I believe all love stories are unique and special, true to each couple that experiences their love. Some however, have more substance… the kind of juice that sets them apart. Sometimes it’s the individuals or situations the couple faces; but they all share one thing in common, they move us. They make those that are having a hard time believing in love, believe. They make the ones that have experienced great love relive the early days. They inspire the dreamers to find such love. They are proof that there is such thing as true love.
Michael and Yeliana have this kind of love. The kind that inspires. For such a young couple they have personally encountered so many trials that would make most people sad and lonely. But instead, they have found a way to stick together and be a better couple despite all of the obstacles. They choose to fight the bad and keep the good. I can’t help but feel a great sense of joy knowing that there is a couple out there beating the odds together. That a man can love someone he’s liked since before he was a full grown teenager so deeply. It melts my heart! So so romantic.
Our session was very calm and simple. I took the time to just watch them be together. Walk and talk together. I witnessed their love and feel like their photographs could do all the talking.
Yeliana and Michael have both shared their touching and SUPER romantic love story with me, and you!
as told by Yeliana
It all started in my adolescent years. By the end of 6th grade I wasn’t feeling very well. I would miss class a lot; and if I didn’t, I would either sleep or asked to be excused more than allowed. I remember this one class in particular. It was science, my favorite subject. I was shivering and I was exhausted. I had thrown up a couple of times and I was feeling weak. I remember looking to my left and seeing a big RED FSU sweater lying next to this long haired, chubby boy. I decided I would take a chance and ask him for his sweater to keep warm. I gathered the courage to approach him and I asked “Hey, can I use your sweater?” And without any hesitation or even a single thought, he said “Yes, of course.” That is the only recollection I have of that boy in Middle School. All I knew was that he saved my day right then and there.
Throughout the years, I wore that sweater. It kept me warm, and in a way I felt safe. I caught myself thinking about that boy that once gave me this sweater and I wondered if he ever thought about whether he would get it back. In my mind, I thought never. But little did I know that destiny had its own agenda. Once in a while, I would see pictures of him on Facebook and notice how grown up he’d gotten. How ‘handsome’ he’d become. But, I wouldn’t pay any mind to it. One day, as I was scrolling through, I saw a post from him. It was a picture spreading awareness about Crohns Disease which was followed by a picture of him in a hospital fighting for his quality of life back. I had never spoken with a person who shared the same disease as I. So, as my curiosity took over, I decided to send him a message. It started with “Hey, I know it’s none of my business but…” and I went on explaining how I have the same condition and how I have been in the battle for quite some time now. After a couple of messages sent back and forth I told him that I still had his sweater. And that I use it every once in a while when I know I’ll be going to a cold place. He was shocked, and he later went on to explain that that was his favorite sweater. After a bit more of conversation, he had told me that Facebook messenger wasn’t working and that he would like my number in order to keep in touch. I agreed. After that, we spoke almost every day.
After a couple weeks, I finally decided to go visit him at the hospital. I asked one of my friends to accompany me, as I was a nervous wreck. I didn’t know what it was about him at the time, but something definitely sparked. As soon as we entered the room, his face lit up like a child’s face on Christmas morning. I had a feeling I could not put together. Like an admiration of some sort. I could see his face blush (as was mine) and I could see his hands shake. We all sat for 30 minutes and talked about how our condition had affected our lives. Once we left, I gave him a hug goodbye, and I wished him well. As soon as my friend and I stepped out, she said “You guys are getting married, it’s totally going to happen. You could see he likes you from a mile away.”
I kept on denying it and brushing it off. Truth is, I wasn’t ready for a relationship. From then on I would visit him whenever he was in the hospital. When he had surgery, I was there the day after and I was the first one to make him walk. I was happy to see him recovering so well. But after that, it hit me. I wasn’t ready to jump from hospital room to hospital room every time him and I had an episode. It wasn’t ideal for me. It wasn’t something I could envision as an easy lifestyle. So much so, slowly but surely, I started to ignore his text messages. I was not going to put us both into a predicament we did not have to be in. He never really stopped trying to contact me. A month or so after I decided to get a new phone. I wasn’t receiving anyone’s messages. I later came to realize that the Android wasn’t compatible with iMessage. So I decided to switch back. I wondered during that time why had he stopped trying to message me. I liked his chase, you see. I was attracted to him, but in my mind, our chance to fall in love was toxic. So, I decided to message him and see what he’s been up to. He didn’t seem mad or annoyed which surprised me. And that’s when I knew how humble he was.
One day, Michael text me and told me he was going to the golf course. Coincidently, I was going as well. We shared a few spectacular moments on that golf course. I would ride with him and drive him around, every time he was about to swing, he would look at me and smile, waiting for me to smile back. He would purposely turn off the cart so I would have to reach for the button to turn it back on and touch his hand. That’s when I started to fall for him. That’s when all my insecurities and worries about the future became nonexistent. I tried many times to brush that feeling off. But the more we hung out, the more I fell. At one point, I told my grandmother that I had found my soulmate, the person I was going to spend the rest of my days with. It astonished me that words like those came out of my mouth so easily.
After a month or so of enjoyment, he fell into the hospital again, and I did too. When they discharged me, I would quickly go to where he was. We would sit and watch movies and talk for hours. That is where we shared our first kiss… in a hospital bed, watching The Killing, which was our favorite show at the time. I had already loved him without even knowing it. He was purely magical. We decided to meet up at a park in Miami Springs right in front of the golf course. We would walk some and then sit. We would talk about everything imaginable. And then he hit me like a bomb. He said he had gotten a scholarship to play golf far away and I already knew what that meant. So I told him I would wait for him. I gave him a necklace, as a last goodbye. (The necklace had my name on a grain of rice in the tube. I would wear it all the time.) And even if we dated other people, if we were truly meant to be, then we would be together.
I could see now in shades of grey. I was bleeding inside. It felt like a thousand needles pricking inside of me. I knew that this was a once in a lifetime chance for him and I wasn’t going to be the person to mess that up. Shortly after, he fell into the hospital again and a couple days later I became very ill. While he was recovering, I was failing. I was admitted into the same hospital he was just in a different ward. He would hear them call code blue for my room. (The reason I know this is because he would blow up my phone every time it happened. He would send is nurses to check on me. He even one time sent me a priest.) As he was getting ready to be discharged, I was getting ready for surgery. I had told him that if I didn’t make it out alive, I at least wanted to go being his girlfriend, officially. He wanted to wait to ask me in person but I pushed him not to. So he asked on September 2nd 2014. And I said, “Hell Yes.”
The surgery went well. I was able to walk again, and breathe, and eat. I was excited to get out and see him. The doctors advised him not to go far, and that it would be best if he remained local. I was upset, but I was also relieved. After that we would walk down the same trail a lot. We also found a big tree, very different from the others, and we called it our tree. We’d have picnics there and collect its branches for projects. A month later, after I recovered, He had organized a surprise for me. I didn’t know why or where, but I knew it was going to be a great one. After four hours on the road, we arrived at Disney World! I couldn’t believe I was at my favorite place with my favorite person. We checked into one of the Disney hotels and it was enchanting. A dream come true. The next night, he had told me to dress real nice because we had a dinner reservation. So I did as I was told. The day was gloomy, and it was raining, but nothing in this world could ruin this perfect day. We approached Cinderella’s Castle in Magic Kingdom. It’s always been a dream of mine to go inside the castle and have dinner there. And so, to my surprise, that’s exactly where we had a reservation! I was ecstatic! As we formed the line to meet with the princess, I became sick to my stomach. I felt like something was going to happen. Something that would change my life forever. And boy was I right. As we approached for the picture, He kneeled down, took out a small white box from his back pocket and looked right at me and asked those magical words.. “Would you marry me?” I froze. In the back of my mind, I knew this was coming. But I didn’t think it would actually happen. And as a tear fell down my cheek and a smile from ear to ear, I said “Yes, a thousand times Yes.”
It was rather beautiful. The way he put my insecurities to sleep. He was my person, and no one was going to take that away from me. Not now, not ever. Shortly after that time, I became ill again. I was in the hospital for months. Without any physical contact. But he stuck with me through thick and thin. And he still has. I used to ask myself how I managed to get so lucky. Now, I stopped asking and started listening. I started listening to the way he breathes when I lay next to him; to the way he tells me he loves me day in and day out. He loved me as I am and that’s all that mattered. Truth is, when you really care for someone, you don’t look for faults. You don’t look for answers or mistakes. Instead you fight the mistakes, you accept the faults and you overlook the excuses. The measure of love is when you love without measure. I finally found someone who can make flowers grow even in the darkest parts of me. When we touch, I feel everything. Every move of his palm, every squeeze of his hand, and every brush of his finger. Everything in my body tingles, and it’s the most wonderful thing ever. Every move he makes, he makes a difference. I’d choose him; in a hundred lifetimes, in a hundred worlds, in any version of reality, I’d find him and I’d still chose him.
♥
as told by Michael
It all started way back then when I was in middle school. She caught my eye, when she was walking by me in the hallway. That was the first time I laid eyes on her and at that moment I had a crush on her. It was that way the whole sixth grade. When the seventh grade came around, the hallway wasn’t the only time I was going to ever see her because we had science class together.
I thought I was the luckiest guy but it got better, turns out her last name was Avila, mine is Bain. So I got to sit right behind her. I would always say hi to her and be very nice but she didn’t notice me. I knew I didn’t have a chance because all the girls liked the bad boys. So we only made small talk until one day, the day that would change everything. We came to class and the a/c temperature had to be on artic. I was wearing my favorite sweater (my red Florida State University sweater) I had gotten for Christmas. She turned to me and asked me if I could let her use my sweater, and of course I said yes with big red cheeks and a big smile. She wore it in class and took it home. This was towards the end of the year and I didn’t want to ask for it back because I wanted it to be a way I could talk to her. But I never did, not that summer and not the following year.
It wasn’t until three years later, I was on Facebook and I saw her. We both added each other but never talked. I would be looking through Facebook posts and I would see her. I thought she was beautiful then but she was even more now. Her big beautiful eyes would draw me in. In my junior year I started to get sick and didn’t know what was going on. I would post about me going to the doctors, taking new medications and being in the hospital.
When I was in Tallahassee I wasn’t doing too well and the doctors were out of ideas, so they transported me down to Miami. I remember it like it was yesterday, and still puts a smile on my face. I had been at the new hospital for a few days when my phone went off saying I had a Facebook message. I couldn’t believe my eyes. My heart almost stopped. I even checked my phone over and over again to make sure if what I was seeing was true, and it was. My first crush from sixth grade had messaged me.
She asked me how was I doing, and asked if I had Crohns Disease and was cheering me up (which she did). We were messaging each other when she said what had been on my mind for years and been waiting for. She told me she still had my sweater. When she said that I swear my heart skipped so many times and was so fast, I didn’t know what to do. She remembered me! I wanted to talk to her so bad, I asked if I could have her number because I was far from the charger because of the bed (which I wasn’t). I got to see her one month after we started talking. We would continue to stay in touch for a couple of months until I had surgery.
After having surgery Yeliana would come again to see me, in fact she was the one that got me up out of bed and walking to get my body going again. After I got out, a few months would pass and we started to see each other at a local golf course. She would drive the golf cart and take photos while I would try to hold her hand. I was falling in deep love, I knew I was because I never felt that way before.
August came around and everything was going great, but we thought it was going to end. I was supposed to go to Iowa for golf. So before I was going to leave, we took a walk down a path in Miami Springs. We spent hours saying our goodbyes and spending every second possible together. Before I left we went to the biggest tree that had a bench and said, I love you. That was the happiest I had ever been.
I didn’t want to go to Iowa, the girl I had a crush on turned into the woman I was falling in love with. The next couple of days came around and I started to feel sick again. I ended up in the hospital and couldn’t go to Iowa. Most people would be sad or mad that it was happing again, but never was I so happy. She helped me get thought it and helped me when my grandma passed away in the same week. While in the hospital she came again, my hero, that was the case until she got sick at the same time.
We were both in the same hospital. I was on the third floor in the GI unit and she was in the cardiac unit on the same floor. We couldn’t see each other because I had an infection and she was needing to have surgery. It was the hardest thing to do. I was next to the woman I love and I couldn’t even be by her side while she was going through the ringer. A few days before her surgery she was wanting me to ask her out. I wanted to so bad, I just didn’t want to do it over text or phone. I wanted to see her dimples and see her when I was going to ask her. And the night came when she asked me to. I will never forget that night, I think the nurse did my vitals twice because they were so high.
A few more days went on and I was able to get out but she couldn’t and I still couldn’t see her. It was that way for weeks. It was killing me to not be by her side. I didn’t know what to do. Every day we would talk or text maybe 20,000 times a week. At the time she didn’t know it but I didn’t want to call her my girlfriend anymore I wanted to call her my wife. I knew what I wanted in life and she is all I want.
Yeliana’s road would get harder and harder, after surgery she got worse and ended up in the hospital again. I knew that her favorite place in the whole world was Disney World. I was looking for places to propose to her, that was until I read that you can have dinner in the Cinderella Castle in Disney. I knew what I had to do. For the next month I would call every day to get a reservation because this place was so booked normally it takes 6 months to get a reservation.
I spoke to the lady that deals with the reservations what was going on and every day she would check for breakfast, lunch and dinner from late October to December 31st because they were going to close it down to renovate it. So it was now or never. One day my phone rang and the lady called me crying of joy she had gotten me a date! I was so excited I yelled on the top of my lungs. After that I went and did something I never dreamed of, bought a wedding ring for my soon to be wife. I told everyone what I was going to do, I couldn’t hold it in (I think Jelly even knew). I was so nervous the whole time we had dinner. I went to the bathroom to tell them I was ready. So we finished having dinner and Cinderella grabbed her and said, “Hey princess, we need to take more photos.” And as we did, Yeliana was looking at her and by the time she turned around I was on my knees. Now I know why they call it the most magical place on earth.
That was the best time of my life. I had gotten to go to Disney World for the first time ever and when I went I asked the woman of my dreams to marry me. I always look back and just wish I would have done it sooner. It has been nothing short of amazing with my Queen. We have our days and ups and downs but no matter what we pull through it because in the end it’s her and me forever and always for infinity times infinity.
For most, the story may have ended. But for us, it has only just started. Chapter one of an endless book that you can’t put down. So with that said, it’s not the end, but to be continued.
