Three years from now, I published an open letter. A girl from India replied to it. In many places, friendships between Pakistani and Indian people is considered normal, but in my household, it was seen as something disastrous. Because of that, my first instinct was to reject her letter and move on. Still, a small spark of curiosity grew inside me. I wondered… what she was like? Was she like the typical Indian stereotypes I had always heard about? That curiosity was enough to make me write back to her. When she replied, her letter was nothing extraordinary or unusual. It was simple, just like how one stranger responds to another. But as we continued writing, our letters grew longer and more meaningful. We started with the most random and silly topics, like asking each other about phone models. Yup, it was that random. But somehow, even those small conversations showed us that no matter the topic, we could always make the conversation keep going. It made everything feel easy and natural. Through her, I began to realize how much of our thinking is shaped by society, especially when it comes to hatred. She was nothing like the Indians I had heard about. In fact, she was kinder than most of my own Pakistani friends. On October 6, 2024, we decided to take a step further and moved our conversations to Discord. From there, things slowly progressed. We exchanged Snapchat, then Instagram, and eventually our WhatsApp numbers. This way, our bond grew more stronger.
Before her bright presence entered my gloomy and dull life, I felt like a limp in a soulless. She changed that completely. She gave me a new sense of purpose and made me dream again. For me, dreaming had never really been allowed. In the environment I grew up in, life was always about competition and expectations, never about what I truly wanted. But she changed that perspective. I am deeply grateful for her, in a way I can never fully repay. Even through something as simple as writing, she has done so much for me. She is incredibly kind, sometimes even more than she should be, and honestly, that is one of the things I admire most about her. She was my best friend, and she will always continue to be my best friend.
And none of that would have happened if I hadn’t written on Slowly.
Thank you, Slowly, for making a connection possible that I never thought I would have, and for giving me a friendship I will always treasure. 🤍🤍🤍
