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.
121Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxY9XfruFCX
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.
121Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzFj8zYKlbR
Then one day, everything changed in a way I never expected.
121Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZCtHYHV7yL
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.
121Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡg0uS9WgjXQ
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.”
121Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ63QEohD3sE
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.
121Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXDL1c72O9d
I thought that was the end of it.
121Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuuREFWlFM1
But a few days later, his wife—who was like an elder sister to me—came to me holding a watch.
121Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmq1fagkZN3
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.
121Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHgsYEGd7ef
I hesitated.
121Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhYUtAR2Jcg
I told her honestly, “I don’t feel comfortable taking anything from him. Please take it back.”
121Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2BjD1nCbvr
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.
121Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdSXwUMSpry
Even though her words sounded convincing, my heart refused to believe them.
121Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1VsNMaVwiN
Still, after refusing several times, I finally gave in and accepted the watch.
121Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡb7Y48iNZ2R
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.
121Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡs3GANJPY0X
But slowly, day by day, something changed.
121Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKE5Nfo3QJR
I started getting used to it.
121Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfUBHaE5wjh
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.
121Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAqt1E48yRN
And then, only a few days before he tried to harass me, the chain of that watch broke.
121Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡg1CAJDU9BH
I remember staring at the broken pieces in silence.
121Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAr8NOgRMBi
At that time, it just felt like an accident.
121Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdGZqiXG8lC
I stopped wearing it after that.
121Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQKUW6tU9UE
And then the incident happened.
121Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8wRz95SOEb
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.
121Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡs9BzzV7fGk
I never touched it again.
121Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡu0kTYPpPq9
But even though I had stopped wearing it, the habit it had created stayed with me.
121Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqKKB13es6p
My wrist suddenly felt empty.
121Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVdUT6I3KFw
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.
121Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGtR3ie3tje
That was when I realized how deeply habits can settle into us, even when their beginnings are unwanted.
121Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJK97arkn6W
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.
121Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡoIqIiotwek
He didn’t ask too many questions.
121Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡoNgOPGoEFw
He simply brought me one.
121Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9vtkP79bfk
It was a simple act, but it meant so much more than just receiving a watch.
121Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmS5b8hjncA
This one was different.
121Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡaWozIL6jZZ
It carried no discomfort, no hesitation, no hidden uneasiness.
121Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡl73RlXcdI0
It was given to me by someone who truly cared for me—my father.
121Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTruEaVkWM2
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.
121Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6MsXOseVUG
And slowly, this new watch replaced the meaning of the old one.
121Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpXRkUQYUsD
Now, whenever I wear it and catch a glimpse of it on my wrist, I sometimes remember how this habit first began.
121Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgUuY5UTQYZ
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.
121Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCp2ZcRbniD
But then I look at the one I wear now, and I remind myself of something important:
121Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbDnUkIq2MO
Not every beginning gets to define the ending.
121Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1rZIe48Erg
Yes, the habit of wearing a watch may have started from a painful memory.
121Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMg1wb4WJMV
But the meaning of that habit changed when my father placed this watch in my hands.
121Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXJrAFaisN0
This watch is no longer about the past.
121Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡE5QbkiblSE
It is about the present.
121Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpdf01nDeYc
It is about love, care, and protection.
121Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡeKdN3ueurC
It is proof that something connected to pain can be rewritten into something beautiful.
121Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡChEe2bQI0S
And now, every time I look at my wrist, I no longer think of what happened back then.
121Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6y5HRqqJwm
Instead, I think of the people who truly care for me.
121Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUBWxc2nf0k
I think of my father.
121Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5iDn21mbe2
And I smile, knowing that this watch is not a reminder of what hurt me—
121Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡspquKmcI5b
it is a reminder of what healed me.121Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0QksoTXaZi
and then Add to home screen.