Toranj: Our Adventure Left Mid-Way inside a loud and grieving Iran

3 hours ago

The author is a programmer at heart who always dreamed of creating a video game but never found the time or skill to do so.
Medicine became the author's career, pushing the game idea to the background, though it remained a persistent, unfulfilled creative urge.
Toranj, a woman with a warm, animated presence, became the inspiration and central character for the imagined game.
Their relationship developed during walks and conversations in Iran, against a backdrop of political turmoil and personal uncertainty.
Key memories include a park bench confession of love and quiet moments in her car, which became foundational scenes for the game.
Despite surviving distance and hardship, the relationship eventually ended due to diverging life paths and the weight of time.
The author reflects on living too much in preparation for the future, missing that 'the life' was already happening during those years.
The game was never made, but the need to express these experiences led to writing them down as a form of creation.
Changes in Iran, like internet blackouts, altered the author's relationship with technology and presence in the moment.
The author now seeks to accept the past as it was and cherish the proof of an extraordinary, real connection that existed.

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