THE DAY THE SILENCE BEGAN - Ansari Sana Zahir - Adults

To those who believe that even when the world stops, the human spirit keeps moving forward.

Maya Carter’s fingers danced across her phone screen, thumbs tapping a silent rhythm as the world blurred around her. Horns honked. Engines roared. Advertisements flashed from towering screens. But Maya barely noticed. Her Air Pods shut out the noise, her mind swimming through endless updates: texts, memes, likes, new flashes.

It was just another normal day. The kind of day where technology ruled everything – and everyone.

Until it didn’t.

Without warning her music cut off mid – song. Her phone screen froze, stubbornly blank despite her frantic tapping. She glanced around. The giant billboard above the avenue flickered and went dark. Traffic lights blinked off. Car horns blared as confusion erupted.

One whispered question seemed to drift across the entire city at once:

‘What’s happening’?

In seconds, the delicate balance of modern life crumbed.

Elevators froze between floors. Planes circled overhead like confused birds until they didn’t ATM machines, security system, smartwatches, televisions, every screen and device dead.

Maya tried restarting her phone, but it stayed black, lifeless. Around her, chaos ignited. A man screamed at a stunned traffic cop. People shouted into silent phones, desperate for answers.

The internet didn’t slow down it vanished. The world hadn’t just paused. It had stopped.

Maya wandered through the streets as panic blossomed. Grocery stores were swarmed. Gas stations jammed with useless cars. Desperate faces peered from windows.

She realized how deeply they had all depended on technology for food, safety, even identity.

By evening, the city was eerily still. No buzz of traffic. No hum of electronics. Only the distant sounds of shouting, dogs barking, and sirens fading into nothing.

And inside her chest, a growing, gnawing emptiness.

Maya made it back to her apartment building, but the elevators were dead. Climbing the stairs by flashlight, she found her home cold and disconnected.

No phone. No news. No friends.

Just silence.

Two days later, after scavenging for supplies and watching fights break out on the streets, Maya knew she couldn’t survive alone.

She packed a backpack water bottles, canned food, a sweater and ventured out, hoping to find others. Hope was a fragile thing, but it kept her moving.

Mr. Elijah Gray was in his 60s, weathered but sharp – eyed. A retired electrician, he still trusted old tools and muscle more than screens wires.

When Maya stumbled onto his porch, shivering and exhausted, Elijah simply said: ‘you’re just in time. We’ve got work to do.’

Under Elijah’s steady hand, Maya began to learn.

How to start fires without matches. How to filter water. How to grow vegetables without apps to remind you when to plant.

He showed her how to read real maps, how to fix old mechanical tools, how to stay calm when everything around you screamed to panic.

The silence no longer crushed her. It became a space to think.

Every Morning they worked. Every night they talked by candlelight, sharing stories about the world that had ended and dreaming about what could come next.

Maya missed her old life. She missed her music, her friends, the easy tap of a screen to solve her problems. But she was starting to understand: there was power in knowing how to survive.

After a week, Maya and Elijah’s small routines turned into bigger ambitious. They built a water catchment system from old gutters. Fixed the generator Elijah had kept buried in his garage. Planted seeds in the front yard.

And slowly, others found them.

First a women named Nora, then two brothers who brought a battered wheelbarrowed full of supplies. A father and daughter, scared but willing to work.

Maya taught them what she had learned. Elijah supervised the building of gardens, the repairing of tools, the teaching of skills lost to a world addicted to convenience.

It wasn’t perfect. Tempers flared. Mistakes were made. But they kept trying.

Because survival wasn’t enough. They wanted to live.

One evening, as the sun dipped low, Maya sat alone on the porch.

The silence wasn’t scary anymore. It was honest.

Still, fear gnawed at the edges of her mind. What if the world never came back? what if they never rebuilt the cities, the flights, the glowing screens? What if they never rebuilt the cities, the flights, the glowing screens? what if this was all there would ever be?

Elijah sat beside her without a word. He seemed to know the questions in her heart.

‘You can’t fear the silence,’ he said finally. ‘It’s the first sound of something new being born.’

Maya closed her eyes and listened. For the first time, she wasn’t afraid.

Weeks later, the community they built was thriving.

The gardens flourished. Rainwater tanks filled. Homemade radios buzzed faintly with voices from other survivor’s miles away.

Maya became a leader young, uncertain at times, but brave.

She and Elijah organized work groups, traded goods with neighbouring survivors, and taught newcomers how to live with their hands, their minds, and their hearts instead of devices.

The old world was gone.

But something better something better something real was growing in its place.

Maya didn’t miss the endless scrolling the empty distractions.

She had found purpose.

She had found connection.

She had found hope.

The day the silence began had seemed like the end of everything.

It wasn’t.

It was the beginning.

Standing at the top of Chestnut Hill, looking out over a world reborn, Maya carter understood something that once would have seemed impossible:

Technology had made them comfortable, but it was never what made them human.

What made them human was this the ability to adapt, to rebuild, to believe.

And so, the silence wasn’t the death of their world.

It was its first, fragile heartbeat.

And this time, they were ready to listen.

About the Author :

Meet Sana Zahir Ansari

Sana Zahir Ansari is a final-year student at Mulund College of Commerce with a deep passion for self-expression through art, poetry, and thoughtful writing. Whether she's sketching, designing, or scribbling down a quote that resonates, Sana finds joy in moments of quiet creativity. Her ability to balance academic excellence with personal responsibilities reflects her dedication and quiet strength.

Recognized for her punctuality and collaborative spirit in group projects, Sana aspires to grow into a meaningful career—one that challenges her to learn and allows her to contribute with purpose. She draws inspiration from emotionally strong, self-aware individuals who lead with kindness, valuing depth over fame.

A fan of light-hearted films like Wake Up Sid and Yeh Jawaani Hai Deewani, Sana enjoys stories that reflect real life with a comforting charm. She shares her story to remind others that sometimes, calm creativity and inner strength are the biggest achievements of all.

About the Story

This story was submitted by the author as an entry for the BhashaLab Ultimate Story Writing Competition, 2025. We appreciate their creativity, thoughtful expression, and the courage to share their voice with a wider audience. Thank you!

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