A month earlier Steve had asked Sara to marry him, but she loved Jeremy. After what Mary said to her, she said yes to Steve. Loneliness is the worst feeling of all, and she was a softhearted person. She was forced by Mary who never wanted to see Sara upset.
Everything was normal until the moment he saw his roommate kissing her. There was absolute silence. The skies poured vigorously. The boughs beat each other in vain. Each flower on all the plants withered away. Jeremy walked away in pain, in the rain. And he felt the pain – again. He cried. He cried like an infant. The way he used to cry when he was young. The way he cried when he heard the news that his father died in the war.
Everything looked odd. The dark clouds pierced through his broken heart. He was hurt. He walked uphill; by chance the roommate next door noticed him, and rushed to ask what he saw. The students next to the fish pond, just a couple of steps before his room, were stunned to see him in tears. There was pain, and for the first time they saw him that way.
The night would to end in a few hours with the final show – the farewell event. And the curtains would fall down forever.
Jeremy walked inside his room and stood there for a while. He packed his bags, changed his dress, and stood in the shower for an hour. He was still crying. He looked at himself in the mirror and ran his fingers through his long shabby beard. He took the blade, shaved it, and combed his hair. He dressed up in a black suit and plucked a rose flower from the backyard and walked downward. The rain stopped pouring, but the fog covered Jeremy. The students who walked to bid their seniors farewell couldn’t recognize the person walking downhill. The girls near the canteen, just above the college garden, didn’t recognize the man who walked in black suit with the guitar. All the faces turned back to see the new face, but he was not a new face to any. He was Jeremy.
He entered the hall, and every student had to say a word or two before they left college to enter a new phase in life. Richard noticed the change in Jeremy. He found the pain hidden behind his eyes, but he couldn’t speak to him then. He was already on the stage performing a solo song.
Sara was sitting with Steve in a red gown, with a pretty rose flower on her hair. Her eyes wandered, searching for Jeremy. She knew that she was still in love with him. Silence speaks more than words, but at times, silence pierces more than any.
The time came when each student had to say their final words before they left. A younger student called out each students’ name. All of them walked up to the stage and shared what they felt about the place and their life for the past three years. An hour later it was Richard’s turn. He walked forward and said how happy he felt to showcase his talent and the way he progressed his interest in music. Four students later, Sara walked up to the stage. She was silent, but finally she spoke.
She said, “I will miss this place. I will miss this place for one reason. And the reason is you”.
