Ever stayed in a hostel far away from home? You are going to connect to it a lot.
July 27th, 2018 - Friday:
Riya is writing her diary about her first day in the hostel.
Dear Diary,
Dad and I started from home in the morning and reached Chennai by the evening. He helped me to arrange all my stuff in the girl's hostel at IIT Madras and left the hostel with tears in his eyes and a smile on his face. The last words he spoke before leaving were ‘Take care Kanna’.
I was in my room surrounded by three other people but all were busy with their own stuff after saying ‘Hi and Nice to meet you’.
The next day, I walked to a park that was near our hostel. I sat on a bench and started crying. A few minutes later, A woman with her dog came near me, she looked simple but stylish. She might be a 25-year-old lady. She asked me my whereabouts and why I was crying.
I replied, My name is Riya and I live in a nearby hostel. I just moved here yesterday. I stepped out of the house for the first time for my studies. I never lived away from my parents. Now I have to live with these Stupid Strangers!🤧
The pretty stranger smiled and said One day you are going to cry because of these stupid strangers but for a different reason.
I didn’t understand what she meant. Is she warning me? Why I would cry about these people ever in my life?
Only time has the answer to this mystery. Let’s see! Good night.
— Riya
11th June 2022-Saturday
Last day of college
All of Riya’s friends were leaving for the train at 6 PM but Riya’s was at 9 PM. They packed their luggage a day ago and were ready to leave.
The cab arrived and the luggage was loaded into it. Each of them hugged and bid goodbye.
Riya was all alone in the hostel room with all her luggage. The silence in the room made her feel a void in her heart. Then she started writing her feelings in her diary.
Dear Diary,
Everyone has left, It's just you and me. I still have 2 hours to stay in this room, where I have lived for four years. I don't know what's going on inside but I really feel upset to realize that four years flew away. Just like that. I am really gonna miss this place. We filled the room with memories and decorated the walls with smiles. The movies we watched, the fights we had, the gossip we shared. I am gonna miss everything. I am gonna miss my stupid roommates.
— Riya
She suddenly realized the pages of the diary were wet, Yes! Tears rolled down her cheek and destroyed her diary.
She then remembered the words spoken by ‘the pretty stranger’ four years ago.
One day you are going to cry because of these stupid strangers but for a different reason.
Riya opened her previous journals and started reading them. She laughed at what she had written about her friends in the first few days. She was so involved in reading that she forgot about leaving the hostel. Abruptly, She realized that she had a train to catch and moved hurriedly. Finally, when she settled in her seat, she called her friends and shared her feelings with them. They talked continuously for hours and laughed by recollecting the memories they had together.
Friends became family and the room became ‘home’.