Time didn’t pause. It never does.145Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvy0sMTYzjq
And before I even realized, my birthday crept in again—quietly, without fanfare.
I didn’t feel special. Honestly, I never really did.145Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZQuf62CkYZ
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.145Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrYJz4CNwpd
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.145Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgQYDjjPIRS
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.145Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcrCOJoE3GQ
Yeah—Eren Yeager. My favorite character from Attack on Titan.145Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0PaXp6Q7Dn
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.145Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRGoa8oqQJ4
It always does.
Soon came the second round of internals. Then the externals. And finally, the semester-end exams.145Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8A3HllDx2s
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.145Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBPREMoFA4h
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.145Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡffAksneARh
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.145Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZNbCCxJaiD
A saree.145Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCC5QqmhFyw
But not just any saree—white.145Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9kOktinJXi
It wasn’t plain. It was pure.145Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ36ZD5E0z2Q
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.145Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡaIuL6kDrYO
But I didn’t.145Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlBB5JzoS9h
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.145Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2d1EOukS3I
A final-year student from the CSE department in the first campus.145Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgmFFksSVJ1
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.145Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTsCNeKWOgO
I tried to be normal. I tried to be relaxed.145Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzb8dhoXak8
But inside? I felt like a misplaced puzzle piece—present, but not belonging.145Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSK3tkSedFW
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.145Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5JQ13n2t16
Or should I say find them at the first place, to collect them.145Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0ZYe9gDdeS
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Afterwards, though, she told me she needed to return to her sister. Something had come up.145Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJE0H9qkhPI
I stayed behind to collect both of ours.145Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFnzi80UsVr
I watched her walk away, back to that other circle she belonged to.145Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSApNqlbQYx
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And when I finally found them after some time searching.145Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzzqXfUdJTv
I almost called her. Almost asked where she was.145Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡty8FMzmsQF
But I didn’t.
A voice inside me whispered that I’d only make things awkward. That my presence now felt… extra.145Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjrEL2p3GrL
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.145Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1N6KnlWu3c
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.145Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTf5dmHXXSI
So, I let her lead. We walked. Talked.145Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkvwfPGtIrl
Her energy was different—confident, direct, occasionally teasing. Refreshing, in a way.145Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMYpGfe72BH
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.145Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡowsCTENPLj
But this time, something had shifted.
Our buses, once parked side by side—our little ritual at the end of the day—145Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡeBoh5EWksf
They weren’t next to each other anymore.
She stood by hers. I stood by mine.145Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAob8Fhmt6z
A small distance. Nothing dramatic. But enough to feel like something had changed.145Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjc4noY4tVq
And in that moment, I realized…145Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡv55UeS23WR
We were starting to drift.
