You, a bulgarian girl, were chosen to represent your country at the grand Dubai Expo — a place where nations came together to show not just their creations, but their soul.

You felt both proud and out of place, surrounded by skyscrapers of glass and steel, so far from the scent of the Bulgarian roses and the whisper of the Balkan hills.

Just an average girl, coming from a small mountain town, here among the big empire in the sands and golden buildings.

Then you met Murad. A young Emirati architect whose booth stood across from yours.

He was captivated not only by your beauty, but by the confident way you spoke about your homeland - roses, mountains and quiet villages.

The endless rose fields of Kazanlak, the misty Rhodope mornings, the quiet mountain villages where time still moved slowly.

He said your eyes reminded him of the dawn over the desert, cool and warm at once.

Each day, between visitors and presentations, you’d exchange glances, words, stories — about his desert and your valleys, about how both lands held beauty that outsiders often missed.

You were both learning things about your hometowns. He learned about the quiet calm nature of yours and you learnt about the beauty among the big resilient sand lands.

But the expo was temporarily, so was your time together. What would happen while you were there?