Back when I was in 9th grade, I never liked wearing anything on my wrist. Watches, bracelets, bands—none of it ever felt right to me. Whenever I saw girls my age wearing colorful watches or pretty bracelets, I used to wonder how they could wear them so comfortably. For me, even the thought of having something tied around my wrist felt strange and uncomfortable, almost like it didn’t belong there.
79Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHYGlKiy7nk
Because of that, I always avoided wearing anything on my hands. My wrists were always bare, and honestly, I never thought much about it. It was simply who I was. I had convinced myself that watches were not for me.
79Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBKNMJ9hADZ
Then one day, everything changed in a way I never expected.
79Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlx0Sj4cRLW
There was a married relative of mine—the same man who later tried to harass me. At that time, I didn’t fully understand the discomfort I felt around him, but something about his behavior always made me uneasy.
79Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAelDqdUgE3
One day, during a casual conversation, he looked at me and said, “You’ve grown up now. You should start wearing a watch like everyone else.”
79Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡljQ3Ve0pzs
His words felt unnecessary, almost intrusive. I immediately refused. I told him clearly that I didn’t like wearing watches and that I felt uncomfortable with anything on my wrist.
79Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1PNEQVlfqx
I thought that was the end of it.
79Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3A5POArj7q
But a few days later, his wife—who was like an elder sister to me—came to me holding a watch.
79Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcaOzLMsg6i
The moment I saw it, I felt something strange inside me. I didn’t know why, but deep down, I was almost certain that the watch had come from him.
79Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMxWUNHsuxU
I hesitated.
79Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ34GJOh5WjL
I told her honestly, “I don’t feel comfortable taking anything from him. Please take it back.”
79Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjWrnLSH2yv
But she smiled and tried to reassure me. She said it wasn’t bought specially for me. According to her, it was just a free gift that had come with ₹5000 worth of shopping.
79Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkB5a8hDys0
Even though her words sounded convincing, my heart refused to believe them.
79Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3k43wiPDfr
Still, after refusing several times, I finally gave in and accepted the watch.
79Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9zHi1Yv9rZ
At first, wearing it felt awkward, just as I had always imagined. The weight on my wrist felt unfamiliar. I kept adjusting it again and again, trying to get used to it.
79Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlQTHauuZQH
But slowly, day by day, something changed.
79Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKAPo2N25YJ
I started getting used to it.
79Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ59anfeRvzo
Without realizing it, I had developed a habit of looking at my wrist. Sometimes I would glance at it absentmindedly, just to see it there. It became part of my routine.
79Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsc6OUWnV2Y
And then, only a few days before he tried to harass me, the chain of that watch broke.
79Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkowx3Um7xv
I remember staring at the broken pieces in silence.
79Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZcViYJApzX
At that time, it just felt like an accident.
79Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2SWMkSKZOs
I stopped wearing it after that.
79Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKWzJnnApIk
And then the incident happened.
79Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdDusgLPSPC
After what he tried to do, the broken watch no longer felt like just a broken object. It became tied to a memory I wanted to erase.
79Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡddJRC9Foco
I never touched it again.
79Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡobBgvT9Kcv
But even though I had stopped wearing it, the habit it had created stayed with me.
79Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8MKz84ajsY
My wrist suddenly felt empty.
79Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3BV8B5QGOZ
It was strange because for years I had hated the feeling of wearing anything there. Yet now, when I looked down and saw nothing, it felt incomplete—like something was missing.
79Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡc2Hrb5kiCU
That was when I realized how deeply habits can settle into us, even when their beginnings are unwanted.
79Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDUYO51ZbmF
One day, after thinking about it for a long time, I went to my father and asked him if he could buy me a watch.
79Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwLx5TO9OO1
He didn’t ask too many questions.
79Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqCfAZBBVh1
He simply brought me one.
79Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLFhEW9KdkU
It was a simple act, but it meant so much more than just receiving a watch.
79Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡt9Zps2lRjv
This one was different.
79Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXmZZimXDIw
It carried no discomfort, no hesitation, no hidden uneasiness.
79Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJG6y52vWnm
It was given to me by someone who truly cared for me—my father.
79Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdCimi7x96A
The first time I wore it, it felt different from the very beginning. Instead of discomfort, I felt warmth. Instead of doubt, I felt peace.
79Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8vp6NH6e2q
And slowly, this new watch replaced the meaning of the old one.
79Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡs1yxN4Bkpp
Now, whenever I wear it and catch a glimpse of it on my wrist, I sometimes remember how this habit first began.
79Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡiEgAwbn5XL
For a brief moment, the memory of that first watch crosses my mind—the watch I never wanted, the watch that carried a truth no one openly admitted.
79Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡh8jH5XCX5v
But then I look at the one I wear now, and I remind myself of something important:
79Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡww61o1KjgQ
Not every beginning gets to define the ending.
79Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ41TmVBr1YA
Yes, the habit of wearing a watch may have started from a painful memory.
79Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDdEda9lCzk
But the meaning of that habit changed when my father placed this watch in my hands.
79Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyIfd7rWr5v
This watch is no longer about the past.
79Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1fFIg4KXWX
It is about the present.
79Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWsxf9OHJni
It is about love, care, and protection.
79Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFcIVff0QFR
It is proof that something connected to pain can be rewritten into something beautiful.
79Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxaxLU95xtn
And now, every time I look at my wrist, I no longer think of what happened back then.
79Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXbFhsc20vx
Instead, I think of the people who truly care for me.
79Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcWMBOjN2jd
I think of my father.
79Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFUaN4zMv4t
And I smile, knowing that this watch is not a reminder of what hurt me—
79Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTKGHz5qQne
it is a reminder of what healed me.79Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1wJRtvU7vt
and then Add to home screen.