Copy & Paste Power in Modern World

Adam stood beside his father in the present.

Dinesh’s face looked calmer now.

That alone made Adam’s chest feel lighter.

For many days, his father’s worry had been moving through the city without Adam being able to touch it. Now Dinesh was in front of him. Alive. Safe. Holding him like he had not wanted to let go.

Adam looked at John.

Then he looked at Monica.

For a moment, the campus around him became quieter in his mind.

Monica’s face brought back too many memories.

When Adam had first returned to the past, he had blamed her too. In his mind, she had stood too close to the beginning of his ruin. She had been near John. She had been part of the life that had broken him.

Later, after the anger became less blind, he had begun to understand something else.

Monica had also been trapped.

Not in the same way as him. Still trapped.

John had used people. Adam had been one of them. Monica had been another.

That thought always left a strange feeling in him. He did not feel that way for everyone. He did not want to save every person who had suffered around John. With Monica, something inside him kept saying that she should not stay in John’s hand forever.

Adam did not know what to call that feeling yet.

He only knew it existed.

He smiled at John and Monica.

"I need to speak with my father alone for a while," Adam said.

Then he gently held Dinesh’s hand and led him away.

John watched them leave.

Monica also stood there, confused.

She looked at John.

"Wasn’t Adam suspended?" she asked.

John’s eyes were still on Adam’s back.

"I do not know," he said.

Then he turned to Monica and smiled.

"Come. We have class."

The two of them walked away.

Adam took his father outside the campus and into a small restaurant nearby.

It was not crowded.

He ordered food and made Dinesh sit across from him.

For a few minutes, Adam only asked about home.

"How is Mother?" he asked.

"Worried," Dinesh said. "What else would she be? Your phone was not connecting. I had to come."

Adam lowered his eyes.

"I know."

"She kept asking me to call again," Dinesh said. "Every morning, every evening. When the call did not connect, she would sit quietly for some time and then ask me again."

Adam’s fingers tightened around the glass of water.

"I will talk to her today," he said. "I promise."

Dinesh looked at him for a moment.

"You should have called from someone else’s phone."

"I should have," Adam said.

That answer was the easiest one.

It was also the only one he could give without opening every wound in front of his father.

Dinesh kept looking at him.

Even while eating, his eyes did not leave Adam for long.

Finally, he asked, "Are you all right?"

Adam gave a small smile.

"I am fine, Father."

"Then what is happening?" Dinesh asked. "You look tired."

Adam had already prepared the answer.

"I started working," he said. "Along with college. I wanted to earn some extra money."

Dinesh frowned at once.

"Why? Your work is to study. Do not run after money at this age."

"It is not like that," Adam said.

"Then what is it like?" Dinesh asked.

Adam smiled a little.

"I am still studying. I am not leaving college. I only found some work on the side."

"What work?"

"Small work for a company," Adam said. "Nothing bad. I am learning too."

Dinesh was not fully convinced.

Adam could see that.

His father was not a city man. He was not foolish either. He could tell when his son was hiding something. He simply did not know where to push.

He reached down and picked up a small bag.

Then he placed it near his father’s side of the table.

Dinesh looked at the bag.

"What is this?"

He reached for the zipper. Adam quickly placed his hand over his father’s hand.

"Open it at home," Adam said.

Dinesh looked at him.

"Why?"

"Please, Father. It is money I earned. I want to give it to you and Mother."

Dinesh immediately shook his head.

"No. Keep it. You are in the city. You need money more than us."

Adam held the bag in place.

"Please," he said again.

His voice changed a little.

Dinesh noticed it.

Adam looked down at the table.

In his mind, another life opened for a second. A life where he had not been able to meet them at the end. Even now, with his father sitting in front of him, the memory still hurt.

His throat tightened.

Dinesh slowly placed his hand on Adam’s shoulder.

"I know you are working hard," he said. "Do not work so hard that you break yourself. Do what is in your heart. Your mother and I are with you."

Adam’s eyes burned.

He forced himself to breathe.

Dinesh did not ask more.

Maybe he could see that there were things Adam was not saying. Maybe he simply decided that his son would speak when he was ready.

He pulled the bag closer to himself.

"I will not open it here," Dinesh said. 𝒇𝙧𝙚𝓮𝔀𝓮𝒃𝙣𝓸𝒗𝒆𝒍.𝙘𝒐𝒎

Adam nodded.

"Open it at home."

"And if it is too much?"

"It is not too much," Adam said quickly.

Dinesh looked at him.

Adam softened his voice.

"Please, Father. Let me do this much."

Dinesh stayed quiet for a few seconds.

Then he gave a small nod.

After a while, Dinesh picked up the bag.

There was a small smile on his face now.

"Your mother is alone in the village," he said. "I should go back."

Adam nodded.

He booked a car to take his father safely to the village.

While waiting outside the restaurant, Dinesh kept the bag close to his feet. He looked at it once, then looked at Adam again.

"You will come home soon?" he asked.

"Yes," Adam said. "I will come."

"Do not only say it."

"I will come," Adam repeated.

Before Dinesh left, Adam gave him a small card.

"This is my number," Adam said. "Call me whenever you want. And make Mother talk to me too."

Dinesh took the card carefully.

"I will call when I reach," he said.

"Call before that too if you need anything."

Then he left with the bag.

Adam stood there and watched the car go.

Only after it disappeared from the road did he speak in his mind.

’I only gave Father one million dollars. If I gave more, he would start asking questions. One million will be enough for now.’