In the Desire to Find Love ❤️

February 2, 2008 Miral Fatima opened her eyes to this world, but perhaps the doors of love had been closed to her from the very beginning. She was a child who had never understood what her fault was. She had siblings, relatives, parents, and a home around her, yet Miral always felt alone. She had never experienced someone pulling her into their arms and telling her, "You are our whole world." Instead, most of what came her way was scolding, taunts, criticism, and comparisons with others. The quieter she became, the weaker people thought she was. And the more she longed for love, the more she was made to feel that she was not worthy of it. Miral would often sit quietly in a corner of her room, hiding her tears. Sometimes she would bury her face in her pillow and cry. Sometimes, in the middle of the night, she would simply stare at the ceiling in silence. Sometimes she would think that perhaps everything would change when morning came. But morning came. The people remained the same. And Miral remained the same too. Alone. School did not bring her any peace either. Some teachers failed to understand her quiet and sensitive nature. Instead, they scolded her, punished her, and embarrassed her in front of everyone. Even at family gatherings, she received fewer kind words and more taunts. At a very young age, Miral learned one thing: A person who does not receive love from their own home spends their whole life searching for pieces of love everywhere else. And that was exactly what Miral began to do. She kept searching for love. Sometimes in someone's gentle voice. Sometimes in someone's attention. Sometimes in someone's compliments. Her eyes were large and beautiful. Many boys tried to approach her simply by complimenting them. Someone would say, "Your eyes are so beautiful." Someone else would promise, "I will always keep you happy." And someone would try to convince her, after only a few sweet words, that perhaps this was the love she had been waiting for all these years. But every time, Miral was left empty-handed. The love she believed was real turned out to be temporary. The people she trusted disappointed her. And after every new disappointment, she became quieter than before. She was searching for love in the wrong places because she had never received it from the right ones. --- Superior College Time passed. Miral enrolled at Superior College. Boys and girls studied together there. Miral had never really wanted to enter such an environment, but she had no choice but to obey her parents. On her very first day at college, she realized that life was not going to be easy for her there either. Some boys laughed when they saw her. Some made fun of her quiet nature. Some deliberately tried to annoy her. The other girls would argue with such boys, complain about them, and answer them back. But Miral was different. She remained silent. She listened to everything. She endured everything. And then she would sit quietly in her place, pretending as if none of it mattered to her. Even though, deep inside, every word was breaking her a little more. There was a boy in the same class. Umair Ahmed. At first, Umair did not speak much to Miral, but he quietly noticed her. He had noticed that unlike the other girls, Miral did not react to everything. One day, when a few boys started bothering Miral again, Umair finally spoke in a firm voice. "Enough. Stop bothering her." The boys laughed. One of them asked Umair, "Why do you care?" Umair replied, "Whatever my reason is, it is none of your concern. From now on, nobody will say anything about her." That day, Miral looked at Umair carefully for the first time. But she did not approach him. She could not trust someone easily. --- Nimra's Accusation A soft corner for Miral had already begun to develop in Umair's heart, but Miral was unaware of it. Then one day, an incident created a wall of misunderstanding between them. Miral's cousin, Nimra, made an accusation that deeply disturbed Miral. It all started with a gift that had been found in Umair's bag. Nimra created the impression that Miral had placed the gift in Umair's bag and that Umair was involved with her in the matter. When Miral heard this, only one thought crossed her mind: "So, is Umair just like everyone else?" She began to distrust him. She stopped talking to him. Umair tried to explain himself, but Miral was not willing to listen. She felt that once again, someone had played with her feelings. But the truth was different. Umair had known nothing about the matter beforehand. After some time, Nimra's lie was exposed. Miral discovered that Umair was innocent. She became silent. For the first time, she realized that perhaps she had judged Umair without knowing the truth. And Umair? The feeling he had once held for Miral as a simple liking had now grown much deeper. --- A New Beginning After some time, Miral and Umair began talking again. At first, their conversations were short. Then came ordinary conversations. And slowly, their conversations began to last longer. Umair created an Instagram account. His profile was not really meant for everyone. There was only one person he wanted to notice him: Miral. Miral did not have a personal phone, but sometimes she used Instagram through her mother's phone. One day, she came across Umair's account. She stared at the screen for a while. She did not follow him back immediately. Perhaps she was still afraid. Perhaps she was afraid of giving her heart to someone again. But Umair did not rush her. He simply continued to make his presence known. Umair had a close friend named Ali. Miral had two friends, Sadia and Hamda. And Umair's brother, Uzair, also studied in the same class. Gradually, all of them began to realize that Miral and Umair were starting to like each other. Their conversations increased. So did their concern for one another. And then came the time when Miral, who had spent years wandering in search of love, began to give Umair's attention a place in her heart. She would tell herself, "I need this love." Then her heart would immediately answer, "But is this the right place to find it?" A battle had begun inside Miral. On one side was her past. On the other was Umair. And between them stood her frightened heart. --- Love or Waiting? One day, Umair asked Miral, "Do you like me?" Miral did not answer immediately. She remained silent for quite some time. Then she said, "You tell me first." Umair confessed what was in his heart. Miral made one thing very clear to him: "If you truly want me in your life, then come to me with a marriage proposal. I do not want to remain in a relationship that has no future. If we are meant to be together, then we will take this relationship onto a halal path." Umair fell silent. He liked Miral, but he still wanted to complete his education. His dream was to become a doctor. His parents were also very strict. It was not even easy for Umair to go out of the house, let alone talk to them about marriage at that point in his life. Instead of making a promise to Miral, he simply said, "I need some time." Miral lowered her gaze. For her, the word "time" was dangerous. Because life had already made her wait so many times. And at the end of every wait, she had found loneliness instead of love. --- A Misunderstanding With time, their conversations continued to grow. Ali, Sadia, Hamda, and Uzair were also aware of their secret. Their classmates began following one another on Instagram. Everyone seemed to have their own little world online. But one small incident created a strange feeling in Miral's heart. Umair's Instagram account was under his real name, and his profile was clearly recognizable. Miral did not follow him back. However, Umair's friend Ali had an Instagram account that was not under his real name. Miral unknowingly followed Ali's account instead. When Umair found out about it, he felt a strange mixture of emotions. He was hurt, surprised, and perhaps even a little jealous. But for Miral, it was nothing more than an ordinary follow. She had no idea that this tiny incident would eventually lead to much bigger misunderstandings. Because love is not always just about two people's hearts. Sometimes it also brings doubt, fear, misunderstandings, family, distance, and trials. And Miral was about to face all of them. The love she had spent her entire childhood searching for was finally standing before her. But the question was— Would Umair be able to keep this love? And the bigger question— Would Miral, who had spent her entire life longing for love, finally learn to believe in it? To be continued...