Time didn’t pause. It never does.153Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkfkNxUhdXu
And before I even realized, my birthday crept in again—quietly, without fanfare.
I didn’t feel special. Honestly, I never really did.153Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNR1aGJ5Zvy
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.153Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8I1G4KSm0T
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.153Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZ6Y0E6No5M
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.153Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnXUNK0yG1j
Yeah—Eren Yeager. My favorite character from Attack on Titan.153Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfEpfPbD67F
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.153Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7dfsumnEzd
It always does.
Soon came the second round of internals. Then the externals. And finally, the semester-end exams.153Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1K5aqNiLgc
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.153Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyiUNKwbT9o
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.153Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡt6gzIhV10q
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.153Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡaS4mCYaANT
A saree.153Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnVZzDWqNJi
But not just any saree—white.153Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGeFmfhXFkK
It wasn’t plain. It was pure.153Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFxdbjDFTFO
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.153Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZLhVcUfX5M
But I didn’t.153Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXFby8NZg2z
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.153Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7Llb2seOi2
A final-year student from the CSE department in the first campus.153Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡd6GBK8wreF
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.153Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5EkDIpLNdm
I tried to be normal. I tried to be relaxed.153Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEKKTlruUmy
But inside? I felt like a misplaced puzzle piece—present, but not belonging.153Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMOPDD3c70L
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.153Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZHP23aPkOP
Or should I say find them at the first place, to collect them.153Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡaAPSgFuy8v
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Afterwards, though, she told me she needed to return to her sister. Something had come up.153Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzHhVaVq9u3
I stayed behind to collect both of ours.153Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRnYuIxqr5F
I watched her walk away, back to that other circle she belonged to.153Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMMIxb3zGii
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And when I finally found them after some time searching.153Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSZgVvhzWal
I almost called her. Almost asked where she was.153Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡf7hHvbHzxt
But I didn’t.
A voice inside me whispered that I’d only make things awkward. That my presence now felt… extra.153Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVjjPh296gc
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.153Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3bqWDE7b2A
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.153Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0cNvEjzU2V
So, I let her lead. We walked. Talked.153Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡc9cwNwMjYl
Her energy was different—confident, direct, occasionally teasing. Refreshing, in a way.153Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMcdNEvSj6c
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.153Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgD55gpDO0Q
But this time, something had shifted.
Our buses, once parked side by side—our little ritual at the end of the day—153Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8a9bCDlUKg
They weren’t next to each other anymore.
She stood by hers. I stood by mine.153Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡoS2rrKRvQW
A small distance. Nothing dramatic. But enough to feel like something had changed.153Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxvdqkCJOpY
And in that moment, I realized…153Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9zvSXRPhCG
We were starting to drift.
