Time didn’t pause. It never does.147Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFUn5h3Sowi
And before I even realized, my birthday crept in again—quietly, without fanfare.
I didn’t feel special. Honestly, I never really did.147Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5tIZ64A4j0
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.147Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡN6q4uuyise
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.147Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfFV86bFprm
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.147Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ01IpR6R0Mv
Yeah—Eren Yeager. My favorite character from Attack on Titan.147Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡswGhGU6SbP
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.147Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqQHO6T2c6z
It always does.
Soon came the second round of internals. Then the externals. And finally, the semester-end exams.147Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXdMXv3TALl
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.147Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRrOMrBtVmg
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.147Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOjxDteuBm2
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.147Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ68igHvniLk
A saree.147Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYbAfc88hF0
But not just any saree—white.147Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJNO97Bpixp
It wasn’t plain. It was pure.147Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGhjMXNd28v
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.147Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAweF7uz8NK
But I didn’t.147Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgT3zAgkjQz
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.147Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmsBsQjBult
A final-year student from the CSE department in the first campus.147Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9bCai7rKIZ
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.147Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDhPriRCOia
I tried to be normal. I tried to be relaxed.147Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvycLvNyaCG
But inside? I felt like a misplaced puzzle piece—present, but not belonging.147Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9oRRt7XFUW
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.147Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrEDyRcfoEy
Or should I say find them at the first place, to collect them.147Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcrYllSaUpc
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Afterwards, though, she told me she needed to return to her sister. Something had come up.147Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEpWbF2CpPE
I stayed behind to collect both of ours.147Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsQCN2BkNWB
I watched her walk away, back to that other circle she belonged to.147Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmmD30BcjAz
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And when I finally found them after some time searching.147Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1wPGlyimRy
I almost called her. Almost asked where she was.147Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjo4tBGcRFd
But I didn’t.
A voice inside me whispered that I’d only make things awkward. That my presence now felt… extra.147Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡElnEnUPVoT
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.147Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRC5pzHiEER
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.147Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEBQX0ahMYd
So, I let her lead. We walked. Talked.147Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡH0zzezYykv
Her energy was different—confident, direct, occasionally teasing. Refreshing, in a way.147Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfCyUWLYaP5
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.147Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4g4PEyg10I
But this time, something had shifted.
Our buses, once parked side by side—our little ritual at the end of the day—147Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRk2H3PsVGT
They weren’t next to each other anymore.
She stood by hers. I stood by mine.147Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsYmVkey7rv
A small distance. Nothing dramatic. But enough to feel like something had changed.147Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡm7oX5iS8AE
And in that moment, I realized…147Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhbMvL3kRXb
We were starting to drift.
