“No tickets available, sorry,” The voice crackled through the phone.

“Oh ok, and there was this other one I sent you this morning?” Saanvi pulled at the scrunchie she had left dangling on the bed post earlier.

“There's a long waiting list on that one too. Maybe 37 people, last time I checked. It won't work.”

“Oh,” she let go of the scrunchie and watched it fling away to some corner of her hostel room.

“Yeah. Also, a train was cancelled last night. So tough luck.”

“Oh. Ok.”

“Sorry, I would inform you if I can do something.”

“Alright, thanks.”

A sigh rang out in the room as the phone disconnected. Saanvi reached out for something to tie her hair only to realise that the scrunchie was no longer there.

Oh, right.

She let her hair hang loose for the moment as she looked around her in disappointment. One half of the room completely bare and lifeless. The voice box of her room was gone. Her roommate Trisha had left just the day before and was safely home now. And I'm still here.

She had booked the ticket way earlier, only having to cancel after being held back due to a test at the very last minute. And now, with tickets being unavailable, she had no way to go home for the holidays.

The window opening to the back of the building only let in cool breeze that made her shiver. But she wasn't about to go and close it. The floor was a slab of ice that she wouldn't dare step on. It had taken a long time for her feet to warm up. And she wasn't about to take any chances.

She thought of the problem at hand.

Oh well. Guess I am stuck here.

Alone.

In this little room. Among the four walls, the ceiling and the floor.

She held her head thinking miserable things.

Her phone dinged with a notification in the college group chat. There were others from other chats, one about some site hiring content writers. Other from a friend she still had to read and text back.

She reached out her left hand and placed her pointer finger on the mini arrow on the top right. Something about a winter carnival to be held at the Campus ground. Stalls, some games and some other stuff she could read only on full text.

She closed her phone again, scoffing to herself. Carnival, huh. The negative demon (who was set on finding everything bad around her) mocked in her head. As if. They really think setting up a little stall of overpriced things can be called a carnival.

And yet some part of her brain, the part which she found to be even worse than her negative demon quietly uttered,

Wouldn't it be so nice if I could go with a friend or two? Even if overpriced, it isn't necessary to buy anything. Just a little walk might be nice. Just something as a sort of memory.

But what was the point now? She didn't have any friends left in the hostel. And it wasn't like it was easy to just go somewhere and be friends with anyone she wanted to.

Her finger hovered over the screen for a while.

She slapped her cheeks a little, Get a check on yourself, babe.

Even as her brain continued,

What a miserable end to a year.

___

1st January 2025