One morning, the news spread like wildfire across the country—
“TikTok is banned in India.”
“Do you know, big brother? TikTok is banned!” my sister shouted.
“What?! Are you serious?” I replied, shocked.
And in my head, one thought echoed— “What am I gonna do now?”
Oh wait… I should probably tell you, I had a TikTok account. Not just any account—it was my BTS fan page. Yeah, you heard that right.
Back to the story…
“Oh jeez…” I whispered to myself, still processing the news.
I had thousands of followers. Thousands.
And in that moment, all I could think of was—what now?
“What can I even do about this?” I asked myself… and then asked my sister.
“I don’t know,” she replied casually, like it wasn’t the end of my world.
(个_个)
Those were great memories, the best, most magical moments I had online. And now… all gone.
Without TikTok, life suddenly felt empty. Boring.
(Oh, did I tell you this was during the pandemic? Yeah, life was already tough enough.)
So, I picked up my phone and called my brother.
“Hello,” I said.
“Haan bhai,” he replied.
“I’m on vacation… and honestly, I’m so bored here,” I confessed.
“So why don’t you come here? Visit papa and mummy. They’re missing you,” he said.
“Fine. Tomorrow I’ll take the first train,” I agreed.
“Wait, should I come get you?” he asked.
“Okay,” I said, and we cut the call.
---
In my hometown, life was slower.
I played drums, did some gardening, went for long walks, and spent time with my pets.
Ah, Maggie—my cute, lovable Labrador. My partner-in-crime. We played together, went on walks, and honestly, she understood me better than most humans did. And then there was my cat… equally adorable, equally special.
One day, out of nowhere, my sister asked,
“Why don’t you use social media?”
“I don’t like it,” I replied.
“But why?” she pressed.
“I genuinely don’t have a reason,” I shrugged.
“Okay, but… why?” she asked again, refusing to drop it.
“I don’t want to waste my time talking to strangers,” I said firmly.
She looked at me, half serious, half teasing.
“I guess you should use social media. You have to socialize with people and make friends.”
I didn’t reply. I just nodded.
And honestly, I didn’t know when, or how, my vacations ended.
Soon after, I found myself packing again—for my nani’s house!
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I met a stranger
Non-FictionThis story is about an introvert learning to socialize with people, and how life changes after meeting a stranger. How one small conversation began... and how everything felt different afterward.
