This semester was…159Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡp0H4DtHmza
different.159Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhXmySvDW2T
Special, maybe.159Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFGGnVVnuoo
Not because of what was taught —159Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡklsEKlwQLN
but because of how we lived it.
They filtered out a handful of us —159Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFI0GEMgUE4
called us the Bamboo Coders.159Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPchVzjzMzN
A name that felt funny at first,159Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSubAcy1CwN
but later —159Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhMki3JCY2n
it became a badge of sorts.159Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcNsz9jHRwt
A sign that we were the ones chosen,159Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUF0HsiFz0i
to be sharpened.
We were given three days in the week,159Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9ZqyQjFvql
and half of the rest —159Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyMHDX4aTHG
to lose ourselves in Java, Python,159Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwxKxVgXcaF
and Advanced Data Structures159Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmENI4CGMeP
in the walls of Technical Hub.
And she was there too.159Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡt24prs1KQ8
Forevermore.
So were Ramu, Richard, Ren, Krish,159Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8mCCWCHAGp
Andrew, Simon, Harry —159Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡELVN5NSela
a mix of voices, minds, and laughter.
It became our world.159Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpxbN1q8TUb
A bubble made of keyboard clicks,159Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡv33BwZgbeC
mugged-up syntax, half-finished jokes,159Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡo0qbTOMu2J
and dreams stitched in code.
In the middle of all the laughter,159Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQKkg9qyR7U
battles of logic,159Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhw5EL3IgFW
and the warmth of friendship —159Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhxjHcKrQti
there stood someone we all admired159Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ34Qhu27Vz8
but hardly spoke about.
Ashok sir.
He wasn’t just a teacher.159Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmzwIceSHqt
He was a man with a gaze full of distant fires,159Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡm4jK1aN7Y4
a quiet dreamer who hid oceans behind his silence.159Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhpm8mnfhZj
159Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzCGYWEcL6j
He taught us Advanced Data Structure. While Pavan Sir, taught us the remaining.159Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpYA4G2ZUPA
Java and Python.
He was, to me,159Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMhOl9OQVKW
a dream flower —159Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIIXIv7SWoK
blooming with brilliance,159Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpsKOTdVpOA
but rooted too deep in a soil that wouldn’t let him move.159Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3KVSK7fetm
He wanted to do something.159Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQEpr5jvHia
You could feel it.159Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHnpZO1Ca1U
But something always held him back.
Maybe responsibilities.159Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOg1oSGkhu8
Maybe fear.159Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6QT1pojDbN
Maybe time had just moved too fast159Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCDMFhCR3Dq
before he could catch it.159Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡd6zMqeshBa
159Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYCEcxKJg7E
He always say:
“Hard work doesn’t guarantee success…159Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvqJlAAzU6y
but it always leaves behind a version of you159Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGvbVLWbSQ0
that deserved it.”
Because Ashok sir may have not reached where he once dreamed of…159Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡn8Rz7vb6Bk
but he will make sure we do.
With Ravikanth and other seniors guiding us,159Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzhn7F2al7g
it became my playground.159Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbYqnqD36VV
There, I was free.159Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqtNU6ghzN8
Playing, laughing, coding, dancing —159Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡESVJxOlQBL
No one could stop me.159Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgy7JUehMBs
Especially not when I had Richard beside me.159Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡROdt02TaMw
We were fire and wind —159Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡd6Bi8NNszX
Unstoppable.
But with Forevermore —159Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfafXN52Knr
ghosting and misunderstandings came like clouds after sunshine.159Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2H3XJMFEar
Random, uninvited…159Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuFneHQGaw5
but somehow familiar.
Still, every evening,159Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡoUE8AlcnfM
me, her, and Ren159Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡc4eFx3GR6p
would meet near her bus159Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8Ou7d86Bh0
and talk until the engines hummed and the wheels turned.
Then one day,159Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxHKFXBiC5j
she asked me something.
Something simple —159Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYrKQbn868k
about Japanese placements.
And I told her everything I knew.159Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkxHss9iw61
And when I said I was preparing too,159Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUYeislJ18X
she smiled —159Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWh250iTOng
a kind of silent joy,159Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfHfqXgCQhm
and said,
"We could do this together...159Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡF2ABQQRpP8
Same boat, right?159Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzT1DRQe1ei
Even if I stop, you’ll keep going."
And there, in that one moment,159Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡm9v55SHuys
I felt it.159Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEeqEtJOzi9
That I had become someone159Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡw9nECNh6ze
she could lean on.159Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQzfR6WBeAV
Someone she believed in.
It meant everything.
But a thought floated quietly behind that smile…
“If we weren’t in the same boat,159Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOGAKPmyiGp
would she still think of me?”
Would she still see me,159Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ42WSHmH9zt
or would I be ghosted — again, unknowingly —159Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCSGm8c7y3W
like she once said she does?
But I let that thought dissolve.159Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYlmPBfEVN2
Because this was a moment worth keeping.
We began learning together.159Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVDXlmIKSor
Late nights, whispering over calls,159Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhyUQ82fJHs
solving Java problems,159Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡngk1MAtInm
sharing notes,159Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2JRHIOAR6z
and pretending it was a “revision” for me159Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqQqqr3BKWO
— just so she wouldn’t feel guilty.
She didn’t know159Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNjz6UO8Apj
how much I had pushed myself159Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQ17vUw2zc9
to catch up,159Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyEbKX7tJHC
to be useful.159Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBo1QA6OnP9
To be… enough.
But that was okay.159Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡb9wUaJ7QPq
Because I wasn’t doing it for recognition.159Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMF5kR0z3c7
I was doing it for her.
Mornings were Technical Hub.159Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIKNPvD1mup
Evenings — I’d walk her to the bus.
Her bus was parked in the middle of the college ground.159Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQ9dzceRatp
Mine was to the right.159Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPpMaYORHie
Ren’s to the left.
Like a reflection of where we all stood.159Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSxwSXcJRkG
Her — at the center.159Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡC2QTAmpvlT
Me — watching from a distance.159Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡReJSMP6PHn
Ren — never too far.
And in between all this,159Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIEBbv6l7ox
her birthday came.
I wanted to give her something…159Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYgO8HKGvs1
something that wouldn’t fade,159Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9gKrjJFF5a
even if I did.159Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgUyGX1TWNe
A piece of me she could keep,159Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡY31Na9Eu0b
even if I someday became159Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjKLCFikSEO
just another name in her memories.
I thought of what she loved most —159Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7Os7jgkeYG
Harry Potter.
Seven books.159Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsL89mn0OE7
Seven stories that shaped her.
One of many that she holds the closest.
I wanted to give her all of them.159Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ52CcCMXK4N
Not at once — It would be a overkill,159Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡItwKEh6cMk
but over time.159Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7EZpoPsPM0
159Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡa3Hejy6xqr
Over three years.159Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfactUxTgLc
Because that’s how long we’d get to see each other,159Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwjlsYuL7v6
in this college, in this life.
A slow gift.159Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHqA45UwEVx
A promise across seasons.
Not just a present —159Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgGUIHQc5Dk
but a quiet wish.
ns216.73.216.82da2That maybe even if I couldn’t stay in her story forever,159Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOzYqVzPIQP
I’d be a chapter worth rereading.
