He Was Never Just A Memory

Ishita, a sixteen-year-old girl, was very pretty and good-looking. An average student, she was known for being kind and hardworking. Despite her efforts, she always ended up with average marks. But Ishita had a dream—a big one. She wanted to crack the IIT entrance exam. To chase this dream, she joined a prestigious coaching institute, even though it wasn’t easy for her middle-class parents to afford it. They had to cut down on a lot of expenses, but they believed in her. It was her dream, and they were ready to make any sacrifice. Her new IIT class was filled with brilliant students—toppers from schools, confident voices, quick answers. Ishita felt like a small fish in a huge ocean. Still, she pushed herself. Then came her first physics test. She gave it her all. Late nights, multiple revisions, endless practice questions—she tried harder than ever before. And when the results came out, she had scored surprisingly well. It should have been a happy moment. But it wasn’t. Instead of praise, Ishita was accused of cheating. Her teacher, stunned by her sudden improvement, doubted her honesty. In front of the class, they scolded her harshly. The sharp words cut deep into her already fragile confidence. Everyone stared. Whispers followed. Her heart sank. She walked back home that day with tear-filled eyes and a mind full of questions. Was her hard work never going to be enough? The next morning, still shaken, Twisha was packing her bag when something unusual caught her eye outside her coaching center. A boy. He was walking quickly, wearing a black mask. His energy, his confidence, and the surrounding mystery made her pause. She couldn’t see his face, but something about him made her heart skip a beat. For the first time in days, her mind was distracted from the pain. She tried to follow him, curious… but the crowd swallowed him up. He disappeared. "Maybe he’ll come tomorrow," she told herself, a small smile finally curling on her lips. A new curiosity had taken root in her heart. The next day, she reached coaching very early and stood at the main gate to find him. But again, she couldn’t find him! At first, she thought he might be absent. But after sometime, a thought suddenly struck her mind—what if he came early? So she decided to search for him in every classroom. During her lunch break, she looked for him everywhere, but she was unable to find him... Ishita gave herself a little assurance: “Maybe he was just absent today... No problem, I’ll find him tomorrow.” The next day, she searched again—every classroom, every corner of the coaching building. But he wasn’t there. Days passed. Weeks turned into months. It had been almost three months now… yet, she still couldn’t find him. She didn’t know his name. She didn’t know his class or batch. Worst of all… she didn’t even know what he looked like. All she remembered was his black mask, his fast walk, and that unexplainable pull she felt toward him. She had many friends around her, but not even one she could truly trust with this strange, unspoken obsession. She had no “best friend” to share her thoughts with. So she kept everything to herself—her research, her questions, her emotions. And every single day… she kept looking.