We Were Born on the Same Day

Except it was 4 years apart

The year was 2015

I had been invited by my uncle to visit the church he'd been going for a while at that point. I come from a Christian family with the church-going habit but due to some problems I had with the last institution I had taken part in, I was in between "houses of God".

I accepted the invitation based on the event's name. Ramo Music was the title of the gathering filled with young people interested in having the kind of fun we Christians enjoy. There was the word "music" in the name, it couldn't go wrong, right? I am being a little sarcastic for the sake of storytelling — I really am a Christian. I knew there would have a bunch of music and I'm always up for that, music I mean.

When I got there I saw a lot of people, most of them youngsters in search of something, I can't tell you what it was. I had no idea what I was looking for, I was just there.

Almost a year before that I had the breakup of the century. Engaged for a year, together for 3, one of us had the awesome idea to pull the plug on the whole wedding operation — a terrible idea back in 2014 but in 2021, not so much — and save us all from a marriage failure.

I found what I didn't know that I was looking for

Anyways, I was there with some loud music and a room full of people praising God. Some of them were jumping, some were just walking around, some were talking, and I was just enjoying the music. Well, not only the music. I had spotted a really beautiful girl who was responsible for an angelical high-pitch powerful voice on stage.

It was just magical, I can tell you that. I watched her through the rest of the evening but I didn't have the guts to talk to her. And that was on and for the next few weeks that I started going to that church. I would see her all the time but never speak with her. I did not know how to approach her.

I started hanging out with a bunch of people from the church and this guy reached out to me and started talking, kinda welcoming me into that new social group, let's call him Bruno. It was a great way for me to meet people but I was really interested in meeting someone specifically.

If I don't talk, she will

One morning after a few days or weeks — I'm not really sure how long it was since I had started going there — she approached me.

Her first line was:

"Are you Felipe Xavier? I heard you're friends with my brother."

I had no idea who her brother was, I didn't even know her name. Then I said:

"Sure, it's me. Nice to meet you."

After that, I don't remember much but I know that she told me her name. Paula had the cutest voice and the kindest look on her face. Did I say I was stupidly in love with someone I hadn't met yet?

I went home but I couldn't get her out of my mind. I had to search more about her and most importantly, I had to find out who her brother was. What if she asked me again?

Stalker, is that you?

I went on Facebook and found her. I saw a bunch of pictures but one thing got my attention, her date of birth. It matched mine. Then came the thought "there's the conversation starter I need". I called her on Facebook Messenger with the opening line of "when is your birthday" and what a coincidence that was that we were born on the same day, with 4 years apart but still.

We talked a lot for the next few days and I found out who her brother was. It was the guy who introduced me to everybody and made me feel welcome, was that meant to be or what? It seems Bruno made me feel too comfortable, right? Jokes aside, my brother-in-law and I turned out to be great friends today.

Paula and I talked for months and I decided I had to make a move. We were becoming really great friends and I was scared to never be more than that. So I did it. I made a move. I asked her out. Do you know what I got?

"NOT NOW BUT THANKS ANYWAY."

Okay, those were not the exact words but I got a no. I kept thinking about what went wrong, I mean, she looked interested. I totally respected her decision and I didn't mention going out with her again, at least for a few days.

We kept friends for months on and I never gave up. We would talk into the night, about everything. We probably had a hundred online dates but she didn't realize we would eventually go out.

We shared a lot. I found out that she had also been in a recent relationship that went wrong. We were both broken somehow, and the talking and sharing seemed to work just fine in our healing process.

Now is the time

That day eventually came and it wasn't my suggestion, it was hers. She invited me for a cup of coffee.

I couldn't believe that actually happened. It was out of the blue but I immediately said yes. We went out and had the best time. There were many other dates after that until the day we decided to take things seriously and become a couple.

We tried to keep a low profile for a while but too many people we knew had seen us together in coffee houses around town. Jumpcut 4 years later and we are married. In 2019 we had the ceremony gathering people we love the most and decided to spend the rest of our lives together.

This is a real story and I am sorry if I failed to build a mystery or couldn't make it an epic love story. Most real love stories are made by real people, who work hard enough to make relationships work. Some would say we are still youngsters in a relationship and we are. Who says we can't make it work?

And this is the story of How I Met My Wife. See? I did it within a 7-minute text instead of a 7-season tv show.

Thank you for reading.

If you want to know about the unforgettable honeymoon we had, you can read the following post in The Masterpiece.