Echoes never die - By Shradha Manikandan

Written By: Shradha Manikandan

Category: Poetry

Competition: Poetry and Creative Writing Competition 2026

Shradha Manikandan presents "Echoes never die," an evocative poem in the Poetry and Creative Writing Competition 2026. This poignant piece explores the intricate web of friendships and the echoes of memories that linger long after bonds have faded. Through her verses, Shradha captures the essence of emotional turmoil and the haunting beauty of past connections. Her work resonates with the universal experience of longing and the enduring nature of echoes in our lives.

About the Work

"Echoes never die" delves into themes of friendship, memory, and introspection. Shradha's poetic style beautifully combines vivid imagery with raw emotion, capturing the essence of a once cherished bond. The mood is one of reflective melancholy, as the narrator grapples with the loss and the echoes of the past. The piece invites readers to ponder the complexities of human relationships and the enduring impact they leave behind.

Echoes never die

Original Submission by Shradha Manikandan

ECHOES NEVER DIE

I look over at her

Her pony tail swinging

Her bangs set free

She sits giggling with the others

Girls with whom I’ve hung out

Someone who probably despises me

But we’ve never fought

People hate me for no reason

‘Now’ I’m used to it

But I never thought she would too

The stranger I share memories with

Our eyes lock

I give her a smile

One she doesn’t return

One that once stretched for miles

My mind goes blank

As it does ‘now’

The doctors say - ‘cancer’

But I think it’s “her”

I used to hate the dark

Hate the sinister lurkers

But why hate something around you

When it’s made of you

It throbs again

A dull ache turning hollow

I want to cry but I’m too tired to feel

But I’m just an echo drowning in the sound

“I don’t care about them”

That’s not true

I do care

I care so much

I miss how we talked till our phones died

I miss when we sung till our throats went hoarse

I miss when there was no wall between us

When it was ‘us’ against the world

Until it was just me

Once upon a time

I watched our friendship down burn to the ground

While I watched her build a new one from the ashes

A memory flashes

A pathway that leads to a door

On the other side, it’s a warm, sunny day

But where I am, it’s cold and grey

I call them echoes

Because it is a reminder of what we can’t have anymore

She looks at me under her long lashes

Her hair imprisoned in a hair tie

It’s almost the same as ‘now’

Except, ‘then’ she was smiling at me

Holding a hair tie as she fiddles with it

As we count down how fast we can make a pattern with it

Sometimes I wonder if we were counting down to make a record

or the time left in our friendship

I wake up with my head in my hand

The teacher looks concerned

“Is everything all right”

“Of course” I say, in a Barbie-fake tone

Neither of us believe it

I walk up to ‘her’

My brain screaming to not

I silence it

Just like the others did to me

“Do you remember when we were invited to that party?

We didn’t know anyone there

But we had each other

I remember that I was late

How you were nervous I’d ditched you

But you should know that I never will…

Do you remember how we jumped in that trampoline

How you almost twisted your ankle

But just bounced right back up

Like you always do

Do you remember that we were so hungry

That we gobbled everything so fast

And choked from laughing

Do you remember that we went over to your house right after

And when I was leaving, you hugged me so tight,

I was breathless and said

“No matter what, we will always be friends”

I guess that ‘always’ was temporary…

Remember?”

I can’t read her face

She’s either amused or confused

Sympathetic or empathetic

Either way it hurts

‘No’ she says

And suddenly,

It hits me like I fell

She wasn't an echo.

I was.

She ripped out the scabs

and I’m bleeding all over again

“Oh” I say

blinking back tears

I return to my seat

her gaze following me

judging my every move

The teacher continues

something about quadrilaterals

I can’t make it out

for the words are just an echo of what ‘she’ said

“Quadrilaterals. Four sided polygons”

the teacher says

as though nothing ever happened

as though nothing changed in this world

as though one half doesn’t have to live without the other

For one embarrassing moment

I feel jealous of a square

jealous of how perfect it is

how everyone prefers it

how all the angles are equal and right

how the sides are equal and parallel

I feel like a kite

unequal and not quite parallel

nobody prefers it

But it’s this dynamic that allows it to fly

and for the first time in weeks

I feel myself smile

The bell rings

The chairs start scraping

She walks past me

Not even glancing

And for once

Neither do I

I walk out

The sky ablaze with gold streaks

But I feel nothing but ashes

The road looks the same.

The houses look the same.

Even the little shop

where we used to buy candy

is still the same

Funny.

Everything stayed

exactly where it was.

Except us.

I get home

But I don’t feel quite…

When they start screaming

I shut my door and lock it

I blast music at a hundred decibels

So I can drown out their words

And pretend everything will be alright

I search up “why does everyone hate me”

But I already know the answer

“How to make people stop hating me?”

Some cringe quote about self-love pops

I know damn well that won’t do a shit

My head throbs

My hands search for the Tylenol

And then it all fades black

I wear my violin as she waits for me

Her hair set free

Her guitar slung over a shoulder

Her eyes ablaze with laughter

As we walk on the streets

Hand in hand

Cars honking behind us

She hands me a box

Inside is a donut she made

I take a bite and gag

“I love it”

Because I would do anything for her…

even lie

We walk to a restaurant

Taking forever to order

Because we couldn’t breathe

Not how I feel now

But because we were dying from cracking terrible jokes

I tell her something cringe

She laughs anyway

Sometimes I wonder if I could have framed that moment and hung it in my heart

But time was cruel and didn’t let me

When we finally did order

She pays

She ordered something I told her not to

And ended up regretting it

I wish she regrets our distance too

I wish she knows how much she mattered to me

The first time I cried so much, wasn’t over some petty boy

I wish she knows how much I cried over her

I almost trip over a rock

She grabs my hand

And we laugh like maniacs

People would have thought we were psychos

But I didn’t care

As long I was with her

We walk into a supermarket

And spot the gummy bears

We love them

Screw the sugar rush

We make it upstairs

Avoiding the staff’s judgey face

We pushed through

Her guitar almost knocking over a glass piece

We bought an orbeez ball

My ball broke the minute I reached home

I wonder if that ball hadn’t ripped,

She’d still be around

The gummy bears too

The half empty packet’s still stuffed in my violin case

I’ll never eat it

Even if it’s the last I got

And a marshmallow

Split

Just like us

We sit on the steps

Of some rich place

Minutes before we were kicked out

The gummy bear packet open in my hands

“If you pick the red one, you’ll have to call him and apologize for dumping flour on his head”

“When did that happen?”

I roll my eyes but smile

She picks the red one

“That’s orange” she says in disbelief

“And you’re not short, now call him”

This is perhaps my most favorite memory…ever

I want to keep it in my heart

Hoping my heartbeat can keep it alive forever

Something ‘we’ didn’t

The faint sound of beeping floods in

Then it hits all at once

The headache

The heartache

The Tylenol

And something else

The doctor is in one corner

My parents in the other

Both staring at me like they’ve seen a ghost

There is no wrong in that sentence…

I’m too tired

Tired of being forgotten

Tired of being the last choice

Tired of being an echo…

I push off the bed

My mind screaming at me

Everything blurs into one

The flashing lights a hurricane around me

The colors blur and the wind in roaring

But the eye of which….calm

Just like me?

I need to go outside

I need to scream at the world

For forgetting me

For moving on

For lying that there was a ‘forever’

Outside, it’s dusk

Faded shadows are on the ground

Lifeless

I wish my shadow would come alive

I wish it would hug me

I wish it would tell me that it will all be alright

I’m staring at the shadow

Willing it get up

Then it all happens too fast

My head is spiraling

It’s too much

There is some blaring noise

A flash of lights

Then it all goes black

About the Competition

The Poetry and Creative Writing Competition 2026 by Hashtag Kalakar is a celebration of literary excellence and creativity. It provides a platform for writers and poets to share their unique voices and stories with a global audience. This competition encourages participants to explore diverse themes and express their thoughts through the art of writing, fostering a vibrant community of creative minds.

We express our gratitude to Shradha Manikandan for sharing her poignant poem, "Echoes never die," in the Poetry and Creative Writing Competition 2026. Her work offers a deep reflection on friendships and the echoes they leave behind. We appreciate her participation and contribution to this vibrant celebration of creative expression.

About Hashtag Kalakar

Hashtag Kalakar is a creative platform dedicated to providing artists, writers, singers and other creative talents with opportunities to showcase their work and reach wider audiences through competitions, features and creative initiatives.