Is this love?

I would never have learnt an important lesson if I hadn't been coerced into helping my friend with a  bizarre favour.

In the hazy eyes of a teenager in love(or in fancy. I guess I will never know for sure.), she asked me to help introduce her to the guy. The guy in question had all the "dream guy" qualities: rich, handsome and friendly. Having seen the guy's DP, even I had to admit that he could only be described as striking.

Now, this would not have been bizarre if I knew the guy personally. Except that I didn't. And I said yes.

So perhaps I am an idiot. But for my friend, I had to at least try. So, putting on a thick face(in front of my computer. And even that didn't make me feel any safer.), I popped the first word. Hi.

There was no reply. Oh well, at least I tried.

But lo and behold, the next day when I opened Facebook, there was a reply. It said: Hi.

Thereafter, we did chat a little. And when I say little, I mean very little. Probably less than 10 sentences exchanged I think. Then, somewhere along the line, I swore to myself that I would never chat to him ever again.

At first, I thought it was because I had fallen for him. I would never dream of stealing my friend's boyfriend (or crush), so it would make perfect sense. But how could I have fallen for a guy through a computer screen?

I knew nothing about him aside from his picture. I didn't know his personality. I didn't even know his Chinese name. Was love possible under such conditions?

Many miracles of cyber-relationships-turned-marriages have been told and retold over time. But I was positively sure this was not one.

Love is not something that is formed when you look at someone's DP. Love cannot be experienced through PMs on Facebook. Love is certainly not the reward after filling a checklist of "dream guy" qualities.

I have never experienced the relationship kind of love before. But if some of my friends' horrendous breakups have taught me anything, it is that the strongest kind of love is rarely achieved during your teenage years.

Anything that is precious comes after long periods of cultivating and remarkable patience. True love is no less precious than diamonds and oil. If it takes decades to find a diamond that complements you best, would true love be any different?

Forever is only an extended version of tomorrow when you can get what is truly treasured by your heart.