OVERVIEW:3

This story is a deeply personal reflection on how I perceive love — not as a fleeting feeling or poetic fantasy, but as something profoundly rooted in efforts. It begins in a classroom on a dull winter day where everyone debates their own definitions of love. When the question comes to me, I respond instinctively — “Love is something that is embedded with efforts.” But when I am asked to define efforts, my thoughts drift back to a childhood memory that shaped my entire understanding of love.

Through that flashback, I revisit a moment from my early years — an innocent wish for some pink and purple paper flowers that grew in a dangerous, thorny patch of land. Without hesitation, my elder sister risked herself, walking through mud and thorns to bring those flowers to me. She returned covered in dust and tiny scars, yet smiling — a smile that outshone even the brightest petals in her hands. That small act, done by a ten-year-old girl, became the purest form of love I’ve ever known.

In that moment, I realized — love is not measured in grand gestures or romantic words, but in the willingness to step into discomfort for someone else’s happiness. It’s about choosing someone’s smile over your own safety, comfort, or fear. Love, in its truest essence, is the courage to make an effort — not because you must, but because their happiness matters more than your hesitation.

This story, drawn from a real memory, captures that silent power of selfless love — a love I first learned from my sister. Through it, I wanted to express that efforts are the invisible threads that hold every form of love together — whether between friends, family, or soulmates.