Michael Jordan was all the rage in the late ’90s, and I was a huge fan! My friend “Nerdy” and I played basketball at school, and we knew the names of all the NBA players and teams from that season. When I walked into that store, I saw that poster on the wall and spotted Carlos—that was it! Love at first sight. We still have that same poster to this day. 

A gift that was never just a pair of sneakers. Cadu and I became distant friends. We didn’t keep in touch, and we hardly spoke to each other. I started going to the mall a lot more often and would always stop by the store where he worked to say hi and see that million-dollar smile. “Nerdy,” my friend, would always say, “You’re going to end up marrying the guy from the store.” Until one day we got there and the store was closed...

Out of the blue—that’s what a lot of people would say, and that’s how it seemed to us. I was on the street near my work, talking to two friends when he walked by. We recognized each other right away! I couldn’t believe that “needle in a haystack” had been found again. I showed him where I worked, and we said goodbye. It took months for him to show up “out of nowhere” at my workplace and ask me out to lunch. I was sure we were going to date… but a few weeks later, Cadu had to step back to mourn a family loss. Months went by… we went our separate ways once again.

God granted one of the deepest desires of my heart: to return to live in Germany. In September 2017, when I left, Carlos was no longer part of my life. The last time we had seen each other was in 2015. We hadn’t heard from each other, and I needed to move on with my life. At that point, the possibility of us meeting again hadn’t even crossed my mind... (continued in the next chapter).