As months passed, Lena and Samir lived double lives. They met behind bookstores, in quiet corners of parks, and once, on the rooftop of Samir's building under a sky smeared with stars. Every moment with each other was borrowed time.
They never spoke of the future. Lena's parents had already started dropping hints about a family friend's son at Yale. Samir's mother had begun showing him photos of eligible Muslim girls.
But in those stolen moments, the rest of the world fell away.
One night, Lena brought a scarf and wrapped it around her hair, jokingly calling herself "a girl from Samir's world." Samir laughed, but his eyes were troubled.
"I don't want you to change for me," he said softly. "I love you just like this — just as you are."
The word — love — hung in the air between them like mist. Neither of them took it back.
That night, they made a promise under the stars: No matter what happens, we don't give up.
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