Chapter 1 The FIRST Chapter of Change
“Mom… Mom! Where will we go now?” I asked, half excited and half nervous.
“Home,” she replied softly.
“Which home?” I frowned.
“Our home,” she smiled. “You will finally live with your family and enjoy with them.”
After a long time, those words felt like sunshine.
Finally.
The next week, my final exams were completed, and I was excited—truly excited—to go back to my real home. The home I missed the most.
We had been living in Assam for just six months. Six long months. I came here in October 2017, when I was in Class 3.
And honestly… it was not easy.
I was born in Kerala, but my first schooling was in Assam. If I think about it, most of my life has somehow passed here. People often say, “Oh, you’re so lucky! You get to travel everywhere. Your life must be wonderful!”
But they don’t know the truth.
The transfer life is not dreamy.
Not for me.
We have limited days, limited months in every place. And secondly, you always have to stay away from your family.
Who would ever want that?
That’s why I feel awkward when people romanticize this lifestyle. You can’t make forever friends. Even when you try, the first thought that comes is:
“You’re only here for one year or three years. Don’t get attached.”
Packing had already started in our… house.
Not home.
Just a house. Hah.
I didn’t like this place—not the land, but the people. I wouldn’t say the place was bad, but the people were simply not right for me or my family. School is supposed to be a place where students gain knowledge, enjoy life, and grow.
But for me, those six months were filled with sobbing, fear, tension, and trauma.
I was in Class 3.
What does a kid of that age even know about trauma?
Friends didn’t like me because I was from another state.
Hah… leave it.
All I knew was that packing meant escape.
Escape from this place.
Escape from these people.
Escape from the fear.
And going back to my hometown… felt like healing.
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