When Pain Smiles: Part 1 (The News That Changed Everything)
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The News That Changed Everything
Selim didn't know that an ordinary day in his life would turn everything upside down. He thought the pain he was feeling was just passing fatigue… but the truth was completely different. A small paper in the doctor's hand… A sad look he couldn't hide… And one word changed everything. Cancer. From that moment, a journey he wasn't prepared for began. A journey full of fear, tears, and long nights in the hospital… but it is also full of hope. And in the midst of all that… there was Reem. The little light that tried to keep his heart alive… even when everything seemed dark.
The morning was slowly creeping into Selim's room, carrying with it a faint light leaking through the window curtains. The sun's threads stretched over the white wall, drawing quiet golden lines, as if trying to wake the room from its long stillness.
Selim opened his eyes slowly.
He felt a strange heaviness in his body, as if the night hadn't given him the rest he needed. He lay there for moments, staring at the ceiling, while his thoughts scattered haphazardly in his head.
He raised his hand to his forehead and pressed it slightly.
The headache was mild, but annoying, and had accompanied him for days.
He sat up on his bed heavily, then looked around his room.
The room was simple, yet it held the features of his entire life.
A small wooden desk topped with many books, some open and others stacked on top of each other. Beside them, an old notebook whose pages were filled with intertwined lines and scattered thoughts. On the opposite wall hung an old photo of him with his friends from a university day.
He looked a little closer at the photo.
He stood in it next to Reem, both smiling cheerfully, while their friends surrounded them with loud laughter.
A faint smile appeared on his lips, and he muttered in a low voice:
"How simple those days were..."
He got out of bed slowly, as if every step required extra effort.
He headed towards the bathroom, washing his face with cold water. When he raised his head to look in the mirror, he stopped for a moment.
His face looked paler than usual.
He kept staring at his reflection for a few seconds, then shook his head trying to banish the thought.
He said to himself:
"It's just exhaustion... nothing more."
He left his room heading to the living room.
His mother was standing in the kitchen, putting breakfast on the small table, while the smell of hot bread filled the place.
As soon as she saw him, she smiled and said warmly:
"Good morning, Selim."
He answered her with a calm smile:
"Good morning, mother."
He sat at the table, but before he reached for the food, he felt a slight dizziness spinning in his head.
He quickly grabbed the edge of the table, trying to steady himself.
His mother noticed that immediately.
She approached him anxiously and said:
"What's wrong, my son? Your face looks pale."
Selim sighed a little and said, trying to reassure her:
"It's nothing... just a little tiredness."
But the worry didn't disappear from her eyes.
She reached out and touched his forehead, then said with a firmness mixed with tenderness:
"You must go to the doctor."
He smiled to ease her worry and said:
"I will go today... don't worry."
He didn't realize that those simple words would be the beginning of a journey he had never imagined.
---
About an hour later, Selim was sitting in the hospital corridor.
The place was strangely quiet.
Long white walls, and cold lamps casting a steady light over the shiny floor.
The smell of sterilizers filled the air, while the sounds of footsteps echoed in the corridor from time to time.
Selim sat on a plastic chair, staring at the floor in front of him.
He wasn't entirely afraid, but he felt a vague sense of anxiety.
He took his phone out of his pocket.
He found a message from Reem.
"Did you go to the doctor?"
A slight smile drew on his lips.
He wrote her a quick reply:
"Yes... just a simple check-up."
He didn't want to worry her for no reason.
Minutes later, the doctor's door opened.
An elderly man came out, then the nurse called out clearly:
"Selim Hassan?"
Selim stood up and stepped towards the door.
He entered the room quietly.
The room was neatly arranged. A wide wooden desk, and on the wall behind it hung several medical X-ray images.
The doctor sat behind the desk, looking at some papers.
He looked up and said kindly:
"Come in, Selim, have a seat."
Selim sat before him, while the doctor started asking about the symptoms he was experiencing.
The fatigue...
The dizziness...
The mild pain in the chest...
And the occasional loss of appetite.
The doctor took notes carefully.
Then he said after a moment:
"We will need some tests."
Selim nodded in agreement.
It didn't seem serious to him at the time.
---
Long hours passed between tests and X-rays.
And finally, he returned to the doctor's room again.
He sat before him in silence.
But this time, the doctor was uncomfortably silent.
He was turning the papers slowly, his eyes moving between the results.
Selim felt the silence growing heavier.
So he asked hesitantly:
"Is there a problem, Doctor?"
The doctor slowly raised his eyes to him.
In his eyes was a serious look he couldn't hide.
He hesitated a little before speaking.
Then he said in a calm voice:
"Selim... the results show the presence of a tumor."
Everything stopped in that moment.
Selim didn't comprehend the word immediately.
He said in a faint voice:
"A tumor?"
The doctor sighed a little, then continued:
"Yes... and it is linked to **Cancer**."
Selim felt as if the ground had disappeared beneath him.
His eyes widened slightly, while thoughts collided in his head.
He could no longer hear the sounds of the room well.
He said with difficulty:
"Are... are you sure?"
The doctor replied calmly:
"We will need further tests, but the indicators are clear."
Selim remained silent.
One word was echoing in his mind repeatedly:
Cancer.
How did this happen?
When did it start?
And why?
He raised his head slowly and said in a weak voice:
"Will... will I die?"
The doctor looked at him directly and said in a reassuring tone:
"Not necessarily. There are many treatments today... and there is hope."
But the doctor's words seemed distant, as if coming from somewhere else.
Selim stood up slowly.
He left the room.
The same corridor...
The same walls...
But the whole world seemed different.
He walked slowly, as if walking inside a heavy dream.
And when he stepped out the hospital doors, the sun was still shining, and people were going about their lives as usual.
But for Selim...
His life had split into two parts:
Life before this day...
And life after it.
At that moment, as he stood silently outside, his phone rang in his pocket.
He took it out slowly.
Reem's name was lighting up the screen.
Selim remained standing in front of the hospital doors, the phone vibrating lightly in his hand.
**Reem's** name was lighting up the screen, as if demanding him to answer.
But his hand hung in the air for a long moment, hesitating, as if between him and pressing the answer button lay a vast distance of fear.
The phone rang again.
Selim closed his eyes for seconds, then finally pressed the answer button.
Reem's voice came from the other end, warm as usual:
"Selim? Why did you take so long to answer?"
He tried to make his voice sound normal, but it came out slightly tired:
"I was... busy with the tests."
She went silent for a moment, then said with obvious concern:
"Are you okay? I feel like your voice is different."
Selim looked at the road in front of him.
Cars were passing, people were crossing the street, and life was moving as if nothing had happened.
But inside him... it was as still as a long night.
He said with feigned calmness:
"I'm fine... don't worry."
But Reem wasn't convinced.
She said with gentle firmness:
"Selim, I know you very well. Tell me what happened."
He hesitated.
He didn't know how to explain...
Nor where to begin.
He said after a short silence:
"The doctor said I need some more tests."
It wasn't a complete lie... but it wasn't the truth either.
Reem sighed a little, then said:
"Then I'll see you today. We'll talk."
He wanted to refuse, to escape this meeting...
But he couldn't.
He said in a faint voice:
"Alright."
He ended the call, and stood still in his place.
He looked up at the sky.
It was clear blue, cloudless.
He thought for a moment how quiet the world seemed...
While his heart was raging with endless questions.
---
In the evening...
The café was quiet.
Selim sat at the table near the window, staring out at the street.
The lights reflected on the glass, while people passed by outside, laughing and talking, unaware that someone sitting here felt his entire life had changed.
Reem entered the café minutes later.
Her eyes immediately fell on him.
She noticed the paleness of his face before she even approached.
She sat directly across from him, then said worriedly:
"Selim... what happened?"
He didn't answer right away.
He was looking at the table, as if trying to gather his scattered words.
Reem reached across the table, touching his hand gently.
"Look at me."
He raised his eyes slowly.
Her eyes were full of worry.
She said in a quiet voice:
"Tell me the truth."
He took a deep breath.
Then he finally said:
"The doctor... found a tumor."
Reem's eyes widened slightly.
But she didn't speak.
Selim continued with a heavier voice:
"He said it's linked to a disease..."
He paused for a moment.
Then uttered the word that had been weighing on his chest since the morning:
"Cancer."
Silence fell between them.
Reem didn't hear anything after that word.
She felt as if the world had suddenly become very distant.
She said moments later, in a voice that was barely a whisper:
"Are... are you sure?"
Selim nodded slowly.
Tears glistened in her eyes, but she tried to compose herself.
She said quickly, as if resisting the thought:
"But medicine has advanced a lot now... and there are treatments... right?"
Selim smiled a faint, sad smile.
"The doctor said the same thing."
Reem held his hand tighter.
And said firmly:
"Then we will face this."
He looked at her, slightly surprised.
She continued, looking directly into his eyes:
"You won't go through this alone."
Selim felt something warm move in his chest.
Maybe it was hope...
Or maybe just the comfort of someone sharing this fear.
Yet, one question kept haunting him.
He asked in a low voice:
"And if I don't get cured?"
Reem shook her head immediately.
"Don't think about that."
Then she smiled a small smile, despite the tears in her eyes.
And said:
"You are stubborn, Selim... and the disease doesn't know who it messed with."
Selim chuckled softly for the first time in hours.
But inside his heart...
The battle had already begun.
And he didn't yet know how long it would be.
---
And that night...
When Selim returned to his room, he sat on his bed in the dark.
He looked at the old photo hanging on the wall.
The photo taken two years ago...
When life seemed simple and clear.
He whispered to himself in a low voice:
"Will I stay here... to take more photos?"
No one answered.
But somewhere inside his heart...
There was a small voice saying:
**The battle hasn't started yet.**
### This is the story of a real person, and of course I have his permission to use his name, but I will change a few things. Thank you for reading.
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