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3,397 Miles

An Ocean Apart and a 7 Hour Flight Away

By Sofia MartinezPublished 6 years ago 3 min read
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https://fromupnorth.com/photography-inspiration-1180-209c4344c4f6

If someone told me three years ago, that my life was about to be turned upside down, that I'd be happily married to a man that was sat, waiting for me to enter his life through a chatroom of all places, 3,397 miles away from here, I'd be on my back laughing hysterically at them.

Long distance can work. Not many can say they've made it work, but I am thankfully the exception. I am, at this moment in my life, married to the most caring man I've ever laid eyes on, and I didn't truly look into those eyes for about a year and a half.

It has been the longest, most unbearing, most thrilling rollercoaster of my life and I wouldn't change a thing, but to those who consider this kind of relationship to be a solution or to those who feel compelled to just give it a shot, because the opportunity is present to them, I scream sympathetically; don't!

I would not wish the kind of longing I endured, upon my worst enemies. The fear and worry that pulsed through me with every minute of every hour that he had not called. It is a cruel, cruel game that thankfully for me, made me stronger, but also pulled me away from many of my friends and family, of who will never be able to understand what I went through.

Despite all of that, however, I can now look back and smile at our success. My husband and I are nowhere near where we want to be in our lives of course, but for the first time in a long time, we can both take a deep breath and just be happy that the ocean is no longer between us.

As mentioned above, I met my other half online, just like many of us do. It was never what I had planned or was intending to progress. I was merely enticed by the idea of, what if and I'm just trying to have some fun. Commitment was never in the books, for me or for him for that matter. Therefore chatting flowed easily, without a need to impress or expect anything of the sort. It didn't take long for us to form a bond and chat daily and next thing I knew, we were opening up to each other on subjects we hadn't told a soul before. Of course, that's often a little easier to do, telling a stranger your most haunting secrets, but you also never expect to find yourself connected to them because of it.

Feelings developed effortlessly from that point on. Next thing we know, actions we made started to form butterflies, to establish expectations, to initiate pain. It wasn't long before we were aware of how far we'd let these feelings generate and as mature adults, we had to consider our options. Do we move forward? Do we end things here? Are we even capable of letting go?

What did we actually do? We told our families. We arranged to meet a little while later and after a seven-hour flight, followed by a lengthy hug, we never doubted again.

Not when the hardest circumstances hit us. Not when the tears were now streaming instead of flowing and most certainly not when his first ever Visa was declined. We faced separation in its cruelest form; when it was no longer up to us. When the government decided for us whether we were allowed to physically be together, for he had made the choice to move a country, for me, to depart from his family, for me.

And so for the future we wanted, for all the difficult times we faced apart, for all the holidays we spent watching others love at close proximity, we never gave up and three years later, we're standing at the altar together, under, unfortunately, rushed circumstances of which I'll acknowledge in my next story, saying I do.

This part of my life taught me what may be the most valuable lesson to me; to never give up on the things and people you believe in. Never let go of what is worth fighting for and always look for that silver lining, because the future will only be as bright as you make it to be. Keep that brightness beaming everyone.

https://dolphinjazz.tumblr.com/post/124450803535/atlantic-ocean-by-marek-k-misztal

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