Her teenage summer crush unexpectedly came back into her life. ‘I felt like I was reconnecting with my best friend’

Francesca Street, CNN

(CNN) — Years afterward, Iga Olszak often thought astir nan infinitesimal she first spotted Vlad Dimovski, connected nan sandy shores of Skotina, successful Greece.

Iga was 16, Vlad was 18. He was laughing pinch friends. Then pushed his agelong hairsbreadth retired of his eyes, met Iga’s eye, and smiled.

“I retrieve emotion very excited astir him,” Iga tells CNN Travel today.

Iga first saw Vlad successful nan summertime of 2005. She was connected picnic from Poland, astatine a summertime campy successful Greece. Vlad visited Skotina each summertime from his location successful what is now North Macedonia. The beach, successful nan foothills of Mount Olympus, was a location distant from location for Vlad and he was ever surrounded by a pack of friends.

While Iga was intrigued by Vlad, she was “also benignant of reserved.” For nan first fewer days, they circled each other, but didn’t talk.

Then, 1 evening Iga was sitting connected nan formation successful a circle pinch her campy friends, while Vlad was sitting adjacent by, successful a abstracted circle, pinch his group.

“At immoderate constituent we each started sitting together,” recalls Iga. “Then Vlad came up to maine truthful he could talk to me, and we sat adjacent to each different connected nan beach, chatting, having a conversation. And it went from there.”

Vlad noticed Iga correct away, too. He had “so galore bully memories” of summers relaxing astatine Skotina beach. He knew each nan regulars, and Iga stood out. He remembers nan measurement she walked down nan beach, recalls noticing her immediately, wanting to talk to her.

Once they did speak, Iga and Vlad quickly became inseparable.

“Every time we spent clip together,” Iga recalls. “On nan beach, aliases going hiking, chatting…”

The 2 communicated successful English – a small tricky arsenic Iga wasn’t arsenic assured successful nan connection arsenic Vlad.

“But Vlad was helping maine pinch definite words truthful we could pass better,” says Iga.

Iga and Vlad spent nan adjacent 2 weeks successful each other’s company. Looking back, Iga’s overwhelming representation of their clip together was “feeling very safe.” She recovered Vlad to beryllium kind, respectful, funny. She wasn’t precisely successful emotion – they were technically conscionable friends – but she had a beautiful heady crush.

Vlad felt nan aforesaid way. He describes their relationship arsenic “a friendship, but besides a willingness to beryllium together.” He felt for illustration they were drawn to each other.

But some Vlad and Iga were realistic that this relationship mightiness not last.

“We had a really awesome time,” says Iga. “But I was still successful precocious school. We lived very different lives successful position of being successful different countries. There was nary measurement for america to person a future. So that’s besides what I retrieve emotion – emotion for illustration it was exciting, but besides knowing location was an extremity to it.”

This extremity rolled astir each excessively quickly. Iga and Vlad said their goodbyes erstwhile nan campy came to an end. Social media was still successful its early days successful 2005, but nan 2 exchanged email addresses.

Back location successful Poland, Iga classified Vlad successful her caput arsenic “just a friend.”

“But moreover my mom remembers really excited I was erstwhile I sewage his first email,” says Iga. “We kept that speech going for nan adjacent 2 years.”

Over that period, Iga and Vlad wrote backmost and distant astir their thoughts connected family, friends, travel, their studies, their hopes and dreams.

“Both of america were having our ain lives, but we conscionable felt connected,” says Iga. “We exchanged astir apt complete 100 emails.”

“I couldn’t hold to person an email from her,” says Vlad. “They meant a batch to me.”

The 2 recovered different ways to enactment connected, including chatting via instant messenger.

“We’d download songs and perceive to nan medium astatine nan aforesaid time,” recalls Vlad. “Then we’d beryllium each night, talking astir nan songs for hours.”

In time, Vlad realized he was talking much to Iga than immoderate of his different summertime friends – really much than anyone successful his day-to-day life.

Iga had a akin realization.

“We spent a batch of clip chatting and penning emails. We sent each different pictures of what’s going connected successful our lives,” recalls Iga, who recovered herself often looking backmost astatine photos they’d taken together that summer, posing together.

Occasionally, Iga and Vlad would float nan thought of gathering up again, but nary actual plans ever materialized.

And successful clip some Iga and Vlad entered relationships pinch different people.

“After that, I felt like, ‘I cannot really meet up pinch you, because I person a boyfriend,’” recalls Iga. “It felt for illustration a awesome friendship, and I really wanted to meet him again – but I felt stuck successful that I couldn’t do it, really.”

As their respective romances sewage much serious, nan emails gradually died off.

“At immoderate point, we conscionable stopped having contact,” says Iga.

But Vlad ne'er deleted his emails from Iga. He often thought of her fondly.

Meanwhile, Iga ever felt grateful for her relationship pinch Vlad, and sad that it had dwindled.

When Facebook became omnipresent, nan 2 connected there. They communicated sporadically – 1 clip erstwhile they realized they conscionable missed each different successful Germany, different clip Vlad posted a throwback photograph to nan summertime successful Greece – but it was intermittent and aboveground level.

“Losing touch was natural,” Vlad reflects today. “It comes pinch nan distance.”

10 years later

Time moved on. Iga went to college, graduated and relocated from Poland to Germany. She sewage married, and past divided wrong a year. It was a reliable period.

Meanwhile Vlad’s activity took him to nan US, and he moved location permanently successful 2015. Vlad saw nan move arsenic a caller commencement pursuing a caller break-up.

“I promised myself, erstwhile I spell to nan US, I won’t get into a narration for astatine slightest a year,” he recalls.

Vlad had only been surviving and moving successful Chicago for a period aliases so, when, retired of nan blue, a connection popped up connected his phone. It was from Iga.

She was transiting done nan Republic of Macedonia (which changed its sanction to North Macedonia aft a 2019 referendum) and had a layover successful nan airport, not acold from Vlad’s hometown. She’d dropped him a message, connected nan disconnected chance he mightiness beryllium astir and willing successful a catchup, 10 years on.

But Vlad was connected nan different broadside of nan world, successful nan US. When he saw Iga’s connection he went from excitement to disappointment successful nan abstraction of a fewer minutes, astonishing himself by really sad he felt to miss Iga.

Vlad’s reply – explaining he’d moved to nan US, saying really he wished he could person seen Iga – started a backmost and distant betwixt nan aged friends connected Facebook messenger.

The messages – conscionable for illustration their teenage emails – went heavy quickly. Iga and Vlad started talking each day, catching each different up connected their lives, filling successful nan blanks complete nan past decade.

“It sewage really aggravated quickly,” says Iga. “I felt for illustration I was reconnecting pinch my champion friend, pinch personification very beloved to me.”

“It was truthful bully and refreshing to talk to Iga,” says Vlad.

Iga talked astir her divorce, and Vlad mentioned he was besides single. They felt connected to each different – conscionable for illustration they had erstwhile they were young, though neither needfully assumed their relationship had romanticist potential.

But when, successful early 2016, Vlad mentioned he was readying a travel backmost to Europe, to sojourn family, nan thought he mightiness extremity by to spot Iga successful Germany almost went without saying.

“The time that he was coming to spot me, it was very, very, very exciting,” says Iga. “I retrieve making banana pancakes for him. I woke up astatine five. I wanted to make him meal because he traveled overnight.”

Pancakes prepared, Iga drove to nan airdrome to meet Vlad.

“The infinitesimal I saw him again was astir apt nan champion time of my life,” says Iga. “The emotion was really, really intense. It was moreover amended than I imagined.”

Vlad recalls being overwhelmed by really surreal it was – and yet it besides conscionable felt right.

“She looked amazing,” he recalls. He knew what Iga looked like, he’d seen photos, but he realized he’d forgotten what it was really for illustration to beryllium successful her presence.

Plus, they’d some grown up. They were successful their precocious 20s. They some were – and weren’t – nan aforesaid group they’d been a decade before.

Iga showed Vlad astir her city, Bielefeld, successful northwest Germany.

“It was a batch of talking,” says Vlad. “We had a awesome time. You could spot location was thing going on. It was a short play of clip to understand if we’re meant for each other, aliases if we want to build a relationship. But it felt good.”

Next steps

While Vlad and Iga were together successful Germany, they talked astir nan imaginable of Iga visiting Vlad successful nan US.

A fewer weeks later, they connected connected a video telephone to talk astir this plan, and talk wherever things stood betwixt them.

Iga initiated nan conversation.

“I knew I’d fallen successful emotion pinch Vlad,” she says. “I knew I wanted to beryllium pinch him, but he was much reserved. So I conscionable felt for illustration I needed to know, ‘Where do we stand?’”

As personification who’d gone done a divorce, bully connection was important to Iga.

“I felt a batch of shame astir what had happened to me,” she says.

She’d opened up to Vlad astir her erstwhile relationship, and he’d been knowing and supportive.

“He created that abstraction for maine wherever it felt really bully and I yet felt okay to opportunity nan truth,” she says.

It was 1 of nan galore reasons Iga had fallen successful emotion pinch him. The thought he mightiness not consciousness nan aforesaid measurement was heartbreaking. But Vlad assured her that wasn’t nan lawsuit – not remotely.

“I was conscionable really frightened to get hurt,” says Vlad today. He was concerned astir nan realities of maintaining a long-distance relationship.

“I wanted to beryllium pinch Iga. But I was trying to unrecorded successful nan moment,” Vlad explains. He was worried labeling things, moving excessively quickly, could derail matters. But erstwhile Iga voiced her concerns, Vlad assured Iga he loved her too, and said he besides wanted to effort to make their relationship work.

So Iga booked her level summons to sojourn Vlad successful Chicago a mates of months later.

That sojourn was a turning point.

“At that point, we were very serious,” Iga says.

In May 2016, Iga took nan plunge and moved to nan US connected a much imperishable basis. She told herself that if it didn’t activity out, she could ever spell backmost to Europe.

But she and Vlad wanted to springiness their romance a due try, truthful Iga applied for a activity visa that would let her to unrecorded successful nan US afloat time.

Iga’s parents were encouraging. Her mother remembered really happy teenage Iga was whenever she received Vlad’s emails.

​”I had afloat support from my parents, and they were very excited for me,” says Iga. “But my relative was very anxious, like, ‘Oh my god, you met him connected nan internet.’”

Iga told her relative that wasn’t strictly existent – she’d known Vlad since she was 16. But she appreciated moving to nan different broadside of nan world to beryllium pinch him was a large step.

“The first six months we were conscionable benignant of learning really it feels to beryllium together and to person that life together,” says Iga. “It was decidedly a tricky position. We are some from different countries, and near our countries to unrecorded successful a abstracted country.”

“And I’d ne'er lived pinch anybody successful my life different than my family,” adds Vlad. “I’d ne'er had roommates, ne'er lived pinch a woman successful a shared flat. I’d ever lived connected my own. It was decidedly an adjustment.”

Developing a unchangeable relationship

Iga and Vlad only grew much judge they were meant to beryllium arsenic nan months rolled on.

“We developed a great, unchangeable and beardown relationship,” says Iga. “We needed to dangle connected each other. We conscionable had each different successful our lives successful nan US. We didn’t person immoderate family there, neither maine nor Vlad, truthful we created that small spot together.”

Iga started building nan foundations for a life coaching business. The mates relocated from Chicago to Florida, past regretted nan determination and returned to nan familiarity and comfortableness of Chicago.

Somewhere successful between, Iga discovered she was pregnant.

Children were thing some Iga and Vlad had hoped for and talked astir early on, but Iga’s gestation was unexpected. It was a astonishment – but a bully one.

Midway done Iga’s pregnancy, Vlad’s beloved grandma passed away, and he had to alert backmost to North Macedonia.

As he waited for his flight, Vlad sat astatine nan airdrome reflecting connected life, nonaccomplishment and love. His grandparents had shared a awesome romance, 1 he ever hoped to emulate.

“They were an illustration of existent emotion to me,” says Vlad.

Vlad knew he wanted to walk nan remainder of his life pinch Iga. He thought astir their first gathering connected nan formation successful Greece. An thought started to develop.

“I wanted to propose successful Greece,” he says. He called a friend and asked to get their car, explaining he had a scheme brewing. The friend offered to thrust Vlad to Skotina beach.

“So me, my friend, his woman and my brother, we drove complete there,” says Vlad. “It was September, retired of season. I went to nan spot wherever Iga and I met, and I recorded a video.”

In nan video, Vlad said straight to nan camera, recounting gathering Iga erstwhile they were teenagers. How it felt to reunite a decade later. How overmuch she meant to him. His excitement astatine their upcoming child. His hopes for their future.

“Then I wrote, connected nan sand, nan words: ‘Will you wed me?’” recalls Vlad.

Later on, backmost successful nan US, Vlad took Iga for dinner, requesting a backstage array astatine nan restaurant. Then, he took retired his phone, loaded up nan Greece video and pressed play.

Iga was moved to spot nan formation again, touched by Vlad’s words connected nan screen, but she had nary thought wherever it was going.

“Then, astatine nan end, I spot nan beach, wherever he’s written: ‘Will you wed me?’” recalls Iga. “I conscionable started crying. Then he gave maine nan ring.’”

Vlad had besides written Iga a missive – he’d been inspired by his clip astatine home, and recollections of his grandfather “who ever wrote letters and notes astir really he felt.”

In Vlad’s missive to Iga, he described really important she was to him and really it felt to sojourn nan formation wherever they met, each these years later.

Some of nan things he wrote down he’d ne'er really said to her earlier – really he’d felt nan infinitesimal he first saw her. The measurement he remembered her stepping on nan sand. How he’d saved each their emails.

“It was truthful beautiful and romantic,” says Iga. “And past this beautiful video connected nan beach, erstwhile Greece is truthful symbolic to us…”

Iga and Vlad welcomed their son, Luca, successful 2018. The mates sewage joined a period later – a mini ceremony, pinch only their adjacent family successful attendance – and welcomed a 2nd child, girl Klara, a twelvemonth later.

A recreated photo

Today, Iga and Vlad still unrecorded successful nan US, wherever they’re raising their kids pinch an world outlook. Iga runs a life coaching business and useful arsenic a task head for a tech company, while Vlad’s now nan head of operations for a freight brokerage.

The mates are beautiful established successful Chicago, but they still regularly sojourn Europe.

“It’s very important for america arsenic a family to support those relationships pinch our family,” says Iga. “Even though we are truthful acold away, we still want our kids to cognize what Poland is, to cognize what Macedonia is, to cognize Europe.”

This past summer, Iga and Vlad returned to Greece together, taking nan kids to nan formation wherever they met for nan first time.

The mates person a favourite photograph from summertime 2005, of nan 2 of them opinionated by a bluish door. Iga’s joking around, pouting, while Vlad’s gazing astatine her.

“It’s an important photo,” says Iga.

This summer, nan mates recreated nan picture, 19 years later – pinch nan thief of 1 of Vlad’s longtime friends, who was location erstwhile they met. The group recovered themselves each reminiscing connected that summer.

“You cried erstwhile she left,” said nan friend to Vlad. Iga raised her eyebrows astatine her hubby – he’d ne'er admitted that before.

Then, Iga and Vlad posed successful nan aforesaid spot, by nan bluish door, pinch their 2 kids successful tow.

“It was really special,” says Iga.

Iga and Vlad besides marked nan infinitesimal by getting matching tattoos to symbolize their meeting, depicting nan water waves and adjacent Mount Olympus. Iga’s tattoo is connected her near arm, Vlad’s connected his right. They mightiness suffer their wedding rings, aliases hide to deterioration them, but nan mates figured these tattoos would past forever, ever symbolizing their love.

Iga says nan summertime successful Greece was very meaningful.

“I saw nan mountain, and correct distant I conscionable felt very emotional, because this is nan spot wherever I met Vlad,” she says.

She enjoyed being location pinch their friends, treasured nan clip pinch their kids, but she tells Vlad coming she besides had nan impulse “just to laic down connected nan formation pinch you, and person you only for me.”

It was strange, Iga says, to bespeak that she wasn’t a teen anymore, enjoying a summertime crush. Life had moved on, turned into thing she could ne'er person anticipated, yet is truthful grateful for.

“I deliberation my younger aforesaid would beryllium very proud and happy,” Iga reflects. “I had a different life successful between. I had different marriage. And sometimes I would benignant of regret things. But you cannot regret anything, it had to hap for you past to find yourself successful this situation. Everything successful my life brought maine to this moment.”

Today, Iga and Vlad some consciousness for illustration everything happened nan measurement it was expected to, successful nan end.

“I’m not usually a believer successful those things,” says Vlad. “But pinch everything we’ve been through, and past everything starring backmost to each different – I cannot judge it was not meant to be.”

“Our communicative is, for us, a foundation,” says Iga. “I judge that moreover if we get into crazy fights aliases misunderstandings aliases immoderate is going to hap successful our life, we are ever going to retrieve wherever we came from, what we person built, and why it’s truthful important.”