Cr : Humans of Bombay

“We met through a common friend, for the first time, at a party. I was already in a long-distance relationship, but when our eyes met, we knew that there was something.
We met a few more times, and my friend told me that he’d started to like me, but I was already dating. He’s a Bohri Muslim and I’m a Hindu, so I also knew that it wouldn’t work.
My parents live in Oman, and one day I was really bothered with issues at home, and issues with my then boyfriend. I needed someone to talk to, so without a second thought, I called him home. He came over, and just listened to everything I had to say.
That night, something changed. I was much more attached to him than I realised. We spent a year and a half after that, still as friends. At the time, my then boyfriend was becoming very toxic for me. So when I couldn’t take it anymore -- I broke up.
That’s when Hakim and I got closer. We’d meet each other every single day of the week, and still didn’t get bored. I knew I was holding back, but I was falling in love. He felt like a breath of fresh air, and he added that extra sunshine to my life. But I knew that because of our religions, it wouldn't work. So before I got too attached, I decided to cut all ties. I met him one last time, and said that I wouldn’t be in touch anymore.
But after I came home -- I fell horribly sick, I couldn’t sleep and it hurt me to know that I’d just pushed him out of my life, when I was so madly in love with him. The next morning I told him that I regretted my decision, and that I wanted to spend my forever with him.
He felt the same way. And that’s when our love story started. It’s been over a year since we’ve been together. His parents accepted us with open arms, and it took some time -- but when my parents saw just how happy, secure and loved he makes me feel, they agreed too.
Being with him, makes me feel like the luckiest girl in the world. I realised that true love finds you in the most unexpected places, makes you go through hurdles that you never think you’ll overcome -- but it saves you when you need it the most, and shows you just show beautiful the world can be on the other side.”