Chapter 1
Feeling Setup(Childhood )
Naina never understood why she always felt like she was standing slightly outside the center of attention in her own world.
Growing up, her home was always full of comparisons she never asked for. And besides of Neha (Her cousin) someone who was always close in age and presence.
The shine in a different way. While Naina found comfort in colors, music, movement, and imagination, And Neha (Her cousin) was praised for something else entirely: She is intelligence, discipline, and academic success.
In family gatherings, the difference was never spoken harshly, but it was always there. Everyone prodigious Neha . And Naina would quietly smile, even when she felt something heavy sit inside her chest that she didn’t know how to name.
No one said she wasn’t special. But somehow, she knew what’s happening.
While others celebrated marks and ranks, Naina found herself lost in sketches on the corner of notebooks, wearing headphone and humming songs she never performed.
As they grew, the gap between them seemed to widen in ways that weren’t only about school or attention. Small competitions began silently.
And without realizing it, Naina began to feel something unfamiliar something between admiration, irritation, and curiosity toward the one person she was constantly compared to.
It was not hatred. Not love either.
But what she didn’t know then was simple:
Some feelings don’t begin with understanding. They begin with silence.
