x
So, I made a humble little plan.
“No backlogs. No regrets. And maybe… just maybe… one conversation with Seren.”44Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXgQhECjnpy
Lofty goals, right? Hahaha.
Step 1: Actually listen in class.
(Spoiler: Failed within the first 20 minutes. Blame the fan sound and my daily existential crisis.)
Step 2: Join TechnicalHub sessions regularly.
Outcome: Mixed results. Most days I showed up, not for marks or future tech jobs, but because hope is a powerful drug.
Step 3: Learn on my own.
Because I know one thing — if I really want to… then I can too.
Step 4: Use anything thrown my way just to talk to her.
Selfish? Maybe. But when did feelings ever care about logic?
Amid all this planning, labs began.
Labs are weird. It's like cooking. Too much waiting, everyone pretending they know what they’re doing, and one wrong move… poof — chaos.
And so, I set another goal:44Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsSkDdHmVLf
Learn C. Not because I had to…44Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7sr3hfEFuo
But because I wanted to.
To be better.44Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJmAttSXrfb
To maybe help her with something someday.44Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡM4MMPHKo1B
To maybe find a reason to talk.
Then came the WhatsApp group.
A few of us made it to ask doubts, share PDFs, or post occasional memes.44Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLYZ1eakIXq
And I? I became The Shadow.
I started replying to doubts. Not because I wanted attention. Not to be the smartest kid in the room. But because…44Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnPmnOut96F
If I just stayed quiet, binge-watched anime, and slept all day…44Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcpFQVrMpQA
She wasn’t going to magically walk over and talk to me.
I wasn’t good at face-to-face.44Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIppmX9WZiU
But texts? Texts felt safer.44Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnJdIV1lrZ7
So, like my favorite character from Eminence in Shadow, I stayed hidden.44Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQoVrlqTEXy
My phone which is empty for the first time it's becoming lively.44Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbExuC9cK5E
Replying to doubts in a flash. Quick. Clean. No name. Just help.44Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡM3wilm3tJA
Soon enough, people began asking me privately,44Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXfzAFa9Zaj
“Who are you?”44Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwEw44DUCzz
But not her.
She never messaged.
Still, I stayed active in the group.44Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8KZZIbAZ0r
Hopeful? Maybe.44Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5YtR0NDg9h
Desperate? Nah.44Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwCMQn2w0bV
Romantic? Probably.44Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyPlvcMDZck
Delusional? 100%.
Time passed.44Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCgBLGyyEFN
Some started competing with me. Posting answers faster. Explaining better.
Part of me was relieved.
Maybe now I can chill… just wait until she messages...
And then, one random night — it happened.
She texted. In the group.
(Don’t ask how I know that it was her. Talent. Pure talent.)
I didn’t even think. Just replied instantly.44Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3SxtyvYRRt
But in my rush, I made mistakes in the solution…
And that led to her texting me. Privately.
I didn’t expect it. Couldn’t have planned it.
And so, I calmly — very calmly — clarified her doubt.44Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRHOX0pMEOM
She thanked me. I thought, that’s it. It’s over. Back to shadows.
But she texted again:44Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡb9yCXFz4T6
“Do you know me?”
I grinned. “Maybe,” I replied,44Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLPwA0sVIon
…knowing exactly who she was.
Of course I did.
Her name was Alice.44Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0e1tYnUJBu
But for me, she’ll always be Seren.
We talked. She reminded me of our earlier conversation — back when she was in IT.44Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbNXsZoevIp
And I replied:44Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡw8HO4UZRfe
“Ohh! Alice? Is this you?”
That opened the door.
We went from talking about college…44Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEXyOci7l0f
to anime…44Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyJiilmdujC
to life.
When I get excited, I forget everything else.44Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyDWouaZvtp
The world disappears. The fan stops spinning.44Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡF9TTPj3Sgp
It’s just words. Her texts. My heartbeat.
At one point, we talked about how people call anime “just cartoons.”44Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3spoDwGZ2m
And she said:
“I feel you, bro.”
I don’t know what it meant exactly…44Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQPbCuQB0ks
But at that moment, I didn’t feel invisible.
Now the real question is:
Did I tell her how I feel?44Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLv3CUhpRTG
Did I explain my intentions?44Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNEj53xzTnp
Or did I continue the act… play along…
Let’s just say:44Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqL8fp3CaqH
We’ll find out if this Fool’s decision… was truly foolish.
