In unprecedented times, where the world was grappling with the isolation brought about by the pandemic, emerged a love story that defied the odds. As Valentine's Day approaches, we are delighted to share a heartwarming story submitted by an anonymous user who goes by the name "Sam," detailing how he first fell in love with his then-girlfriend, "Alex."
Disclaimer: Names have been changed for privacy reasons.
I first met Alex through a dating app in the middle of the pandemic. I was absentmindedly scrolling, desperate for human connection when I stumbled upon her profile. As a veteran of the dating app scene, it took a lot to catch my goldfish-like attention, but seeing her photo was enough to make me stop mid-swipe. She only had one photo on her profile, a candid and slightly blurry picture of her and her one-eyed dog.
The picture itself was nothing special, she barely had any makeup on and her hair was tied into a messy bun, but what really got me was her smile. That bright, wide, beautiful, gummy smile. I didn’t even think twice about swiping right and I never waited more eagerly for a response than I did at that moment.
Turns out luck was on my side and she swiped on me too. She was a big fan of the niche show I put on my bio and was excited to meet someone she could bond with and discuss the upcoming season. Our conversations flowed naturally and after a few weeks of continuous texting, binging the new season of that said anime, late-night gaming sessions, and me constantly losing to her in Tetris, it was apparent that there was something special there. I got to see her signature smile many times whenever we’d video chat, and seeing it as well as getting to talk to her became the highlight of my day. Every day I longed for the opportunity to see that smile in person as I daydreamed about a world without this virus.
Eventually, regulations loosened enough that we got to do some grocery shopping together for our respective households. Given our circumstances, running errands together was the closest thing we could get to a first date since restaurants only did takeout and movies were out of the question. Besides, people didn’t go out for leisure during that time and only risked exposure to get their essentials.
It wasn’t the ideal first meeting. We had our masks on the whole time and made sure to observe proper social distancing, but I was more than content. Alex was as sharp, and witty as she was over video chat and text. Thankfully, her many “HAHAHAHAHA”s over text translated in real life too. From the corner of my eye, I kept trying to get a glimpse of her without her noticing – her crinkled eyes and loud laughs held a promise of that same beautiful smile behind the mask, the thought of which kept me preoccupied for days.
Our meet-ups went pretty much like that for the next few months, becoming more frequent as Covid restrictions continued to loosen. However, we still made sure to keep our masks on at all times since we couldn’t afford to get my little sister or her father sick, both of whom had comorbidities.
When the world started to open up again, I decided that it was time to make it official with Alex, the one person who kept me sane throughout the past few months. Of course, we were still very Covid-conscious but I figured surprising her with a romantic picnic in an isolated park wouldn’t hurt since both our families were fully vaccinated.
I was about done setting up when Alex arrived thirty minutes earlier than she said she would. Feeling flustered that I was caught preparing for her surprise, my brain went into overdrive trying to come up with a smooth recovery that I didn’t even notice she wasn’t wearing her mask. Then, my mind drew a blank when she flashed that smile. That bright, wide, beautiful, gummy smile that I first fell in love with. Lucky for me, I got to see that smile many more times that night. I got to observe the finer details of how her bottom teeth were slightly crooked and how she had matching dimples on both sides of her cheeks. I also didn’t miss how she tried to hide her smile when I asked her to be my girlfriend.
Years later, I’m lucky enough to see that same smile on the day of our wedding, just as bright and beautiful as it was on that day.
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