Time didn’t pause. It never does.118Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCjCs99mSHK
And before I even realized, my birthday crept in again—quietly, without fanfare.
I didn’t feel special. Honestly, I never really did.118Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDRKhwmXSRu
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.118Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMPEsbXqRg7
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.118Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfxkaIVrBqA
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.118Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRBd5g44CXw
Yeah—Eren Yeager. My favorite character from Attack on Titan.118Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSoprWDANJW
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.118Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡF8WgK5RpsR
It always does.
Soon came the second round of internals. Then the externals. And finally, the semester-end exams.118Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgBd41pZCDo
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.118Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbZGWcPGMWs
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.118Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡF626JUBU2s
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.118Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5aI6ZSqmy6
A saree.118Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡN2d0YslKjZ
But not just any saree—white.118Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡg9f8qUr07c
It wasn’t plain. It was pure.118Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFuurlvbr45
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.118Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡU0QhcLfdUS
But I didn’t.118Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLVV3eQvPH7
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.118Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡV7CR4TVTfQ
A final-year student from the CSE department in the first campus.118Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxPtzDWiPs4
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.118Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAFgeXSithh
I tried to be normal. I tried to be relaxed.118Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkyQSbd9gWb
But inside? I felt like a misplaced puzzle piece—present, but not belonging.118Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLOAg6ReOrt
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.118Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡavstIHLznR
Or should I say find them at the first place, to collect them.118Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAYD7kycW0F
118Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUicBmKIvMX
Afterwards, though, she told me she needed to return to her sister. Something had come up.118Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡeAUuNwUONX
I stayed behind to collect both of ours.118Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdvlBIx02CU
I watched her walk away, back to that other circle she belonged to.118Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgJtwDRi89y
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And when I finally found them after some time searching.118Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQIlKRfTH8l
I almost called her. Almost asked where she was.118Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡa0a8JWB5Rm
But I didn’t.
A voice inside me whispered that I’d only make things awkward. That my presence now felt… extra.118Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7bUbte5hVF
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.118Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ78I2wURtCp
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.118Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5KlaxhJePD
So, I let her lead. We walked. Talked.118Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9pM4mAeN8I
Her energy was different—confident, direct, occasionally teasing. Refreshing, in a way.118Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9v1BS8DCvD
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.118Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8lpNMuuiad
But this time, something had shifted.
Our buses, once parked side by side—our little ritual at the end of the day—118Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBBpHifE3uY
They weren’t next to each other anymore.
She stood by hers. I stood by mine.118Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡecvU7ZRwlJ
A small distance. Nothing dramatic. But enough to feel like something had changed.118Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPp9IRAQcTC
And in that moment, I realized…118Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡoSKcpe4Hwv
We were starting to drift.
