Boston, 2023.
Two impossibly busy people,
a few miles apart, slowly finding
their way to each other.
SUMMER 2023
BOSTON
A Love Story
in Chapters
TWO SHIPS IN THE
SAME HARBOR
Prem had just wrapped up years of grueling emergency medicine training in Atlanta and arrived in Boston for a global health fellowship finally ready, he thought, for a well-earned bachelor chapter of fun. Just a few miles away, Shreya was deep in the throes of architecture school, running on caffeine and sawdust. Neither had any idea the other existed. Not yet.
SHE SWIPED RIGHT
(THEN WENT SILENT)
One day, a funny comment on Prem's Hinge profile caught Shreya's eye, she swiped right. They chatted a bit. And then, as fate sometimes cruelly goes, she left him on read. To his benefit, though, she'd already asked for his Instagram. They became followers. They watched each other's stories. They grew quietly, mutually curious. And absolutely neither one said a word about it.
LIQUOR COURAGE DOES
WHAT LOGIC COULD NOT
One to two months of silent Instagram-story-watching passed. Then came New Year's Eve, and with it, a little social lubricant. Prem finally slid into Shreya's DMs, half-hopeful, half-prepared for silence. Within seconds, she replied. Just like that, plans were made: once she returned from Christmas break, they'd meet up in Cambridge for drinks.
SHE PLANNED TO LEAVE BY 9.
SHE DID NOT LEAVE BY 9.
Prem suggested 9pm. Shreya, ever practical and facing an early morning, countered with 7:30, plenty of time for a drink and an exit. The cocktail bar closed at 1am. They were still there as staff was closing. They talked and laughed and lost track of every hour. Prem walked home that night absolutely giddy, pulled his best friend and roommate aside, and told him: "I think I'm going to marry her."
THEN THEY FOUND
CHUTKI AND PHOOL
One date turned into two, then three, then simply: always. A few months in, Prem and Shreya made their way to the Navajo Reservation in Arizona, and returned home with more than memories. They met two dogs who needed a home, and rescued them. Phool and Chutki became the start of their family long before the wedding invitations were ever sent.