«Father, please, let me marry Yegor!» Jamila begged her father.

«Never! It will never happen, Jamila! Have you forgotten that you are already betrothed? We have already discussed everything with the groom. You will marry your intended, and that’s final!» Karim responded irritably.

«Why won’t you even consider my feelings? I don’t want to be the wife of some old man!» Jamila pleaded tearfully.

«Why are you speaking to your father like this? Have you lost your mind because of love?» her brother Azad intervened. «Dad will decide here, so you better be quiet!»

«Jamila, you know that we don’t give our daughters in marriage to people of another faith. Yegor has nothing, but your fiancé has a good fortune, his own business, and an excellent house. He will give you a lot of gold for the wedding,» Sharifa, the girl’s mother, tried to console her.

Jamila couldn’t take it anymore and ran out of the house. She went to the river, sat on a rock, covered her face with her hands, and started crying. Her family refused to understand the feelings she had, she had no say in the choice her father made for her, she wasn’t even allowed to express herself. And she protested, knowing it wouldn’t change anything.

«Jamila, is someone bothering you?» she heard a voice behind her.

«Yegor! Father doesn’t want us to be together, he’s against us. He says I must marry my intended.»

The boy couldn’t bear to see Jamila cry, as her eyes always sparkled with happiness.

They looked good together and complemented each other. Yegor was fair-haired with ash-colored eyes, while Jamila was a dark-haired beauty. Jamila, a brunette, was a delicate girl, they had been in love for a long time and swore to be together forever in that spot.

«If your parents don’t want things to go the way we want, then we’ll go a different way. We’ll leave here today, you won’t go back home.»

Yegor was very determined.

«I’m scared… If father and brother find us, you don’t know what they could do to us. They’ll never forgive me,» the girl said softly.

«Are you saying you’re willing to obey your father’s will? Are you ready to marry your intended?»

«Of course not!»

«Then we have no reason to stay here anymore! Can you sneak out your documents?»

«What if they never let me out of the house again? I’m afraid to lose you, Yegor.»

«Right, they might never let you out. Then wait, I’ll come back now. Don’t go anywhere!» Yegor said and left.

A few minutes later, he returned on his motorcycle with his friend. She got on the motorcycle, and they left by another road so no one would see them. Yegor’s friend took them to the station and promised not to tell anyone about it.

Soon, the lovers boarded the train and were already very far away.

Jamila was silent and sadly looked into the distance from the train window. Yegor tried to cheer her up in every way, but it was all in vain. And then he asked her:

«Tell me, do you regret what we’ve done already?»

«I don’t regret it, Yegor. It’s just that my head is spinning with thoughts, and my feelings won’t let me rest. I love my parents and understand them, they want everything to be fine for me, for me to live without worries. But, on the other hand, life without you is torment and slow death.»

«Just don’t cry. Everything will be fine. They will forgive in time, you’ll see!»

«That’s not true. I’ve brought shame to my family, to my parents, and our laws don’t forgive such things,» the girl sadly replied. «And where are we going, what will happen to us, Yegor?»

«To my grandfather in Siberia. No one will find us there. We’ll sort out the documents and get married.»

***

For four years now, they have been living together in harmony. They already have a two-year-old son named Alim, after Jamila’s grandfather. But the only thing that prevented her from being fully happy with her family was the longing for her relatives.

One day, Jamila overheard Yegor’s grandfather talking loudly with someone.

«No! You’re not going anywhere! Yegor will be here soon.»

«No, I mean no harm to anyone, I must see her!»

Jamila recognized him. It was Azad!

«This can’t be happening, he couldn’t have found us.» At that moment, her brother quickly entered the house, ignoring the grandfather’s threats.

Jamila immediately hugged her son and moved away, she was very afraid.

«Don’t be scared! I won’t do anything bad…» Azad looked tiredly at them and sat down.

«Then what are you doing here, how did you find us?» Jamila asked quietly.

«If it were up to me, I wouldn’t have come, but father sent me for you. And I got the address from Yegor’s mother. Do you know what we had to go through? You brought shame to our family, many turned away from us just because you fell in love!»

«So you came here for that? If so, it’s pointless. I have a loving and caring family,» the girl replied boldly.

Azad looked at the little one, and a smile lit up his face.

«He looks like us!» he said, and there was a hint of pride in his voice. «What did you name him?»

«Alim. In honor of our grandfather…»

«At least you did something right,» approvingly said Azad, reaching out to the boy, he said, «come to uncle, Alim!»

But Alim got scared and started crying, Jamila tried to calm her son down.

Yegor rushed into the house and started shouting at Azad from the doorway.

«Why did you come, what do you want?»

Jamila began to calm her husband down.

«Yegor, he came at his father’s behest, he won’t harm us.»

Then Azad addressed them with a serious look, and there was some excitement in his voice:

«Listen to me very carefully. Father is weak and wants to see you. You may not know, Jamila, but he forgave you long ago, because he loves you so much! I won’t return home without you!»

For several seconds, no one dared to break the silence in the house that followed Azad’s words. Finally, Yegor said:

«Get ready, Jamila. We’re going back home. We respect father!..»

And he added:

«And I’ll see my mother.»

Jamila was very happy and went to get ready.

Soon they bid farewell to Yegor’s grandfather and set off on their way.

***

As soon as the girl entered the house, Sharifa rushed to her and hugged her tightly, she was quietly crying. When Sharifa let her go, the girl knelt before her mother and said plaintively:

«Forgive me, mom!»

«Get up, my dear. I forgave you long ago! Go to your father, he’s in that room,» Sharifa said.

Jamila went to her father and didn’t recognize him. Karim had changed over the years, aged, grayed. He looked at her and barely held back tears:

«You’ve come… Hello, Jamila!»

Karim understood a lot over the years, realized a lot. He was a proud man, but he loved his daughter more than anything and dreaded the thought of never seeing her again.

Jamila pleaded:

«Forgive me, dad…»

«No need, Jamila! After you left, I lost the respect of many friends and relatives. But I don’t regret it, my Jamila, because your happiness means more to me… Can you forgive this old man?!»

Jamila found solace, she was immensely happy, embracing her father.

Whatever happens, we always feel homesick away from our loved ones.