An Unconventional Fairy Tale

My husband is my cousin...so you all must automatically think that it was an arranged marriage. 

Well my dear friends, it didn’t quite happen that way.  Born and raised in Canada, I went to Pakistan in the summer of 1997 to visit family.  My husband just so happened to be one of the many cousins whom I interacted with during my visit.  Being only 15 years old, and having gone through many changes the previous year with school and life in general, I was an emotional teenager who was quite unsure of herself.  When my cousin approached me and said “I love you”, I automatically responded in the same manner.  After overcoming the shock of this encounter, I was able to reflect and think deeply about what had just happened. Did I know what love was? Does any 15 year old know what love is?  Coming from a Canadian background, I didn’t initially take my cousin seriously as I thought his sentiments were only based on physical attraction.  I eventually grew to understand the sincerity of his words and realized that this guy was ready to devote the rest of his life to me and marry me...WOW!  We made secret promises to each other and four weeks later I returned to Canada not knowing what will happen next.