💬 I will not throw away this t-shirt

I own a grey t-shirt from a 2016 cricket tournament and it has 4 holes. I counted yesterday. It was free with the entry fee. The print said Winners Cup, and we lost in the quarter final. I've worn it every weekend since. It's the softest thing I own, softer than anything I've bought. The collar has gone wavy and the left sleeve is basically a rumour. I'm fine with all of it. My mother has thrown it in the dustbin twice. Both times I went out and pulled it back. The second time she'd already put a banana peel on top of it. I washed it twice. She said, people come to the house, Darshan. I said, people come to see me, not the shirt. She said that's what I'm afraid of. We didn't talk for about 20 minutes after that. Last Sunday I wore it to buy milk and the shop guy said, bro, that's a mosquito net. I said it's vintage. He said, vintage is when it's old and still has a shirt left. Fair point but I paid him and went home still wearing it. The neighbour's kid waved at me. I felt great. That kind of confidence only comes with a shirt that's seen your whole 20s. I did buy a new one in April, same colour, ₹499. Soft cotton, no holes, perfect. I wore it twice and it felt like wearing a school uniform. Stiff in all the wrong places. It's folded in the cupboard now with the tag cut off, waiting for me to wash it 40 times. My brother says that's the plan. Wash it enough and it'll turn into the old one. I'm trying.

The left sleeve being basically a rumour is a good description for every shirt I have loved. Mine is a green kurta from 2013 with a hole under the arm that I patched with a different green. My mother says it looks like a map.

My partner binned my college hoodie in 2021. Your mother would get on with them. I found it in the bin bag by the gate and walked it straight back inside.