Now only three days were left for my board exams, and life suddenly felt very different. The farewell had ended, but its memories were still fresh in my mind. Somewhere inside, I was still holding on to that last night, that last glance, that last hope. But at the same time, reality was slowly taking over—boards were just around the corner, and I knew I had to focus.📑
One evening, I was standing in my balcony, holding my phone, scrolling casually, trying to distract myself a little from the pressure of studies. The sky was calm, the weather was quiet, but my mind was still full of thoughts. And suddenly, a notification popped up.
It was from my best friend.
"Call me fast."
The message was short… but urgent.
Without wasting a second, I called her immediately. But she didn't pick up.
For a moment, I felt something strange.
A sudden nervousness.
I don't know why, but my heart started beating faster. My mind started overthinking. "Kya hua hoga?" I kept asking myself again and again. Those few seconds felt longer than usual.
Then finally, after some time… her call came.
I picked it up instantly.
"Hello? Kya hua?" I asked quickly.
There was a small pause.
And then she said something that I wasn't ready to hear.
"He unfollowed me."
For a second, I didn't understand.
"What?" I said, confused.
"Usne mujhe unfollow kar diya," she repeated.
My heart sank.
I didn't know why, but that one line affected me more than I expected.
"Par kyun?" I asked.
"I don't know," she said.
And that was it.
No reason.
No explanation.
Just… over.
I stayed quiet for a few seconds. Then I said softly, "Mere paas ek hi way tha usse dekhne ka… woh bhi nahi raha ab."
That one small connection… even that was gone.
I cut the call after that.
And just sat there.
Silent.
Thinking.
Trying to understand what just happened.
Trying to accept something I didn't even fully understand.
A strange sadness filled my heart. Not very loud… but very deep.
---
But then suddenly, reality hit me again.
*Boards.*
Only three days left.
I took a deep breath and told myself, "Abhi nahi… abhi mujhe padhna hai."
And slowly, I forced myself to focus again.
Books.
Notes.
Revision.
I tried to keep myself busy.
Tried to ignore everything else.
---
Finally, the first day of boards came.
My brother dropped me at my exam center. As I stood outside, I looked around carefully… just once.
I don't know why.
Maybe I was hoping… that somehow, our centers would be the same.
But they weren't.
12th students had a different center.
I smiled a little at my own thought.
*Of course… it won't be that easy.*
And then I went inside.
---
My first few exams went well.
One by one, four papers got completed nicely.
Slowly, I started feeling a little confident again. Like maybe everything would be okay.
But life…
had something else planned.
---
Before my fifth exam…
something happened that changed everything.
I lost my maasi.
And that moment…
I can't even explain.
Everything just stopped.
All my thoughts, all my feelings, all my worries—everything suddenly felt meaningless.
Because she wasn't just a relative.
She was very close to us.
Very close to me.
That loss… was something I wasn't prepared for.
My parents immediately went to her house, but because of my board exams, I couldn't go.
And that hurt even more.
I couldn't see her one last time.
I couldn't say goodbye.
And that thought stayed with me.
---
After that, I don't even remember how I gave the rest of my exams.
I just went.
Wrote something.
Came back.
Days felt heavy.
Nights felt empty.
That whole month… I was only thinking about her.
Nothing else mattered.
Not exams.
Not results.
Not even him.
Everything faded in front of that one loss.
---
After a few days, once my exams were over, I went to my maasi's house.
I met my cousin sister.
And seeing her… broke me again.
Because she had lost her mother.
And no words were enough.
I stayed there for around 16–17 days.
Those days were quiet.
Slow.
Full of emotions.
But somewhere… they also made me stronger.
---
After coming back, life started moving again.
Forms for 11th started.
New decisions.
New beginnings.
And for the first time, I made a decision for myself.
I decided to change my school.
Because I knew… if I stayed there, I would keep remembering everything.
Him.
Those corridors.
That terrace.
Those moments.
And I didn't want to stay stuck.
At the same time, my best friend chose commerce.
And I decided to take science.
So everything was changing anyway.
School.
Stream.
Routine.
People.
Life.
---
It felt like I was entering a completely new phase.
A different world.
Where everything was unfamiliar.
But maybe…
necessary.
---
Looking back now…
it feels strange.
How everything changed so quickly.
From small happy moments…
to unexpected heartbreaks…
to real-life loss…
to new beginnings.
---
And somewhere in between all this…
I changed too.
---
But deep inside…
One question still remained—
*Was that really the end of that story?*
Or…
"was it just the beginning of something I didn't understand yet?"✨
And slowly, as days passed, I realized that life was not going to stop for anyone. No matter how heavy the past feels, time keeps moving, and somewhere, we have to move with it. After coming back home and completing all the formalities of admission, I finally stepped into a new phase of my life—11th standard. Everything was new. New school, new environment, new classmates, and even a new version of myself. This time, things were not the same as before. I wasn't that carefree girl anymore who used to wait for recess just to get a glimpse of someone. Now, I had responsibilities, goals, and a clear direction in my mind. Becoming a doctor was not just a dream anymore, it was something I had to achieve. It was my childhood dream, but now it felt more real, more serious. I knew that if I really wanted it, I had to work hard from this point. So I started preparing for NEET. Slowly, step by step, I built a routine. Coaching, self-study, revision, tests—my days started revolving around studies. At first, it was difficult to adjust. Sometimes I felt tired, sometimes distracted, but then I reminded myself why I started. My dreams, my parents' expectations, my future—everything started to matter more than ever before. And for the first time, I felt like I was actually working towards something important.
But even after all this… there was still a small part of me that hadn't changed.
Him.❤️
Even though I tried to focus completely on my studies, even though I told myself again and again to move on, I couldn't completely let go. Not fully. Not yet. So, without telling anyone, I made a small habit. Once in a week… just once… I used to check his Instagram ID. Just to see if there was any update, any post, anything. And sometimes, I even sent him a follow request again. Hoping… maybe this time he would accept. But every time… the result was the same. No response. No acceptance. Just silence. And every time I saw that pending request, I felt a small disappointment inside me. Not very loud, but enough to remind me that things were not in my control. Still, I didn't stop. I don't know why, but somewhere inside me, I kept believing that maybe one day things would change. Maybe one day he would notice. Maybe one day… something would happen.
One day, I gathered a little courage and messaged one of his classmates. I asked him casually, "Is he active on this ID?" I didn't want to sound too obvious, so I tried to keep it normal. After some time, he replied, "Kabhi kabhi." That one reply gave me a little hope again. I thought, maybe he is not active regularly. Maybe that's why he hasn't seen my request. Maybe… he just doesn't know. And with that thought, I convinced myself again. I chose to believe that instead of thinking something negative. Because sometimes, hope feels better than reality.
Days turned into weeks, and weeks into months. My routine became stronger. I started understanding concepts better, my focus improved, and slowly I became more serious about my preparation. I started enjoying studying in a different way—not because I had to, but because I wanted to. I could see a small change in myself. I was growing. Not just in studies, but in thinking as well. I became a little stronger, a little more patient.
But still… sometimes at night, when everything became quiet, when there was no noise, no distractions, my thoughts went back. Back to those corridors, those terrace moments, those small glances. Back to him. And I used to wonder—was all of that real? Or was it just something I created in my mind? Because now, everything felt so far away. Like it belonged to another life.
And then one day… something happened again.
I opened Instagram, like I used to do once in a while.
And I searched his ID.
But this time…
It wasn't there.
I searched again.
Carefully.
Slowly.
Making sure I typed everything correctly.
But still…
Nothing.
His ID didn't exist anymore.
For a moment, I just stared at the screen.
Trying to understand.
Trying to accept.
That this was it.
Now even that small connection… was gone.
No profile.
No updates.
No chance to even check.
Nothing.
And suddenly, a strange emptiness filled my heart.
Not very painful… but very quiet.
Like something that was never mine… still managed to leave a space behind.
At that moment, I realized something.
Maybe… I will never get him.
Maybe our story was never meant to happen.
Maybe it was just a phase.
A beautiful one.
But incomplete.
---
But even after realizing all this…
I didn't feel completely broken.
Because somewhere deep inside, I still believed in something.
Destiny.
If something is truly meant for you, it will find its way back to you.
No matter how far it goes.
No matter how much time it takes.
And if it's not meant to be…
Then no matter how much you try, it won't stay.
So instead of holding on too tightly…
I slowly learned to let it be.
---
Now my focus was clear.
My goal was clear.
I had to become something.
I had to achieve something.
Not just for myself… but for my parents too.
Their dreams had become my responsibility.
And I knew, this was the time to work for it.
---
But still…
Somewhere inside me…
A small part of that story remained.
Not as pain.
Not as regret.
But as a memory.
A soft, quiet memory.
Of a time when small moments meant everything.
When one glance could make my whole day.
When one person could change everything… without even knowing.
---
And maybe…
That's what made it special.
Because not every story is meant to be completed.
Some are just meant to be felt.
And remembered. 💫
I slowly started accepting that, focusing on my dreams, my studies, my future, thinking that everything was finally settling down… but I didn't know that life had something completely unexpected planned for me, because after a few months… everything changed drastically in a way I had never imagined. 😦