From the beginning, he was the quiet one - an introverted boy who never cried, even when life hit hard. In his heart, though, he carried a deep yearning: to be seen, to be loved. He never asked for it aloud. He only listened to the stories his family whispered - the one about a girl who was born just for him. So he dreamed.
Fate - or perhaps a divine director - moved the boy from the warm corners of South India to the bustling heart of the nation's capital, nearly 3,000 kilometers away. It felt random, but it wasn't. Because there, in the middle of that unfamiliar world, he saw her - the girl from the stories. She was real.
But he was in third grade, too shy, too quiet to speak. Before he could gather courage, she was gone - transferred to another school. Life went on, lonely as ever. Until fate stirred again.
Years later, the boy, now a teenager, walked into the same school she had joined. His heart whispered, This is your chance. Yet, introversion held him captive. Twelve years passed. Not a word.
Then one ordinary evening, the extraordinary happened - a message. It was from her. A proposal. "I like you." He couldn't believe it. Jesus is alive! he thought with a laugh and tears in his eyes. For the first time, he felt chosen.
The romance bloomed. 2015 was filled with stolen glances, quiet conversations, hands held in secret, promises whispered beneath the stars. But life isn't a movie. Her family disapproved. He didn't know why - he just trusted her. He stood by her, blinded by love.
By 2017, cracks appeared. One day, she said, "Let's give each other space." Heartbroken, the boy turned to faith. He became a believer - not just in love, but in God. He trusted her blindly and trusted a higher plan.
In 2018, destiny twisted again. He visited her hometown for his sister's wedding. There, a stranger approached him.
"Brother," the man said, "leave that girl. We don't need her."
Confused and defensive, the boy asked why. The man pulled out a phone and showed him a video. At first, the boy thought it was just a silly clip - until the truth hit like a storm. It wasn't a joke. It was real. And he was the last to see it. The entire town had already watched her fall.
Still, his heart held on. He called her mother, "Keep her safe. I'm coming. I'll talk to her."
But the journey ended before it began.
While on the way, he learned the final twist: her family had already arranged her marriage. To the man in the video.
And just like that, the dream ended. The girl who once made him believe had broken him.
But pain has a strange power.
He didn't break. He transformed.
The boy who once never spoke a word? now had something to say. The boy who once followed? now led. And the boy who once dreamed of being loved? learned to love himself, to lead others through their own storms.
He became a survivor.
He became a leader.
He became the author of his own story.