The air outside Pearson International Airport stung with cold, a sharp contrast to the humid breeze they left behind in Lagos.
Idris stepped onto the snowy pavement, breath fogging before him, duffel bag slung over one shoulder, he turned to see Anna, her coat barely shielding her from the unfamiliar chill, her nose red, and her smile brave.
"Welcome to Canada," Idris said with a grin.
Anna laughed, shivering, you didn't say it would bite.
They shared a cab into the city, both heading toward separate temporary accommodations but promising to meet again.
And they did, over and over, first for coffee, and then study groups,then grocery runs and quiet dinners in small apartments.
Their lives began intertwining slowly without labels, without pressure.
Idris enrolled in a master's program while working night shifts at a tech warehouse. Every day was a hustle, but he welcomed the exhaustion,it kept his mind clean, every dollar he earned was a brick in the empire he was quietly building for himself.
Anna worked part-time at a library while pursuing her dream of becoming an art therapist,she painted canvases in her tiny bedroom and hung them on her wall to cover up the loneliness.
They were both immigrants with scars and ambition.But they had something more important each other.
What began as comfort grew into respect. What grew into respect became laughter.
And one autumn night, under the red-gold trees of a park near campus, Idris reached for her hand and didn't let go.
You don't have to say anything, he whispered i just... I'm glad you're here.
I'm glad you see me, she replied softly.
It wasn't fast, it wasn't flashy,but it was real.
Idris wasn't chasing shadows anymore.
And Anna? She was finally being loved the way she always deserved.
Years passed. Idris rose steadily earning a job as a data analyst, then launching his own tech firm. The boy who once carried suya in the rain had become a man of vision.
And this time, no one could call him poor, weak, or invisible.
He never spoke of Bela again, she had become a closed chapter one that no longer burned.
But fate never forgets.
On the day he proposed to Anna, it was snowing again, a quiet snowfall like confetti from the heavens.
They had just finished dinner at a small café downtown. Idris knelt in the snow, holding a modest diamond ring.
I used to believe I needed to prove something to the world, he said. But loving you... made me realize the only thing I needed to be was whole and you have helped me become that.
Tears welled in Anna's eyes.
"Yes," she whispered before he could finish.
Weeks later, Anna made a call to Nigeria.
"Bela," she said brightly, "I'm getting married!"
Bela shrieked in delight on the other end "What?! Oh my goodness, I'm so happy for you! Who's the lucky man?"
Anna giggled "You'll meet him soon we are flying back to Nigeria for the traditional rite,You have to be there it's a five-day celebration.
Bela clapped with excitement. "I'll start planning my outfit, I'm so proud of you!"
Neither of them knew yet…
That beneath all the joy, a storm was quietly preparing to return.