Love on the Other Side

We met after so long. You were dressed in your favourite colour, and for a moment, I forgot every sentence I had prepared to say. You were hypnotic, not only because of the way that colour rested so perfectly on you, but because of the happiness you carried while wearing it. 

There was a quiet confidence in your smile, a softness in your eyes, and something almost magical in the way you looked at me. Your beauty was not just in your face or in the dress you chose. It was in the little things: the way you fixed your hair without noticing, the way you laughed before finishing a sentence, the way your eyes searched for mine in a crowded place.

After so many days of missing you through a screen, seeing you in front of me felt unreal. I had known your smile through photos, your voice through calls, and your thoughts through messages. But standing beside you again was different. No notification, no photograph, no words on a screen could ever hold the warmth of that moment.

We meet only once in a months.

Sometimes it is for a few hours. Sometimes it is only long enough to hold hands, share a meal, look into each other’s eyes, and then say goodbye again. After that, life returns to its usual noise, the crowded streets, work, family, responsibilities, and the quiet room at the end of the day.

But then the phone lights up. And suddenly, the distance does not feel quite so wide.

There is something beautiful about loving someone through words. A small message can carry a whole heart inside it. A simple “Have you eaten?” can mean, “I worry about you.” A random photo from their day can mean, “I thought of you when I saw this.” A late-night “I miss you” can make the darkest room feel a little warmer.

People often think love needs grand gestures, flowers at the door, surprise dates, long drives, and photographs filled with perfect smiles. Those things are beautiful, of course. But there is another kind of love: the love that lives quietly in a chat window.

It lives in the good-morning texts sent before the day begins. It lives in the “reached home?” message after a tiring journey. It lives in the little updates that may seem ordinary to everyone else “Chai Piyega,” “Barish Dekh...” “Samosey Khayega....” To the world, they are just words. To two people in love, they are proof: I am here. I remember you. I want you to be part of my day.

And those chats bring out every emotion we try to hide.

We smile at the screen without even realizing it. A message from them can change the mood of an entire day. We may be sitting with friends, pretending to listen, but one notification makes our eyes fall to the phone and our face soften. We read their message once, then again, just to feel it one more time.

Sometimes we laugh quietly at an inside joke that nobody else would understand. Sometimes we blush at a compliment, even though no one is around to see it. Sometimes we hold the phone close to our chest after reading something sweet, as if their words can somehow stay there.

But love is not only soft smiles and beautiful messages. It also brings the low moments.

There are times when the reply comes late, and the mind begins to create a hundred worries. There are times when a short answer feels colder than it was meant to be. A simple “okay” can hurt when we were hoping for more. We type long paragraphs, then erase them because we do not know how to explain the storm inside us. We get angry. We become silent. We say, “Nothing is wrong,” when everything is.

That is because love makes us vulnerable.

When someone matters deeply, their words matter deeply too. Their absence is noticed. Their silence is felt. Their smallest change in tone can make our heart restless. We may try to act strong, but love does not always let us hide behind strength.

Still, even in anger, there is love.

There is love in the message that comes after a fight: “Aaj kay baad shakal maat dikhana” There is love in the hesitation before saying sorry. There is love in choosing to understand each other when it would be easier to walk away. There is love in staying online a little longer because neither person wants to be the one to end the conversation.

No one else can bring out those expressions.

If somebody looks at you while you are texting your lover, they will know. They may not know the name on your screen, but they will recognize the feeling. They will see your smile appearing out of nowhere. They will see you frown at a message and then quickly type a reply. They will notice the way your eyes become softer, the way your mood changes, the way a small glowing screen seems to hold your entire attention.

Because no friend, no stranger, no ordinary conversation can create that same expression.

Only love can.

Only that one person can make you smile at nothing, feel angry over a missed reply, reread a message before sleeping, and wake up hoping their name will be the first thing you see. Only they can turn a few typed words into a heartbeat.

Distance may keep two people apart physically, but it cannot always keep their hearts apart. Sometimes love travels through tiny bubbles on a screen. Sometimes it arrives in voice notes, photographs, teasing messages, apologies, and promises to meet soon. Sometimes it survives because, even from far away, two people continue choosing each other every day.

So yes, we may meet only once in a few days.

But in between those meetings, we sit together in a different way.

Through words. Through laughter. Through arguments. Through late-night confessions. Through the smile that appears when their name flashes on the screen.

Love is not always beside us.

Sometimes, it is on the other side of the phone, still close enough to make our hearts feel full.