The Pledge

Aman ravenously devoured the energy bars brought to him by the nurse and washed it down with the glucose solution they had provided.

Only stopping when his stomach felt bloated, he leant back against the headboard of the bed after propping his pillows against it.

Closing his eyes, he rested while keeping his mind blank. After all the abuse, his poor brain needed some rest.

After fifteen minutes, he felt a lot better and the dizziness had subsided.

The curtains around his bed were drawn back and the doctor in charge of him arrived with a nurse with a clipboard following on his heels.

"How are you feeling now?"

"I'm fine, just a bit exhausted."

"Hmm. It was lucky that we didn't install this sensor in your sister. Judging from the upshot in your brainwave intensity and brain activity, this sensor has a radical amplifier. Even you with four years of experience with sensors to let your soul acclimatize were reduced to this condition. It wouldn't have gone well for her. Not in her condition."

Aman didn't bother to correct him that it wasn't exactly the fault of the amplifier and that it was much more 'radical' than the man could ever imagine.

"How is she now?"

The doctor smiled reassuringly, "She is fine. The operation was a total success and the integration with the soul sensor was extremely smooth. In fact, she woke up not a few minutes ago. Your mother is currently with her. If you want, you can visit her but I would like it if you stayed overnight, the both of you, so I can monitor you. I will discharge you tomorrow if everything is fine."

Then his tone grew solemn.

"But, I should remind you of something. For the initial period of soul sensor integration, the mood of the user is extremely influential to the state of their body. Later, after a couple of months, the body adapts to the soul sensor and the interaction with it becomes subconscious. That is the time that the body's instincts play a greater role than things like the mood and the state of mind."

He paused and looked me in the eye.

"In short, the next two months are a watershed period. Just like the introduction of the soul sensor can help heal her faster, if she has a negative state of mind, it can aggravate her situation. So, keep her happy and positive in this period as far as possible."

Aman nodded seriously. "Thank you doctor, I will."

As he passed by the man to visit, Preeti, he patted his shoulder. "Boy, you have a good heart."

…

Pausing before Preeti's ward, Aman hesitated for a moment as he thought of how he had taken her chance from her. Then he quashed that thought. What had happened had happened. It wouldn't change and he had seriously given her enough already.

When he entered, Preeti was sitting on her bed, propped up by several pillows and his mother was sitting on a chair by the bedside, holding her hand and smiling through her tears.

Seeing him come in, Preeti's expression changed to one of helplessness before she softly addresses their mother. "Ma, can I talk to brother alone?"

She nodded and left the two of them in the ward while wiping her eyes and sniffling.

The two siblings remained silent as they looked at each other.

"Brother, did you sell your genes again?"

"Yeah."

"The soul sensor?"

"Mine."

She nodded as if deciding something. She looked him straight in the eye.

"The doctors said I needed a conservative estimate of two years to convalesce fully. Give me one – no one and a half – and I'll pay you back in full. I won't let you suffer for me any more than necessary."

Looking at the determined expression on that young and immature face, Aman felt a warmth from the core of his being.

In that moment, he pledged: he would make her the happiest girl in the world.