WAY BEYOND BORDERS Ch-6 Lives Between Lines

Chapter 6 Lives Between Lines
 AFS created a WhatsApp group for all the selected participants across India and the partner countries. It was the first time I could talk directly to others who were on the same journey. We exchanged introductions, shared our dreams, and slowly began preparing for Japan not as strangers, but as a team, full of hopes.
Among those I connected with was a recipient from Pakistan. Our first conversation was warm. She congratulated me, we exchanged greetings. But just as the conversation was beginning to grow, she asked, “Where are you from?”
I replied, “India.”
She left me on seen.
It stung. But deep down, I understood. I knew it wasn’t her fault. It wasn’t mine either. We were both born on opposite sides of a conflict we didn’t create. I didn’t let it end there. The next day, I messaged her again — something casual, something human. I spoke about Japanese learning. But maybe, just maybe, she read it and knew I meant peace. And replied to it, but the conversation was not so long.
Around the same time, the Pahalgam terrorist attack unfolded. The Operation Sindoor was a bold & pride strike of india against terrorism but wars and destruction near border states shattered me thinking of the innocent lives lost, the fear children must have felt, the silence that falls after gunfire.
And then the Ahmedabad plane crash on June 12.
So many lives — gone in moments. People who had stories, dreams, families, fears, maybe even unread messages on their phones. 
Life is so unpredictable.
People who were living their lives just moments ago lost everything in the blink of an eye. Some had lived a full life, some were in the middle of their journey, and some had only just begun. Many of them never even got the chance to experience what life truly is.
And yet, here I am breathing, learning, dreaming, preparing for a new chapter. I am so grateful. By God’s grace, everything in my life is good. I just hope the same for everyone that no matter where they are, peace and kindness find their way to them.





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