Every Friday night I try to read a little.

So yesterday night, I read a story on my favourite science fiction forum and it was something so deep that I just couldn't stop thinking about.

It's the story about the city of Omelas.

A city bathed in light.
Peaceful. Happy. Thriving.
People smile.

The streets hum with life. Music, laughter, celebration.

From the outside, it’s paradise.
A perfect world.

But underneath this beautiful city,
in a basement no one talks about,
there is a child.

The child is locked in a windowless room.
It lives in filth. Alone. Unseen.
It begs. It cries. It screams.

No one helps.

Because they’re told:
​“The joy of Omelas depends on this child remaining here. The life you love—the ease, the comfort—it all stays intact only if the child remains in darkness.”

​

And so… they accept it.
They move on. They go back to their lives.
Some feel guilty. Some forget.
But the city carries on, golden and gleaming.

Now—pause.

Because this isn’t just a story.
This is a mirror.

If you truly think about it:

The child in the basement?
It’s not you.
It’s your potential.

The part of you that wanted more.

The dreams you buried. The fire you smothered with doubt.
The version of you that imagined studying in Germany,
reaching higher, building something extraordinary.

You locked it away.

Because chasing your dream felt risky.
Because people told you to be “realistic.”
Because you told yourself:
​“Now isn’t the right time.”

And life… carried on.

You scroll. You laugh. You manage.
You tell yourself things are fine.

But deep down, you know something is locked away.
Something is being starved.

A part of you is still in that basement—
Unseen. Unused. Unlived.

And the longer you keep it there,
the easier it gets to forget it was ever there.

But some people?

They walk away from Omelas.

They walk away from a life that costs them their own potential.
They walk toward a future that feels uncertain—but true.

You can too.

You can walk toward the version of you who starts—who learns the language, moves abroad, builds a life that makes your younger self proud.

No, it’s not easy.
Yes, it’s scary.
But it’s yours. It’s real.​
And it’s waiting.

You’ve waited long enough.
It’s time.

Your first step is here.​

Because the only thing worse than locking away your potential—
…is pretending it was never there.

With you,
​Bharat