The Light That Remains

"The Light That Remains" is a poignant spiritual novella that follows Chunmun Singh, a quiet, logical solution architect in Kolkata whose life has quietly collapsed after his wife Sita abandons him for a wealthier man. In 2020, ravaged by COVID and neglected by his resentful brother's family, Chunmun suffers a fatal heart attack and clinically dies. His consciousness is hurled into an absolute Void—neither darkness nor light, simply the total negation of existence—where his guru is unavailable, Lord Krishna's emissary rebukes his shallow devotion, and even Lord Shiva's messenger offers only the cold truth of the Nasadiya Sukta. In utter terror, Chunmun desperately calls to Jesus Christ, the only figure left, and is met with overwhelming compassion. Jesus grants him one boon; still gripped by bitterness and a craving for control, Chunmun asks that anyone who comes near him should fall asleep—an ironic, tragically literal gift meant to silence his enemies forever. Revived at the last possible moment by the fierce, unconditional love of his deceased mother Mala (the true "light that remains"), Chunmun gasps back to life just as Sita and his sister-in-law Mita are already calculating their inheritance. Shocked and furious, he swiftly executes a new will that leaves everything to his guru's mission and charitable causes, permanently cutting off the vultures. The divine boon proves both curse and shield: anyone who stays in his presence quickly succumbs to irresistible drowsiness, forcing Chunmun into a life of profound solitude. Yet in that enforced stillness he discovers an unexpected peace—no longer craving power, revenge, or even normal human company, he works remotely, meticulously documents his extraordinary near-death journey, and becomes a quiet online legend known as the "Sleepy NDE Guy." Ultimately the story is a tender, ironic meditation on surrender.