Started from One Letter

On the rose-scented alleys of Shiraz where poets had strolled and the wind still bore couplets from Hafiz and Rumi, lived a calligrapher by the name of Arash. He was a reserved man who wrote so finely that his letters appeared to breatheEvery morning, he would open his little shop tucked between two jasmine-covered walls, and by sunset, leave without saying much to anyone.

One day, a woman named Laleh walked into his shop with a strange request. “Write me only one letter,” she said, “but write it with all your heart.”

He raised an eyebrow. “One letter?”

“Yes,” she smiled, “any one from the Persian alphabet.”

Curious, he picked the letter "ی" — ye, known for its flowing beauty and for ending many words of love. He dipped his bamboo pen in ink and, with immense care, let his hand glide over the parchment. The letter shimmered, almost alive.

Laleh took the parchment and departed, leaving a silver coin and the scent of rose perfume behind.

The next day, she returned. “Now write another,” she said.

This became a ritual. Day after day, she asked for a single letter. He never asked why. She never explained. But with every stroke, Arash’s heart filled — with wonder, longing, and something he dared not name.

One evening, she didn’t come.

Nor the next.

The days stretched, and the shop felt empty. Then, a boy arrived with a scroll. “She asked me to give you this,” he said, and ran off.

Inside the scroll were the very letters Arash had written, now arranged into a poem. Her poem. His letters. It read:

"When I saw you, I remembered every forgotten verse in my soul.

You wrote not letters, Arash, but the heartbeat I had long silenced."

And below, a note:

“I came each day to gather love, not letters. Today I go to attend to my sick father in Tabriz. If your heart still writes, write to me. For even one word from you is creation's greatest joy."

Moral: 

Real love doesn't require words. It develops in moments of silence, in common rituals, in creation itself.

Inspiration:

Love is simply creation's greatest joy.  Hafez