Time didn’t pause. It never does.10Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzY1sopudho
And before I even realized, my birthday crept in again—quietly, without fanfare.
I didn’t feel special. Honestly, I never really did.10Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡahqHdc8wM4
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.10Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2qH1W8Kg7u
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.10Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQBJ7cFsQRO
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.10Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8vt7cV6rMf
Yeah—Eren Yeager. My favorite character from Attack on Titan.10Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4Cnz8PvX3S
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.10Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgPlEEeNCkK
It always does.
Soon came the second round of internals. Then the externals. And finally, the semester-end exams.10Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYfqhymPhXN
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.10Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcFkXv0REPp
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.10Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡh7jcEOvMiE
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.10Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuFKCUw1FJs
A saree.10Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCGTMqoqjbz
But not just any saree—white.10Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcmZOFqBgNH
It wasn’t plain. It was pure.10Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡec5ojEmPkv
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.10Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6UsqsYwp8V
But I didn’t.10Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1fQehkDFi1
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.10Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCKezXbmY2V
A final-year student from the CSE department in the first campus.10Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9F2zls2EJg
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.10Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZsTMQnYI1J
I tried to be normal. I tried to be relaxed.10Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPUX3xzaeJA
But inside? I felt like a misplaced puzzle piece—present, but not belonging.10Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRMtFddCCgB
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.10Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzaeHGnL6OK
Or should I say find them at the first place, to collect them.10Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5c6cLptZHn
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Afterwards, though, she told me she needed to return to her sister. Something had come up.10Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTyj4tQzBuA
I stayed behind to collect both of ours.10Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ07AqplPsuB
I watched her walk away, back to that other circle she belonged to.10Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡncCWHPoJHk
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And when I finally found them after some time searching.10Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhn1fyv8MAv
I almost called her. Almost asked where she was.10Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHOKx4jiyoN
But I didn’t.
A voice inside me whispered that I’d only make things awkward. That my presence now felt… extra.10Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3xf92Tpfpd
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.10Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnxja5HfKZX
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.10Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWoTc6c2gRx
So, I let her lead. We walked. Talked.10Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbOdxFhjOSh
Her energy was different—confident, direct, occasionally teasing. Refreshing, in a way.10Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVSGRrtP0IF
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.10Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmdq0HY658l
But this time, something had shifted.
Our buses, once parked side by side—our little ritual at the end of the day—10Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡeMjrtI1eQ0
They weren’t next to each other anymore.
She stood by hers. I stood by mine.10Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhcB5Speuc5
A small distance. Nothing dramatic. But enough to feel like something had changed.10Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQy0OpGuLQl
And in that moment, I realized…10Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5UhWCbTAz7
We were starting to drift.
