Canteen

I felt lonely when- I was in a filled college canteen with my friends

I sat with my friends in the college canteen, listening to their laughter and chatter. They were talking about weekend plans, funny things that happened in class, but it all felt distant, like I was watching them from far away.

My tiffin sat in front of me, unopened. I looked at it, feeling a strange heaviness in my chest, like I didn’t belong at this table. My friends didn’t notice—I was smiling along, nodding, pretending to keep up. But inside, I felt like I was somewhere else, like I was just a shadow at their table.

The thought of opening my tiffin, eating with them, felt too hard somehow. I didn’t know why. So I just sat there, quiet, hoping they wouldn’t notice.