.)

Karim: (rushes to a nurse, asks about the doctor who called him. The doctor confirms Karim’s identity and leads him to the room where his parents are.)

(Arisa jumps from Karim’s arms when she sees their parents lying on the hospital bed. She runs to her mother and tries to shake her, but the nurse stops her.)

Karim: (asks the doctor) How are they doing?

Doctor: Not good. Your mother has injured her head in the crash, and your father’s situation is worse. He suffered both a heart attack and severe damage. It’s a miracle he’s still alive. Pray to the Almighty, boy. We can’t do anything unless he regains consciousness.

Karim: (grabs the edge of the bed) Hey, you’re kidding, right? It’s not true, is it? Tell me it can’t be happening! I didn’t want this. Why? Everything was going right. Lord, please, please don’t do this.

(Karim starts crying. Arisa comes and hugs him.)

Voice: You said you could face any changes, any consequences.

Karim: (looks at the door and sees the doctor standing there, but the voice sounds familiar—the same voice from that day.)

Doctor: Why ask The Almighty to change something again? You said you could face anything. You will be happy if you were given a second chance, but here you are, not happy.

Karim: How can I be happy? Can’t you see my parents are dying? How can I be happy? I don’t want this. Please change things back. I’m ready to sacrifice everything for my parents’ lives.

Doctor: Now you want to sacrifice for your parents’ lives? I told you, if you try to change your fate, there will be heavy consequences. Did you understand that back then? Now you want to sacrifice, but why couldn’t you do that when your father told you to? Life isn’t easy. Sometimes making sacrifices for others is necessary to progress in life. Did you know how hard your father tried to fulfill your wish while also running the family? You didn’t. You just wanted to fulfill your wish, like a greedy person.

Karim: (stands still, no words come out of his mouth)

Doctor: I’m not saying don’t fulfill your dreams or don’t work hard to achieve them, but you have to understand the situation. Without sacrifices, there is no life.

Karim: I understand where my mistake was. I’m ready to be punished for it, but please save my parents. That’s my last request.

Doctor: Well, then…

(Everything goes blank.)

Karim: (wakes up and hears his mother knocking the door)

Armin: Karim, wake up. It’s morning already.

Karim: (jumps out of the chair, opens the door, and sees his mother standing there. His father is behind her.)

Karim: (tears come out, then hugs both of them) I’m sorry.