A girl named Samiha was cleaning her room. She found a letter in her cupboard. She recognised it instantly and opened it, there she found a line which she remembered the most “I'll always love you and we will be together forever.”
She did not remember how many times he gave flowers to her, or the sleepless nights on call or even the photos they had together. It was just those words which she always remembered.
Their love story began through a video game. At first he was her team's coach, they only had a formal relationship but then both of them started exchanging conversations and complained about life. They used to talk for hours, whenever a topic ended another would be added.
Their call started to became longer.
They fell asleep while talking most of the time and their schedules synchronised automatically.
After some time, Samiha began to like him and imagined a future with him.
His name was Rohan.
Rohan's character definition was very clear since the beginning, he was confident, fierce, he always knew how to handle complicated situations and what to say, he was a very open-minded guy. Samiha was the opposite she always felt insecure about everything, but Rohan never failed to make her feel beautiful. Samiha was a girl who would not let others see her vulnerable side and never cried in front of others. But she had found her safe place which was Rohan, she could finally let her guards down. He used to stay awake all night talking to her.
After a month they met each other at a restaurant. It was his birthday and she had bought him a few gifts. As she didn't know how to express her feelings, she would always buy expensive gifts for the people she loved. She thought Rohan would understand the value of it by her effort of trying to give the best.
She had spent all her savings for his birthday. That day Rohan held her hand and said,“Even if I ask you to let go, don't ever leave me. This is the best gift ever.”
Samiha believed him. She completely relied on him, she let her guard down as she didn't want a barrier between them. She eventually stopped expecting pain.
For the next year, their relationship status was inseparable.
After a few months, things started to change. Rohan was not available anymore because he kept saying he was “busy.” His replies were not as fast as before. The gap would be 5-9 hours. He stopped giving Samiha time and whenever she asked for his time, he would get angry. Sometimes he left her texts on seen for hours without explanation.
Whenever Samiha asked for a justification he would reply "Do you want a slave or a boyfriend? Because you're way too demanding." These sentences pierced her heart.
Situation got worse as she started to cry on calls while talking to him but he always cut the call because he never liked her crying. He would say "Once you're done crying give me a call." And because she loved him, she couldn't realize how bad it was going. All she wanted was his love like it was in the beginning. She ignored the strange feeling growing inside her chest.
But one night changed everything.
Samiha was scrolling through tiktok where a girl's video appeared as suggested, she saw that Rohan was putting an engagement ring on the hand of another girl. The caption was “Engaged. Pray for us.”
At first Samiha thought it must be a prank and thought it was not real. She said to herself "it must be a misunderstanding...it can't be!"
Samiha in hurry took her phone and tried to reach out Rohan. Her hands were shaking, she kept calling again and again. But there was no answer. She had sent him the video and texted him about it.
After few hours, a reply came.
“It’s an arranged marriage, I can't go against my family.”
His reply broke her from the inside, Rohan didn't even bother to apologise.
Just cold words from someone who once promised forever.
That night, Samiha couldn't stop crying. She didn't talk to anyone for the next few days, she had isolated herself from everything. It was only her in the room for next fifteen days.
Two weeks later there was no improvement all she felt was emptiness as if something was missing from her life. She forgot how she used to enjoy her life without someone's company.
Whenever she tried to have food she would feel a strange pain while swallowing.
Every single activity reminded her of him, because she always planned her full schedule according to his.
The animes they watched together, the favorite playlist, the flower which she had kept in her diary.
Everything felt cruel.
Samiha tried to contact Rohan multiple times, but he behaved like as if he was being harassed. He acted as if she was disturbing his peace. Samiha texted him for the last time, "You asked me not to leave. I'm not leaving. You promised me that we will be together forever, so please break off the wedding before it's too late." But a reply never came back.
Few days later, her best friend Zaima came over. Both of them stayed quiet for a while but then Zaima asked "Why don't you forget him already? He has already chosen someone else as his partner."
Samiha sighed and said, “Because he promised.”
Zaima felt sad.
She patted Samiha’s shoulder and said “Some people make promises but they never mean it, they put up an act and their true form reveals after they get bored.”
Zaima's words stayed in Samiha’s mind for days.
After two months, she started to heal.
It was a slow process because these things can't be done quickly.
Samiha began to enjoy her own company and started to go out again.
She decided to focus on her education. There were no more nights where her pillows were wet.
Back in the present time, after reading the old letter she stared at it quietly.
Then she showed no emotion and threw it into the dustbin.
After all, she had found herself. She knew that she had chased after the wrong things, which never belonged to her.
Sometimes people easily make painful promises without meaning them. And sometimes healing begins the moment you stop waiting for them to come back.
The images are created with Gemini and edited with Canva
