I was sixteen then—just another ordinary boy living in a small Indian town. Life was simple: school, tuition, cricket with friends in the dusty lanes, and evenings spent scrolling endlessly through my phone.
Back then, Instagram wasn't just an app for me—it was an escape. I wasn't the most popular kid in school. I was quiet, more comfortable observing than speaking. But on Instagram, I could be anything—funny, bold, even confident.
That evening was nothing special at first. I remember lying on my bed, phone in hand, swiping past photos of classmates showing off their new shoes or bikes. I sighed. Same faces, same captions. Nothing new.
And then… I saw her.
A profile I had never noticed before. A girl with eyes that seemed to hold a thousand secrets, and a smile that didn't belong to this world. Her bio said only one thing: "Uzbekistan ✨".
Uzbekistan. The word itself felt like another universe. A place I had only read about in school geography. And yet here she was, on my screen, almost within reach.
My thumb hovered over the "Follow" button. My heart raced for no reason. What am I doing? She won't even notice me. I'm just some Indian boy lost in her follower list.
But something in me didn't let go. Click. I followed her.
Minutes passed. Then a notification popped up:
[Follow back: ✔]
I sat up straight, staring at the screen. She had followed me back. My heart thudded as though the whole world had just shifted an inch.
I didn't know it then, but that tiny blue tick of her follow-back was the first step in a journey that would change my entire life.
That night, as the fan turned above me and the street dogs barked outside, I stared at my phone, waiting. Hoping. Wondering if she would notice me beyond a simple follow.
And just as I was about to give up, a message appeared.
"Hi 👋"
Three letters. One emoji. That was all. But for me, it was the beginning of everything.
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