Time didn’t pause. It never does.20Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0735AIZNwd
And before I even realized, my birthday crept in again—quietly, without fanfare.
I didn’t feel special. Honestly, I never really did.20Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRZybJaDf2L
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.20Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrYeWOYdmrT
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.20Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcwkulwJaPP
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.20Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6a0jYzeu76
Yeah—Eren Yeager. My favorite character from Attack on Titan.20Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjOjsXc3cI4
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.20Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡc5egvNeHP8
It always does.
Soon came the second round of internals. Then the externals. And finally, the semester-end exams.20Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgCto81bTgO
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.20Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkBy2omLaU4
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.20Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqh6Hn8FA6z
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.20Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFo8UKpjrGO
A saree.20Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZObPJhPHki
But not just any saree—white.20Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcg3bPiGdfu
It wasn’t plain. It was pure.20Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbgWpT1Ejc7
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.20Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWj6APdyJeh
But I didn’t.20Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡg7iQjGSYbR
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.20Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡc9B7tPcvtO
A final-year student from the CSE department in the first campus.20Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfXSAU7s1yk
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.20Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ048RbTkgXN
I tried to be normal. I tried to be relaxed.20Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7tUiktHM3M
But inside? I felt like a misplaced puzzle piece—present, but not belonging.20Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1BH5Q2GTDq
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.20Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJFzWa1yB5f
Or should I say find them at the first place, to collect them.20Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡERg692TWYz
20Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡu5AyyZQNEn
Afterwards, though, she told me she needed to return to her sister. Something had come up.20Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡY0pWQfRLsS
I stayed behind to collect both of ours.20Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUGHKSlcFt4
I watched her walk away, back to that other circle she belonged to.20Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7zXh8dufjP
20Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9xldPO12A4
And when I finally found them after some time searching.20Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUBAHqjonNp
I almost called her. Almost asked where she was.20Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8XJ9GMW3pG
But I didn’t.
A voice inside me whispered that I’d only make things awkward. That my presence now felt… extra.20Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAsAmwHuhKF
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.20Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAkZMxIKcoi
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.20Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡubBJv3Nub0
So, I let her lead. We walked. Talked.20Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTrSAE3Ii8y
Her energy was different—confident, direct, occasionally teasing. Refreshing, in a way.20Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnpWvmtxASn
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.20Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡc8BvnaZoF0
But this time, something had shifted.
Our buses, once parked side by side—our little ritual at the end of the day—20Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEQdD3uAwVu
They weren’t next to each other anymore.
She stood by hers. I stood by mine.20Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXWm0CsObTm
A small distance. Nothing dramatic. But enough to feel like something had changed.20Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9zD9vxk7oc
And in that moment, I realized…20Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtjGOXylQdR
We were starting to drift.
