Time didn’t pause. It never does.23Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7vFrK27AI5
And before I even realized, my birthday crept in again—quietly, without fanfare.
I didn’t feel special. Honestly, I never really did.23Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxRdd0iP4Ha
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.23Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡaFnP5QyQCP
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.23Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtqJjyN2yUJ
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.23Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyohune8Yul
Yeah—Eren Yeager. My favorite character from Attack on Titan.23Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdljPEpLkUI
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.23Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8KZYLobimI
It always does.
Soon came the second round of internals. Then the externals. And finally, the semester-end exams.23Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2wWJFWx6jv
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.23Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡue291rVn08
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.23Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTtxBFPJ7W6
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.23Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0eLctvQ1Tz
A saree.23Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdYUt4EQwjr
But not just any saree—white.23Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLG98AQDvbQ
It wasn’t plain. It was pure.23Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZeX4IaRQWQ
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.23Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwzjztE77K6
But I didn’t.23Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdbqJLsFLFG
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.23Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡl2kdCnfNbq
A final-year student from the CSE department in the first campus.23Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGWgXJWJQwO
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.23Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡL5bjKRfflS
I tried to be normal. I tried to be relaxed.23Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEeOBu2jl50
But inside? I felt like a misplaced puzzle piece—present, but not belonging.23Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjjQf37l7qZ
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.23Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡflrrU8lIXt
Or should I say find them at the first place, to collect them.23Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcuDAkcdkqr
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Afterwards, though, she told me she needed to return to her sister. Something had come up.23Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmv4Hx4sSYd
I stayed behind to collect both of ours.23Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfNlMcibwhp
I watched her walk away, back to that other circle she belonged to.23Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvy4L3GrTr3
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And when I finally found them after some time searching.23Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwNP0xtvxUN
I almost called her. Almost asked where she was.23Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuNaGm3MGmx
But I didn’t.
A voice inside me whispered that I’d only make things awkward. That my presence now felt… extra.23Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWxyKExTGnj
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.23Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXUyRDdndDm
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.23Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ28jgQA2gIP
So, I let her lead. We walked. Talked.23Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhkkSamEfXY
Her energy was different—confident, direct, occasionally teasing. Refreshing, in a way.23Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtkxpjM7F1M
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.23Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡky84M5xg7E
But this time, something had shifted.
Our buses, once parked side by side—our little ritual at the end of the day—23Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJK3qwDBiam
They weren’t next to each other anymore.
She stood by hers. I stood by mine.23Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRhMMDx1DYS
A small distance. Nothing dramatic. But enough to feel like something had changed.23Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5CFh3egAce
And in that moment, I realized…23Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHD4LU7Eyje
We were starting to drift.
