FIVE MONTHS OF SILENCE

In the Hostel Room

I sat quietly in the corner of our hostel room, my thoughts spiraling around him again. Did he ever recognize his fault? I wondered. Why did he respond so cruelly to me five months ago? The question still echoed in my mind, unanswered.

But despite the lingering thoughts, a strange calm settled over me. The exam was finally over, and I felt a little lighter. The next one wasn’t until June 12, giving me a bit of breathing space.

Tomorrow, Nancy and I would head back to our hometowns. We came from two different cities, and though we’d only been away a few months, it already felt like we’d built a world of memories together. I was going to miss her terribly.

Nancy, however, seemed more excited than I was. There was a sparkle in her eyes, and I knew why—because today, we saw Alex.

“He was looking at you when you ignored him,” she whispered with a smirk, nudging me playfully.

Now she couldn’t wait to share the whole story with our seniors—Arena and Gabriel. In the hostel, they were our only close friends. We told them everything, even the smallest, most trivial moments.

Arena was my cousin sister, kind and composed, while Gabriel, her roommate, had a calm intelligence about her. Both were science students—Arena in B.Sc. Medical and Gabriel in B.Sc. Non-Medical. Their room always felt like a place of comfort and laughter, a place where secrets were safe and stories were welcomed.

Tonight, one more story would find its way there.

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We were standing in line for food in the hostel mess when Arena turned toward Nancy with a curious smile.

“Nancy, why are you smiling like that?” she asked, raising an eyebrow.

Nancy glanced at me, barely able to contain her excitement. “There’s an accident we want to share with you,” she said mysteriously.

Gabriel, standing beside Arena, leaned in with interest. “What kind of accident?”

We grinned at each other. “Guess,” we said in unison.

They tried—throwing out wild ideas, from something silly happening in class to a mess fight in the canteen—but none of their guesses were close.

“Okay, okay, here’s a hint,” I said, biting back a laugh.

Nancy nudged me. “It’s about a boy,” she added.

Arena's eyes lit up. “Wait… is it about Alex?”

We burst into laughter. “Yeah!”

They laughed too, shaking their heads as if they had known all along. We decided to save the full story for later, back in our room, where we always shared our little secrets and big feelings.

That night, we sat cross-legged on Arena and Gabriel’s floor, the soft hum of the hostel night around us. We told them everything—how we saw Alex earlier that day, and how Nancy swore he looked at me when I was pretending not to notice him.

They listened closely, smiling in a way that felt strangely reassuring.

“I don’t know why,” I said quietly, “but you both look happy.”

Arena touched my hand gently. “Maybe because this means he still thinks about you,” she said.

But it’s been five months,” I murmured, staring at the floor. “He never recognized his fault. Instead, he just… ignored me.”

Gabriel nodded solemnly. “Some people take time. But one day, he might realize what he did.”

I sighed. “I said sorry to him—so many times. But he blocked my number. Even Nancy tried to help…”

Nancy looked at me and gave a half-smile. “I still remember that winter morning. We were standing near the canteen… I saw Alex and pulled his jacket sleeve. I asked him to listen to you. But he just said he didn’t want to talk.”

The room fell quiet for a moment. The memory lingered in the air, raw and unfinished. But somehow, being with them—Nancy, Arena, Gabriel—made the pain a little softer.

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