MIRA

25. Back to the Past...⏱️

Mira grabbed her coat and left the restaurant, walking back to the hotel. She was at the lobby when Jyoti called. Sobbing and sniffing, Mira answered the call,

''Hello Mira? Where are you?''

''At the hotel...''

''Hotel...Mira? Are you okay? Hello? Speak up Mira? I can't hear you....''

Mira ended the call and quickly sent Jyoti a text as her state was too bad to talk over the phone. While she waited for Jyoti to come to the room, Mira sat down on the bed as tears filled her eyes...she was no longer in rage. She cried because she hated being there, she cried because she felt lonely in this big city, Mira missed being home the most at that moment. Most of all, she cried because she was reminded of the person that she was three years back and this made her feel like she had not progressed anywhere since then....

***

Mira's perspective (p.o.v.)

Has it ever happened to you where you feel that you've completely forgotten a bad phase of your life and are well over it...until something bad happens and even though it may not be related, but the memories and I mean every single one of them come rushing back to you....making you feel more miserable than you already were?

Singapore, 2013-2016

It started with a Facebook request, I know, typical...haha! But don't judge me, I was only eighteen and oh so naïve!

I had joined a British university in Singapore to pursue my bachelor's in economics. Since I stayed at a hostel, it was my first time being away from my family and experiencing freedom! It was super exciting as I had been dreaming about college since my A-Levels. My parents were in Malaysia so I would visit them occasionally on some weekends.

In my first year, I got a friend request on Facebook from Jayesh Kumar (Jay), a first year Mechanical engineering student in my college. I didn't accept it until we met personally, shortly after he had sent the request on Facebook. A few awkward meetings on campus turned into group hangouts as we both had mutual friends. By the end of the first year, I was charmed by his affection for me, but I only realised much later that it was the attention that he gave me which attracted me to him the most. Before college, nobody had given me this kind of attention, as cliché as it sounds, I felt special...

We were sort of in a relationship as I didn't want to admit it was one because somewhere I faintly felt that I was rushing...before I knew it, we got physical...movie dates progressed to meeting in each other's dorm rooms, goodnight kisses (cheeks only...haha) and hugs. Having a busy dating life didn't stop me from being active in college activities though, I ensured I took part in the cultural events, sports events (my passion for cricket started here) and other career enhancing events in my second year of college. This meant that I was getting busier and reduced the time I spent with Jay, to add I was also making new friends.

Gradually, Jay & I met less often. He noticed and began to demand that we meet more. Our schedules made it harder for us to meet. Over time, meeting him and spending time became tedious and more obligatory. He was getting possessive too, as he didn't like me spending time with my friends. Small arguments led to long fights. Some days we would meet just to sort out our arguments! It was frustrating as he was too impulsive! So I told my friends, one of them was Ankit, my course mate and best friend. Ankit was gay, making it easier for me to share my problems with him. He told me to end it.

***

One day,

I found photo of myself in his phone gallery when he was showing me other photos. I was furious!