"There are more people in the world than we’ll ever meet. People born far away, whom chance will never bring our way. What a waste. So many of those encounters that never happen could’ve been breathtaking. Due to affinity, unexplained attraction, timing, hidden chemistry—who’s to say? How much love is lost in this lack of synchronicity. You don’t even have to go far: someone could pass by on the left while we’re distracted, looking right. A matter of inches can doom us to eternal misalignment. It takes a random coincidence for love to take root. There’s a certain miracle in the act of meeting. It’s not foolish to say that love is sacred."
I borrowed these words from Carla Madeira to tell the story of an encounter that was meant to happen. Gabriella, from Bahia, and André, from Rio, met in Miami while they were both in college. Two different worlds crossing paths in a place even more foreign to them both.
They became close friends right away. They talked every day, and with each conversation, the desire to discover each other’s world only grew. In Gabi’s words, “we were just two people really interested in each other, simply in knowing about each other’s life.” Their intimacy grew so naturally that the first “I love you” came just two months in—before their first kiss.
It was then they realized they had to be together. But that didn’t unfold slowly like most relationships. For Gabi and André, love was so natural that the relationship simply... happened. Effortlessly. They just knew it was right.
Gabi says there are two types of people in the world: those with roots, and those with wings. And that describes them perfectly. Gabi is afraid of flying, deeply attached, and never imagined living abroad. André, on the other hand, has wings—he was born to fly higher than Gabi ever dreamed of. With him, she learned how to fly. With her, he learned how to stay.
André has a deep curiosity and hunger for life. Gabi knows how to appreciate routine and values the small, beautiful moments. Together, they create something greater—more complete. But their connection isn’t about being “two halves making a whole.” It’s about two full individuals bringing something unique the other didn’t have, making each other grow—together and apart.
Speaking of things that come together: through André, Gabi developed a deeper relationship with nature. She learned the importance of connecting with something bigger. Their life choices always reflect that—whether it’s the place they live, the wedding celebration, or their four-legged “child”, Luigi.
Carlos Drummond de Andrade often tied love to nature, and that too seems to thread through Gabi and André’s story. Their love is so intense, pure, and natural that it echoes the poet’s words: “Love is given freely, born in the wind, in the waterfall, in the eclipse. Love escapes dictionaries and all kinds of rules.”
Still, even if love is freely given, it requires care to last. Gabi and André say “I love you” every single day. They always sleep cuddled. They kiss each other good morning and good night. And they’ve made a pact: every time they go out to dinner, they want people around them to think they’re still in the honeymoon phase. No phones. Just eye contact and affection. Because that’s how they want to live for the rest of their lives.
By Ana Luisa Soares
