Bishal was raised by a single mother. His mother, Chandramaya, never spoke about his father. Whatever little Bishal knew about his father was from the elderlies of his village. He knew from them that his father had abandoned his mother when he was only a year old. He also knew that his mother and father quarrelled a lot.

Bishal’s elderly neighbour Dhan Prasad had told him, “Your mother often called for the panchayat (the village council) to hear her plea. We did warn your father several times and instructed him to mend his ways, but he never did. He drank every day to the point that he couldn't stand on his two feet. Then one day, he just disappeared from the village. Your paternal grandmother went straight to the local police station and filed a case against your mother. Your grandmother alleged that your mother killed him. The police investigated the case but couldn't find anything. Your grandmother died when you were five, and the case was dismissed.”

However, Bishal never asked about his father’s absence to his mother.

Chandramaya never went to school, but she wanted her only son to study abroad and lead a successful life. When Bishal was preparing for his SEE exams, Chandramaya left for Dubai to work to earn enough money to send her only son abroad for higher studies.

After completing high school in his village, Bishal decided to go abroad for higher education. Chandramaya also liked the idea, and she promised to support him in every possible way. Bishal tried several times to get a student visa to the US in the following months but without success. He eventually dropped the idea of going to the US and returned to Myagdi.

Chandramaya consoled Bishal and told him not to worry, and informed him that there would be other alternatives for him to go abroad. A few weeks after arriving in Myagdi, Bishal got a call from his friend Shirish, who informed him about an opportunity to travel to Canada on a work visa. Bishal was interested in exploring that option, so Shirish gave him the contact details of Diwakar, who ran a manpower agency in Kathmandu.

Bishal called Diwakar and shared his desire to go to Canada. Diwakar advised Bishal to come to Kathmandu to get more information on the process. A week later, Bishal left for Kathmandu. When he arrived at the manpower agency's office in Putalisadak, Bishal was surprised by the office's elegance. Diwakar ushered Bishal into his cabin, and the two got talking. In the middle of their conversation, a boy and a girl walked into the cabin, and each of them handed Diwakar Rs 500,000. Diwakar counted the money and handed the two their passports, and showed the Canadian work visa stamped on each. When Diwakar left the cabin to hand the cash to his assistant, Bishal talked to the boy and learned how the agency had helped them get a work visa. This conversation assured Bishal that he had come to the right place to fulfil his dream of going abroad.

“Diwakar ji, I would like to travel to Canada as soon as possible. How can you help me?” asked Bishal.

“You have come at the right time. If you can deposit Rs 500,000 in the next three days, I can arrange a visa for you, and you will be able to travel to Canada within two months," said Diwakar.

"That's great. I can deposit the money. That's not a problem. What else do I need to do?" asked Bishal.

"If that's the case, you have to fill up a form and submit a few photos of yourself and the person you would like to nominate as your next of kin, which could either be your father, mother, or siblings," advised Diwakar.

Bishal left the cabin a happy man. He filled up the form, submitted the photos and his passport and got the bank details to deposit the money from Diwakar's assistant. Bishal was told that within three weeks of depositing the money, he would get a call from the agency and could come collect his passport.

As soon as he left the agency, Bishal informed his mother of the development. Chandramaya was elated with the news, and she sent Bishal Rs 500,000 the very next day. Bishal then deposited the amount in Diwakar’s account.

Three weeks after depositing the money, Bishal called Diwakar, but the call went unanswered. When Diwakar didn't return his calls and his text messages, Bishal started getting worried. He called the agency's phone number several times, and nobody answered the calls. Bishal started wondering if he had been duped. On the fourth week, he travelled to Kathmandu in the hopes of meeting Diwakar at his office. But when he reached the agency's office, he was surprised to find it had already moved out. An education consultancy now occupied the floor.

Feeling helpless, Bishal broke down and worried about how he would break the news to his mother. His mother had toiled day and night in a foreign land to come up with that money, and Bishal felt sick to his stomach.

For the next few days, he didn't tell his mother about what had transpired, and one day, he finally mustered the courage to tell his mother everything. Just when he was about to call his mother, he received a long text message from an unknown number. It was Diwakar.

The text message read: “Before it is too late, I felt it was necessary to send you this message. Please read this message till the very end; it is very important. First of all, don’t worry about your money. I have already deposited your Rs 500,000 into your bank account. You can check it. My manpower faced some problems and we had to relocate our office. I couldn't get in touch with you and update you about your process in the midst of it all. I'm extremely sorry about it, but please know that your visa has already been processed. I could have never known about you had you not pasted your mother’s photo in the form you filled in my office. I’m your unfortunate father who left you when you were merely a toddler. I wasn't a good husband to your mother, and now I don't want to be the man who duped his own son. I am so sorry. Please forgive me. I’m ready to mend my ways. I want to return back to my family. I want my son back, and I want my wife back. All this will be possible only if you talk to your mother. Will you, my dear son?”