For a long moment, Syria stared at the blinking cursor on her screen. Her heart thudded in her chest like a trapped bird. Ali's question echoed in her mind:
"If you love me… what do you think about me?"
Every part of her shook — the girl who feared her family, feared society, feared heartbreak, feared losing the one person she had waited for.
But love was no longer something she could hide behind hesitation. It had grown too large, too heavy, too alive.
And finally… she let her heart speak.
Her fingers trembled as she typed the words that had lived unspoken inside her for far too long:
"Ali… I don't know if I'll lose you after this or not…
But now I just can't tolerate hiding it anymore.
If you're asking me honestly, then yes.
I love you.
Not as a friend…
But as someone who brings me peace.
Someone who makes me happy without trying.
Someone I want to spend my whole life with."
She stared at the message after sending it, horrified and relieved at the same time. Her breath came shallow, uneven.
She had done it.
She had jumped from the cliff.
Whether she would fall or fly — the next message would decide.
Ali's Silence — the longest hour of her life
Ali read the message instantly.
And froze.
His chest tightened. His breath caught. His hands turned cold. He reread the confession again and again, each word sinking into him like soft fire.
He had dreamt of hearing this. He had imagined it in the lonely nights he spent missing her. He had felt it growing inside him — that invisible thread pulling him back to Syria again and again.
But now that it was real, his fear rose like a storm.
What if he wasn't enough?
What if he failed her?
What if her family tore them apart?
What if he broke her heart?
He loved her.
But could he say it?
Could he risk her pain?
So he didn't reply.
Not because he didn't love her…
But because he loved her too much, and fear wrapped around him like chains.
Syria's Midnight Wish
Minutes turned to hours.
Syria sat on her bed, hugging her pillow tight, staring at the silent chat window. Tears stung her eyes but she refused to wipe them. Her heart was too raw, too exposed.
Maybe she shouldn't have said it.
Maybe she ruined everything.
Maybe Ali would disappear again.
Maybe—
But then her eyes shifted to the date on the calendar.
It was 12:00 AM.
Ali's birthday.
Her heart, despite breaking, still held him in a tender corner where love bloomed like wildflowers. So she picked up the phone again and typed with trembling courage:
"Happiest birthday, Ali."
She was the first to wish him.
Before his friends.
Before his relatives.
Before anyone else in the world.
And that message shattered something inside Ali.
Tears filled his eyes — tears he didn't expect, tears he couldn't stop. Her love had reached him like a warm sunrise breaking through a storm.
For the first time in his life, someone loved him without conditions.
Without expectations.
Just him.
Just Ali — the boy who thought he had nothing to offer.
And she loved him first.
He couldn't stay silent anymore.
The Phone Call That Changed Their Fates
Syria's heart nearly burst when her phone began to ring.
Ali calling…
Her fingers shook.
Her throat closed.
Terror wrapped around her chest.
What if he was calling to end everything?
What if he wanted her to forget him?
What if—
She swallowed hard and pressed "answer."
"Hello…?" her voice cracked.
There was a breath on the other end — deep, trembling, full of something she couldn't name.
Then Ali spoke.
Soft.
Shaken.
Overflowing.
"Me too, Syria…"
She froze.
Ali's voice wavered as he continued,
"I love you too."
Her heart exploded into fireworks.
She pressed her hand over her mouth, tears spilling uncontrollably. Her body shook, but this time not with fear — with joy so overwhelming it felt like her soul was glowing.
Ali kept speaking, his words raw, honest, beautiful:
"Thank you for choosing me…
A boy who doesn't have anything…
You gave me something I never had — hope."
Syria choked back a sob.
Ali whispered,
"And now… I'll do anything for you.
Anything.
I'll marry you one day.
Somehow… some way… I'll make it happen."
Their breaths intertwined across the silent night.
And in that moment, the world outside ceased to exist.
Two hearts became one pulse.
Two destinies tangled themselves like threads spun by fate.
The boy who feared he wasn't enough.
The girl who feared she would lose him.
Both were wrong.
They had always belonged to each other.
The First Night as Lovers
They talked for hours that night.
They smiled into their pillows like children discovering magic.
They cried quietly.
They laughed.
They whispered secrets with a sacred softness.
They gave each other names — names no one else could ever use.
Names that belonged only to them.
He called her something delicate, something only someone who loved her would say.
She whispered his name like a prayer, like a promise, like a dream she finally reached.
Every moment felt unreal — as if the universe itself had paused to watch them.
The night held them like a warm blanket, wrapping them in starlight.
Ali said softly, "I feel alive again."
Syria whispered, "I feel safe with you."
And somewhere between their late-night breaths, their hearts made a silent vow:
No matter how terrifying the world gets,
we choose each other.
The Morning After — Love and Fear
For the first time in a year, Syria woke up smiling.
Ali, miles away, opened his eyes with the same glow on his face.
Both looked at their phones before anything else.
A simple message from Ali:
"Good morning, my love."
A blush spread across Syria's cheeks.
A warmth bloomed inside her chest.
She replied, shy yet bold:
"Good morning… mine."
Ali laughed reading it, running his hand through his hair, unable to believe this was real.
But beneath all the happiness, a quiet fear lingered.
Not in their hearts — but around them.
The fear of families.
The fear of society.
The fear of losing each other again.
Both felt it.
Both sensed the shadow approaching.
But neither wanted to ruin the magic of their new beginning.
So they tucked the fear away like a dark secret at the corner of their hearts.
For now, they wanted to live in the dream they had waited so long for.
And as the sun rose higher, they both whispered the same thought without knowing:
"Let this love survive everything."
But fate was already moving its pieces.
Because the story of Syria and Ali was never meant to be simple.
It was meant to be extraordinary.
And extraordinary stories always face storms.