Time didn’t pause. It never does.443Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAABZm1IFw5
And before I even realized, my birthday crept in again—quietly, without fanfare.
I didn’t feel special. Honestly, I never really did.443Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIfZ8YnqiPZ
Some people remembered and sent their wishes—those who genuinely cared, and some who remembered just for the day. I used to try and figure out who meant it and who didn’t. Now? I just let it all pass. I didn’t reply to many. Didn’t check my phone often.443Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡeomZYrPSZz
Because birthdays, to me, were always the most dangerous kind of mirrors—ones that reflected everything I was, everything I wasn’t, and everything I feared I’d become.
I didn’t go to college that day. Just couldn’t bring myself to.443Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmAOHXk8Kox
Instead, I stayed home—quiet, thinking, breathing. I did speak to Seren that day, though. It was a short conversation. Nice, calm, normal. But it didn’t really lift the strange heaviness I felt.
That was also the day Eren died.443Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpLC0RMKkXT
Yeah—Eren Yeager. My favorite character from Attack on Titan.443Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4S7H5A0YeQ
Poetic, right? My own day of birth marked by the death of a fictional character I somehow understood more than most real people.
The world moved forward anyway.443Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRVMBaz2yis
It always does.
Soon came the second round of internals. Then the externals. And finally, the semester-end exams.443Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3x1sBOHU95
I never panicked. I never really cared for exams—not in the way others did. For most, it was a battle. For some, a gamble. Some survived with pure memory. Some with borrowed luck.443Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEJt8DeqLyX
Me? I coasted through with instinct. Gut feeling. Pattern recognition. My brain had a habit of remembering just enough. Not more. Not less.
December moved like a blur. Wake up. Classes. Occasional learning. Rare focus. Occasional sleep. Repeat.
And somewhere in the middle of all this, came the festival celebration.443Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdPZskrt3FM
Our college was buzzing. Cultural vibes in the air. Colors, music, that strange collective energy people only summon during festivals.
I showed up in traditional dress. Not my comfort zone, but I was oddly okay with it that day.
That morning, I wrote my exam and then ran into Seren. She too was in traditional attire.443Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEqDmSTYfHF
A saree.443Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4un8p9NNUw
But not just any saree—white.443Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtk0u1qy63x
It wasn’t plain. It was pure.443Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuqO3EA5HuN
There was something about her that day… soft-spoken grace and a kind of presence that made me hesitate. I wanted to compliment her. I really did.443Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7Pdk0mzjN0
But I didn’t.443Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡH5ZuDcpka8
Words stayed stuck behind my tongue.
She was walking with me and along with her friend to THub so we could collect our records. I followed a few steps behind.
On our way, we met up with—Helen, her sister.443Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDA7AW4T3ei
A final-year student from the CSE department in the first campus.443Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcR9tXj8JW1
She stood confidently among her group of friends—people who radiated assurance and seniority. And amidst them, Seren fit in effortlessly.
Helen introduced me with a smile. Her friends offered polite nods.443Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡglviMilGiU
I tried to be normal. I tried to be relaxed.443Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡv0OK5K80ym
But inside? I felt like a misplaced puzzle piece—present, but not belonging.443Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYmpQ3vqlmI
So, I stayed quiet. Offered a few half-smiles. Watched Seren interact with her sister, and something about that interaction made me realize how little I really knew about her world beyond our small shared corner.
Eventually, Seren and I made our way inside T-Hub to collect the records.443Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡiT8h3IATCt
Or should I say find them at the first place, to collect them.443Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ73AfIrALDz
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Afterwards, though, she told me she needed to return to her sister. Something had come up.443Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhtXJciHtNM
I stayed behind to collect both of ours.443Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBuXvHI8Z6e
I watched her walk away, back to that other circle she belonged to.443Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpdqypqrcOF
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And when I finally found them after some time searching.443Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTXeX10L4HP
I almost called her. Almost asked where she was.443Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZGMggbYzRC
But I didn’t.
A voice inside me whispered that I’d only make things awkward. That my presence now felt… extra.443Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7zAgwoMhC6
So, I collected her record, submitted mine, left hers in the right place, and turned to go.
That’s when I ran into Leona.
Leona wasn’t the kind to hesitate.443Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUo6lj22gog
She asked me directly, “Wanna hang out for a while?”
And I figured—why not? It was better than sitting on the bus in silence till evening.443Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfEmidda91j
So, I let her lead. We walked. Talked.443Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡideGpRFeZl
Her energy was different—confident, direct, occasionally teasing. Refreshing, in a way.443Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡugqwCEafbB
Then Ren showed up, and the three of us ended up wandering around campus—passing the time, talking about things that didn’t really matter but still filled the silence.
Evening crept in. The sun painted long shadows across the ground.
Eventually, I found myself near the bus bays again. And there she was—Seren.443Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfph1a5FbRS
But this time, something had shifted.
Our buses, once parked side by side—our little ritual at the end of the day—443Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkKt6hnKN8S
They weren’t next to each other anymore.
She stood by hers. I stood by mine.443Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfVS5BHBxXh
A small distance. Nothing dramatic. But enough to feel like something had changed.443Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbuQVNJg0na
And in that moment, I realized…443Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡaq7l8zdfHU
We were starting to drift.
and then Add to home screen.