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By Cristy Alfaro Submitted by nalfaro336 Date: 2001 Jul 14 Comment on this Work [[2001.07.14.01.19.5982]] |
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It all starts on a particular day, just as simple as any other day back in May 1999. She gets up and goes through the day with the usual routine with nothing new. She gets back home and right before going to bed, she checks her email, since that has become a must, at least that's what she thinks. She signs on to America Online (AOL) and hears the words, "You've Got Mail!!" She usually gets very happy because there is always a "special" email waiting for her. That particular evening, she does not get an email from the person she expects but instead, from somebody else, which is nothing new to her because she has a nice profile that people check out once in a while and get very interested to find out more about the single, Salvadorian college girl that it portrays. Her name is Cristy (23 years old) and she lives in West Los Angeles, California. This time, she has received an email from Victor (30 years old), who is interested in establishing an online friendship, and who lives right across the country, New Jersey. The first thing Cristy does before replying to Victor's email is to read his profile, which seems to be alright, at least it doesn't give Cristy the impression of Victor being a psycho! She replies and there you go!! ...Victor and Cristy become casual, online friends. They both add each other's screen names to their buddy lists, hoping to be able to chat with Instant Messages (IMs) very soon. Because Cristy has become very popular in AOL, she has around forty-five people on her buddy list, and she prefers to allow only a certain number of them to see her when she is online because most, if not all of them, think she is a very interesting person to talk with and she cannot possibly keep up with 10-15 IMs talking about different topics at the same time. On a few occasions, Cristy has seen Victor online, but she has not been able to chat with him because she is usually busy with homework and her other incoming IMs. Finally, one evening she gets online and the only screen name she sees on her buddy list is Victor's. She then decides to allow his screen name and block the rest (By the way, sometimes Cristy is a very traditional girl and prefers that guys make the first move). So, she doesn't send Victor an IM, fortunately, Victor does and there they are, chatting with instant messages for the first time. Unfortunately, the 3-hour difference does not allow them to stay up until very late because Victor has had a long day and has to get up early for work the next day. They keep in touch by email and IMs for the next 3 to 4 months. There are times when Cristy even thought that he had been just one of those online buddies who stay in touch for a while and then leave or cancel their accounts, whatever the reason, they never talk to each other anymore. With Cristy and Victor, things are different. They treat each other with respect and honesty, which are two very important approaches in any type of relationship. It is already October 15, 1999, Victor and Cristy are still keeping in touch by email and IMs. On this particular day, Cristy feels like Victor will be a good shoulder to cry on and tells him that she has just broken up with her boyfriend. The conversation gets very interesting, and for some reason Victor finds this moment as the most perfect to ask for Cristy's phone number. He tells her that he has lost his phone number and that he would like to have hers. Once again, here they are, talking on the phone for the first time. They both seem to have a great time and they always find something interesting to talk about, especially when it comes to past experiences back in El Salvador, their homecountry. They both used to live in the same city and their families sort of knew each other. To their surprise, Victor's cousin and Cristy used to be classmates as well as good friends back then. Apparently, Victor and Cristy have now become very good friends. They almost know everything about each other, and the more they talk on the phone, the more they find themselves in a relationship that seems too good to be true. Although Cristy is dating a couple of friends from the past, and so is Victor, they act as if they already were boyfriend and girlfriend, it even surprises them sometimes because they get sort of jealous of their friends. Approximately 2 weeks have gone by since they started talking on the phone, they don't let a day go by without calling each other, not only once but several times during the day (yeah! Phone companies are happy about this kind of relationships). Anyway, Victor is already making plans to visit Cristy in Los Angeles. Finally, on the first week of November, Victor surprises Cristy with reservations to fly to L.A. on November 24, 1999. They are both very happy about it, but at the same time they are very nervous because they are going to finally meet the person they have come to love so much over the phone. For them, the idea of not liking what they will see in person is kind of a scary thought, even though they have already seen pictures of each other by e-mail. The big day has arrived, November 24, 1999. Victor calls Cristy from the airport, right before taking off. Cristy is nervous, although this is not the first time she will meet someone under these circumstances, with Victor things are different because she has developed very strong feelings for him. It is already 4:30pm, Cristy is a little late and stuck in traffic on the 405 Freeway South, towards LAX. It is almost 5 o'clock, she is about to get there and her phone rings...it's Victor!! He is making sure that Cristy has not changed her mind about picking him up, especially because the poor thing has been ready and waiting for her for almost 45 minutes already. She explains to him that there is traffic and tells him that she will be there in approximately 15 minutes (yes! Traffic is that bad, it is expected though because of the Thanksgiving Holiday). At last, 20 minutes later, Cristy gets to the airport and is heading to terminal 7, which is where he has been waiting. She calls and tells him that she is right in front of terminal 7 and tells him to look for her car because she cannot see him. So, there they are, looking for each other, talking on their cell phones. Finally, Victor says, "Oh! There you are...I see your car!" By now, Cristy just wants to step on the gas pedal and run away, she is so nervous and the idea of him being able to see her makes her want to hide right under the steering wheel. At last, Victor walks towards her and she finally sees him and hangs up the phone. So, there you go, FINALLY, for the first time, Victor and Cristy are together, stuck in traffic but together, and nervous but happy to have finally been able to see each other. Both of them seem to have gotten more than what they actually expected. Victor seems to like the city of L.A. although he is stunned to see so many cars on the streets, but hey!! This is L.A.!! That very same evening, Victor and Cristy go out on a real date, for the first time, and Victor asks Cristy if she wants to be his girlfriend (of course, we won't talk about her answer because we all know what she's going to say). They go out to dinner, then to Hollywood off to the beach. They really have to make the best out of these four days together. November 28, 1999 has come, time for them to say "good bye" (nobody knows when, if ever, they will see each other again). At least, they have spent a great short time together. But because things have gone even better than ever thought, here we have Cristy and Victor again, making plans to see each other for Christmas, Valentine's Day, Just Because, the Summer, etc. (oh boy, sounds like a lot of money, doesn't it?)...But no matter how much this relationship will end up to cost, it is definitely worth it. A little longer than a year has passed, and Victor is already thinking about proposing. He does it right on New Year's Day 2001, which is his birthday as well. After having spent a White Christmas together on the East coast, Cristy is at the airport ready to board the plane back to L.A. when Victor surprises her with the most precious ring she has ever seen. Honestly, Victor does a great job proposing, and he chose a very unique time and place to do it. Victor and Cristy are still living around 3,000 miles apart, but they have some really serious plans going on. It is July 2001; Cristy will be finishing school in August and will be moving to the East Coast so they can finally be together. They are currently planning their wedding for June 22, 2002, which will hopefully be forever, and they also plan to have two beautiful children in the near future. GOOD LUCK TO YOU TWO, AND GOD BLESS YOU!! |