Time didn’t pause. It never does.174Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPJL5vro0Mt
And before I even realized, my birthday crept in again—quietly, without fanfare.
I didn’t feel special. Honestly, I never really did.174Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTVE8rLWuNw
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.174Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8a0IeINXfY
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.174Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwbd6FQjjGw
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.174Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡeV5q97mdQa
Yeah—Eren Yeager. My favorite character from Attack on Titan.174Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡD52MjgrTZF
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.174Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHW5Lw0WIdo
It always does.
Soon came the second round of internals. Then the externals. And finally, the semester-end exams.174Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyzVZPLB3sP
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.174Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡC08lM7byjF
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.174Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡli24RgRcW2
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.174Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTbvBACrowV
A saree.174Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡabMXw7bXZ5
But not just any saree—white.174Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6WL7O4Brlr
It wasn’t plain. It was pure.174Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡG5H0f2JUc3
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.174Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡeoXuyWiMMP
But I didn’t.174Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡF9KpzH6tX4
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.174Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrOls2AQ5lo
A final-year student from the CSE department in the first campus.174Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRvKa7yNVDl
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.174Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqNrKJ37dS6
I tried to be normal. I tried to be relaxed.174Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzHk2sADfkb
But inside? I felt like a misplaced puzzle piece—present, but not belonging.174Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6sfDd21D4e
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.174Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡugi84prkPI
Or should I say find them at the first place, to collect them.174Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5WIDCoQoJ2
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Afterwards, though, she told me she needed to return to her sister. Something had come up.174Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFIFtaV0MSj
I stayed behind to collect both of ours.174Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡltJc29sVse
I watched her walk away, back to that other circle she belonged to.174Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhpKsNlS5Ep
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And when I finally found them after some time searching.174Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡC1en0cKKEl
I almost called her. Almost asked where she was.174Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWBXhcKaYNN
But I didn’t.
A voice inside me whispered that I’d only make things awkward. That my presence now felt… extra.174Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCYin1kqzVC
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.174Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHplkP9ZEM1
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.174Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡh3qyE0yORk
So, I let her lead. We walked. Talked.174Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUI5KerbCDx
Her energy was different—confident, direct, occasionally teasing. Refreshing, in a way.174Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcdA54xeeen
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.174Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡO0I5XTuZSf
But this time, something had shifted.
Our buses, once parked side by side—our little ritual at the end of the day—174Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRwdbfYG4vW
They weren’t next to each other anymore.
She stood by hers. I stood by mine.174Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxQbAPhpzRL
A small distance. Nothing dramatic. But enough to feel like something had changed.174Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPyV4jXk5P5
And in that moment, I realized…174Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡf0dAxzgSjt
We were starting to drift.
