When Mariana opened that dating app, she wasn't looking for love, just a little conversation to distract herself. However, that first message from David, a Mexican engineer with the soul of a poet, changed her life forever.
“With you in the distance, my beloved”
From the very first week, not a single day went by without them talking. The intimacy and confidentiality between two beings who anxiously seek to unravel each other can arise even through a screen. What started with a simple "good morning" evolved into voice messages, video calls, and the exchange of anecdotes, dreams, recipes, photos of their meals, past fears, and even playlists. Hours and hours passed, smiling at their phones like teenagers, letting time and other tasks flow by as just a bridge to the next conversation. Little by little, they became each other's company in solitude and chose each other without having looked directly into each other's eyes.
“What's done is done”
His friends told them they were crazy. How could they get married without having met in person? How could they trust someone they had only interacted with virtually? However, David had a clear certainty. His story with Lucía, an ex with whom he grew up, planned a wedding, and dreamed of a family, ended with her betraying him with his best friend. For him, time guaranteed nothing.
"I shared half my life with Lucía... and she betrayed me. I haven't shared even an afternoon with Mariana, but I feel she's more loyal than anyone."
Mariana, for her part, also carried her own wounds. A mother of a small child, marked by the absence of a father who abandoned his responsibility to go to the United States, she was tired of men who promised and did not deliver. With David, however, she felt something different: consistency, tenderness, and reliability.
The appointments to obtain a tourist visa to Mexico took more than a year and were almost never approved. They had to get married in order to apply for a visa based on family ties and unity, demonstrating their love and commitment in a consular interview. David contacted specialists thinking about starting the process remotely, but he received a response that surprised him:
"Come, we will have everything ready. You won't have to wait here."
“I saw you arrive, and I felt what I had never felt before”
And so he did. He traveled with fear, insecurities, and a bouquet of hopes. When Mariana and David saw each other for the first time at the airport, all the negativity surrounding them seemed to fade away; they embraced with the absolute certainty that they had made the right decision, now that, amidst tears of happiness, they had solidified their love, no one could separate them.
That same week they got married. The documents were legalized and the process was carried out step by step. But there was one last concern, the consular interview was an intimidating process for our couple in love; however, we helped them prepare and put all our effort and experiences into this touching story.
“A new dawn”
Mariana left the embassy with a visa stamped in her passport and a smile stronger than the ecclesiastical character of the institution; they had done it. Together, they continued to write a future filled with their own happiness.
But the story doesn't end here. Mariana left her young son in Cuba. The father, absent and distant, has not given any signs. She doesn't want to take a step without her son.
And what do you say? Is love stronger than distance?