Chapter -10 The Day Everything Turned Upside Down

When silence was mistaken for guilt…

The unupdated case issue, which began as a small departmental mistake, suddenly turned into chaos. What started as a few missing records became a storm that none of them saw coming.

That evening, the professors and interns all sat together, trying to complete the pending files. It was late — exhaustion, tension, and guilt hung in the air. Even though everyone took responsibility and stayed back to finish the work, the damage was already done.

The next day, when Janani took a rare leave to visit home, something unexpected happened.

Someone had reported the incident of arguments and alleged harassment that occurred in the department to the university head. The mail went anonymously — but soon, rumors started to spread.

By evening, Janani received a call from one of her relatives, who also happened to be a professor at the same institution. His voice was heavy with concern.

> “Janani… why did you send that email? The Head of the College is saying it was you.”

For a moment, the world stopped. Janani couldn’t breathe.

She hadn’t written any email. She didn’t even know one was sent. The day it all happened, she wasn’t even there. Yet now, her name was being whispered in blame.

Her hands trembled. Tears she had been holding back for weeks finally broke free.

> “Why me?” she whispered to herself. “If I had done something wrong, I would’ve faced it… but why am I accused for something I didn’t even know about?

That night, Janani sat alone in her room — confusion, fear, and betrayal swirling within her. The campus that once felt like her second home now felt suffocating.

She realized something deep — in places where silence speaks less and assumptions speak louder, truth often gets buried beneath convenience.

From a psychological perspective, this was the moment Janani experienced moral injury — a kind of emotional wound that happens when a person is wrongly accused or sees their integrity questioned. For a sincere student like her, being misunderstood was more painful than any punishment.

Yet, deep inside, she held a quiet strength — a belief that truth may bend under pressure, but it never breaks. 🌙