AFTER THE SILENCE

Episode 1 :- SEREN VERSE

I liked this rooftop..

Not because it's dramatic but because nobody came here. No conversations. No chaos . No unnecessary small talk.

Just silence. The kind of silence that wasn't awkward. The kind I actually enjoyed.

I sat near the edge of the Engineering Building rooftop, my laptop resting on my lap while the evening breeze played with the loose strands of my hair.

Below me, the campus was alive. Students hurried toward hostels. Some laughed loudly enough for their voices to reach all the way up here. Someone was arguing for attendance . Someone was singing terribly. A normal evening.

I looked up.

The sky was painted in shades of orange and gold. Orange mixed with pink , gold mixed with red .

Pretty.

But eventually it will disappear and darkness will take over .

Suddenly a notification appeared on my screen.

Then another. Then another.

I ignored all three. If it was important, they would call.

Three seconds later, my phone started ringing. I glanced at the caller ID.

Anvika.

Of course. I answered.

Me :- "What did you break?"

Anvika :- "Wow."

I could practically hear her offended expression through the phone.

Anvika :- "Not even a hello?"

Me :- "What did you break?"

Anvika :- "I hate you."

Me :- "No, you don't."

A dramatic sigh echoed through the speaker.

Anvika :- "My project."

Me :- "There it is."

Anvika:- "Can you at least pretend to be surprised?"

Me :- "No."

Another sigh. Louder this time. I closed my laptop.

Me :- "What's wrong?"

Anvika:- "Our Database Management project."

Me :- "What about it?"

Anvika:- "The search function isn't working."

Me:- "Did it work before?"

Anvika:- "Yes."

Me :- "What changed?"

Anvika :- "We changed some code."

I stared at the sky. The colours almost disappeared.

Me :- "That's usually how bugs happen."

Anvika :- "You're not helping."

Me :- "I haven't started helping yet."

A pause. A silence. Then:

Me :- "Huhh!! ...fair."

I waited for a moment then leaned back against the wall

Me:- "Send me the file."

Within seconds, the project landed in my inbox.

I opened it.

Five hundred lines of code. A disaster. An organized disaster. But still a disaster. The bug took less than two minutes to find.

Me :- "Found it."

Anvika :- "What?"

Me :- "You created an infinite loop."

Silence again . Then:

Anvika :- "Oh."

Me :- "You never updated the condition."

Anvika :- "Oh."

Me :- "The program is basically trapped."

Anvika :- "Oh."

Me :- "You're saying 'oh' a lot."

Anvika :- "I'm processing."

I shook my head and fixed the code. Three lines later, the issue disappeared. I sent the corrected version back. The phone immediately exploded.

Anvika :- "IT WORKS!"

The shout nearly destroyed my hearing. I moved the phone away from my ear.

Me :- "Congratulations."

Anvika :- "You're a genius."

Me :- "No."

Anvika :- "You're literally a genius."

Me :- "Still no."

Anvika :- "I'm buying you coffee."

Me :- "You owe me three already."

Anvika :- "I'll buy four."

Me :- "That's not how debt works."

Anvika :- "That's exactly how debt works."

A laugh escaped before I could stop it. The line instantly went silent. I closed my eyes.

Too late.

Anvika :- "SEREN LAUGHED."

Oh no. Not again. I literally can imagine her expression in front of my eyes . A second voice suddenly appeared.

Eira.

Eira :- "I HEARD IT. Give me the phone."

Me :- "No."

Eira :- "Give me the phone, Anvika."

Me :- "I say No."

The call disconnected before I could commit a crime. I stared at the screen. Then in the sky . Then back at the screen.

Some friendships felt less like friendships and more like long-term hostage situations.

The first stars had started appearing. A cool breeze brushed against my face. For a few minutes, I stayed exactly where I was.

No assignments. No messages. No expectations.

Just the sky.

Eventually, I packed my laptop and stood. If I didn't leave now, Anvika and Eira would accuse me of abandoning them.

Again.

The hostel wasn't far. By the time I reached our room, the door was already open.

Anvika sat cross-legged on her bed. Eira was stealing chips from Anvika's packet.

As usual.

Eira :- "Look who's alive,"

Me :- "I was gone for an hour."

Anvika :- "You disappeared."

Me :- "I went to the rooftop."

Eira :- "Exactly."

Anvika immediately pointed at her laptop.

"By the way, thank you."

Me :- "You would've figured it out eventually."

Anvika :- "No."

Me :- "Eventually."

Anvika:- "No."

I dropped my bag beside my bed. The room felt familiar. Comfortable. Home.

At least as close to home as a hostel room could be.

My phone buzzed again. I look at Eira with a questionable face ..

Eira :- “Today's collection.. There is a 1st year boy’s project. Deadline is tomorrow “

I opened one file . Then another. Then another. Coding questions. Project questions. Assignment questions.

I checked everything. The problem is not very complicated. I will solve them later and send them from an anonymous account. That's how I work . Some habits became routines. And routines became invisible.

By midnight, both Anvika and Eira were asleep.

I was still awake. Laptop open. Earphones in. The glow of the screen illuminates the room ….

EPISODE 2 :- VYOM’S VERSE

"You're staring again."

I looked away from the couple sitting near the fountain.

Me :- "I was observing."

Vihaan snorted.

"Same thing."

Me :- "It absolutely isn't."

Vihaan:- "Tell me then, Mr. Psychology."

I glanced back toward the couple. The girl was smiling. The boy looked nervous. Very nervous.

Me :- "She already knows."

Vihaan frowned. "Knows what?"

Me :- "He's about to confess."

Vihaan:- "What?"

Me :- "Look at him."

The poor guy had adjusted his watch seven times in the last minute. He kept rubbing his palms together. And every time the girl looked away, he'd take a deep breath like he was preparing for battle.

Me :- "He practiced a speech."

Vihaan:- "How do you know that?"

Me:- "He keeps repeating something in his head."

Vihaan:- "That's not possible to know."

Me :- "It's obvious."

The boy finally stood. The girl blinked. A few seconds later, the confession happened.

Vihaan stared. Then looked at me. Then looked back at the couple.

Vihaan:- "...I hate you."

I grinned. "You love me."

Vihaan:- "No."

Me :- "You're just upset I'm right."

The truth was, people weren't difficult to understand. Most of the time they told you exactly what they were feeling. Not with words. With everything else. The way they moved. The way they smiled. The way they avoided eye contact. The way their voices changed.

People were books. You just have to know how to read it . That's all . Even most just never realized they were open.

My phone buzzed suddenly. A message from a first-year.

“Thank you for yesterday.”

I smiled. A simple interaction. A small problem. But helping people always felt nice. Maybe that was why I liked Psychology. Maybe that was why I liked people.

Then Professor Chatterjee entered the class . . .

The campus around us buzzed with life. Students crossed the courtyard. Friends gathered around benches. Some rushed toward classes. Some clearly weren't going to class at all.

A normal day.

Until I noticed someone sitting alone. Not far from the library steps.

A first-year student. Laptop open. Hair half-pulled out. Expression completely defeated.

Interesting.

I nudged Vihaan , "See him?"

Vihaan:- "The guy contemplating dropping out?"

Me :- "Exactly."

The boy looked exhausted. Frustrated. And very close to tears. Without thinking, I walked over.

Me:- "Rough day?"

I sat down beside him. The student looked up. His eyes immediately widened. In shock ? Or flustered ?

One downside of being well-known. People sometimes reacted like they'd seen a celebrity.

"V-Vyom bhaiya."

Me:- "That's me."

He looked even more stressed somehow.

Me:- "What happened?"

The laptop was immediately pushed toward me. Lines of code filled the screen. My confidence disappeared. Instantly. This is something I can't solve . I just can't understand this field.

Maybe watching my face he understood my position. His face fell.

1st year:- “See ?”

Silence.

Then he slowly pulled the laptop back. The poor guy buried his face in his hands.

1st year :- "I am finished."

Me :- "No, you're not."

1st year:- "The submission is tomorrow."

Me :- "That's unfortunate."

1st year:- "I haven't slept."

Me :- "That's also unfortunate."

The boy groaned. I feel sad for him . I just don't know how to help him . Still I asked - "What exactly is wrong?"

1st year :- "Login Authentication Problem."

I stared. Vihaan stared. We both stared. Neither of us knew what that meant.

Before I could offer emotional support disguised as practical advice, a burst of laughter echoed nearby.

Two girls and a boy approached from the pathway. One girl carrying a cold coffee talking with the boy who is carrying some other snacks. Another girl is scrolling through her phone.

The first-year immediately stood.

"Senior!"

They stopped.

"What happened?" one of the girl asked.

1st year :- "My project."

The boy asked, “What’s wrong?"

The 1st year started telling them - “I am building a simple student portal. Everything works except the login page. Correct passwords are being rejected. Wrong passwords sometimes get accepted. Tomorrow is the deadline. Don't know what to do "

It feels like he will cry . They looked at the screen.

For the next few minutes, the three discussed the code. Suggestions. Possibilities. Theories.

Meanwhile, I watched. Not the laptop. Them.

The girl holding the coffee immediately took charge. The boy helping the girl to solve it . The one with the phone started searching for possible fixes.

Eventually, the coffee girl sighed. "Okay."

The junior looked panicked.

"We can't solve this." That girl said .

The panic increased.

"But send me the file." She continued

The panic disappeared. Instantly. That reaction caught my attention.

The junior asked her - “You are Eira Didi right ? "

She smiled and nodded her head sweetly.

“You guys helped my roommate last week . I heard about you from him." That boy said very excitedly

That phone girl surprisingly asked him - “ Your roommate? What's his problem? "

" That bugs in the programme. He was so stressed the whole day . Then one of our friends told her to seek help from seniors. And you guys helped him." He explained

Eira exclaimed now :- " Ahh!! That bug issue ? But we didn't solve it . “

Then that junior became more excited , " Yeah I know. Your friend, right ? What's her name ? Can I meet her once . If she can fix my problem I will be forever grateful to her"

Until now the boy watching everything. Now he smiles & speak - " No no bro . You don't have to be forever grateful to her . And don't worry she will fix your problem. Chill"

Eira :- You just sent it to me .

I was amazed by looking at them . How can that 1st year can trust them . They just met for the very first time . And the way he trusts them . Completely.

The file was sent. The girls nodded.

"Don't worry"

I don't know what that simple ‘don’t worry’ carries … somehow the boy looked relieved.

They left . Still chatting. Still laughing. As if nothing important had happened.

I looked back at the junior. "You seem confident."

The boy nodded. "I am."

Me :- "Why?"

The answer came immediately.

1st year :- "Because if they couldn't solve it..."

He lowered his voice dramatically. "They'll send it to her."

I blinked. "Her?"

The boy looked around like he was discussing state secrets. "The ghost."

Silence.

Vihaan appeared beside me. Immediately interested. "A ghost?"

The junior nodded. "The Computer Science ghost."

I exchanged a glance with Vihaan. This should be good.

"Who exactly is this ghost?" Vihaan asked.

The boy shrugged. "Nobody knows."

Me:- "That's not how people work."

"No, seriously." The first-year sounded completely sincere.

"I've never seen her.My roommate hasn't seen her.My senior hasn't seen her.But everyone knows she exists." The boy said

Vihaan looked delighted. "Oh, I love this already."

The junior continued. "Whenever someone has a coding problem..."

"They call Ghostbusters?" Vihaan suggested.

"No…They call her friends."

The boy pointed toward the direction the three girls had disappeared.

"Those seniors."

Interesting. Very interesting. I leaned back.

"So this mysterious person fixes projects?"

The junior nodded.

"Projects , Assignments, Bugs, Competition code, Everything."

Me :- "And nobody knows her?"

The boy shrugged.

"Actually her classmates know her but they never dared to talk to her . If they have anything to say they just told her friends. Apparently she only talks to her friends. Normally. "

Vihaan looked thoughtful. That was dangerous. Very dangerous. Because Vihaan's hobby was collecting gossip. From every department. Every batch. Every society. Every club. This boy practically survived on information. Yet even he seemed confused.

"You know what's weird?" Vihaan said.

"What?" The boy asked

Vihaan:- "I know everyone's business."

That was unfortunately true.

"And?" The boy asked again

Vihaan:- "I've never heard anything about this girl."

The first-year pointed dramatically. "Exactly."

Vihaan stared toward the path where the girls had disappeared. That first year boy said good bye and went in the opposite way with a calm , relax expression.

Vihaan said in a serious tone "A ghost."

I laughed. "A student."

Vihaan:- "A ghost student."

Me :- "A student."

Vihaan:- "A mysterious genius."

I shook my head. The conversation was ridiculous. And yet...

As we walked away, I found myself thinking about it.Not the ghost. The reaction. The trust. One struggling junior. Three seniors. And somewhere behind all of it— Someone who helped without showing up. Someone whose work people knew better than her face. Strange.

Most people wanted to be recognized. This person seemed determined to remain invisible. And for reasons I couldn't explain… I was curious. Very curious.

The rest of the day went as usual. I got 3 proposals today but obviously with my talking skill I passed them all .

Sitting on the chair in our hostel room . Reyansh and Vihaan joking together about that morning incident. As usual, Vihaan joking about that ghost part . He is seriously something.

And here I am thinking about their conversation, the trust . That blind trust is really knocking me . How can someone earn so much trust from everybody when nobody knows about her . Really interesting.

Suddenly Reyansh said, “May be she looks horrible. That's why she never shows up in front of everyone. "

Then Vihaan joined , “Maybe her voice is also like a broken record. That's why she never talks with anyone. And that's why they calls her ‘GHOST’ "

Saying this both of them laugh out loud . I protest immediately - “Even if she looks horrible, even if her voice sounds terrible. Still she has the right to live like a human . To be praised for what she did. After all , she is really an individual first then her beauty and everything “

Hearing my word they stopped. Sometimes silence then again they started laughing about another topic . I didn't notice..

To understand a person you need to observe them, their choices, their movements, their eyes , their expressions . It's not impossible to understand people if you have the ability to observe the details.

After thinking about it a lot I finally went to bed. Tomorrow is a new day , a new beginning …