Alankrita was seventeen years old.
A traditional Telugu Brahmin girl from a lower-middle-class family, she had spent her entire childhood inside the safe boundaries of expectations: study hard, protect the family's reputation, earn a scholarship, build a future.
She had just completed her twelfth standard examinations.
Her dream was journalism.
Her dream was Cambridge.
When she sat for the international scholarship examination that could change her life forever, she believed the hardest part of her journey was already behind her.
She was wrong.
Three nights after the examination, she woke with unbearable stomach pain.
By midnight, she was vomiting blood.
Her terrified parents rushed her to the hospital.
The doctors were confused.
The scans showed abnormalities.
The blood reports showed inconsistencies.
Days passed.
No diagnosis came.