For Georgia

I remember when we met

Here’s the truth: I saw you before we met. The dating app, of all places. There was this English girl doing a Mickey Mouse impression on her profile, and I laughed by myself like an idiot. Minutes later I walked out of my room, and there you were, sitting at the hostel table. You had just arrived. I thought you were pretty, and I didn’t even realise you were the girl from the video.

Then we talked, and you said “Oceania” in the funniest way I’ve ever heard, and I knew you were different from everyone in that place. A few days later, on the beach, I confessed about the Mickey video. Something started right there.

And then came that party. You dancing like nobody was watching, that unreal energy of yours. That’s where we had the destiny conversation. Later that night, back at the hostel, our first kiss, in my room. My life changed completely from that day.

We also got our first problem as a couple, remember? Hostels end. Visas ask for farm work. Nobody could tell us how long any of it would last. So I did the maths of a man in love: I found us a couples’ job by the sea, bought a car just to get us there, and changed every plan I had. You changed yours for me. That’s when I learned that any place is beautiful if you’re in it.

I remember our tiny cabin

Off we went to Wooli, working in a resort, living in ten square metres. A couple still getting to know each other, in a shoebox by the sea. It wasn’t always easy, two people in a room that small. And still, we loved every bit of it.

It was there, in that tiny cabin, that I finally asked you to be my girlfriend. Well. “Asked.” Let’s agree you gave me a little push, and I’ll be grateful for that push for the rest of my life.

I remember thinking: if we can love each other in ten square metres, we can make it anywhere.

I remember our first holiday

Off we went on our first proper holiday together, just the two of us in the tropical north. We explored the rainforest, ate well, relaxed by the pool, wandered around here and there. And it was so good to have you to count on. To talk to. To hear your take on everything. Being by your side is a privilege very few people get, and I’m grateful for it every single day.

And one week later, we’d be on a plane to England.

I remember London

Chunks was waiting for you, so off we flew. I remember meeting your family and loving them instantly. They took in a Brazilian boy like one of their own, and they even made the effort to understand my English. You walked me through the streets you grew up on, your neighbourhoods, your people. Your friends, who were kind to me from day one.

And suddenly everything about you made sense. A girl this special could only have come from people like that. I never knew I could miss a place I’d spent so little time in. But of course I do. That place made you.

And then, for the first time, distance. I flew back to Australia to work and find us a new home; you stayed two more months. I wasn’t doing great inside back then, but I kept telling myself one thing: be strong, because she deserves the man she believes you are. I remember learning what missing you feels like. I never got used to it.

I remember our home in Coogee

When you came back, we built a life in Coogee, the longest we ever lived together. Our own little place by the beach. Our friend Euler. And you collecting new friends everywhere you went, because that’s just what you do. That charisma of yours, sweet and a little extravagant at the same time, wins people over in minutes. We had our turbulence with jobs, but we never depended on anyone, and little by little things kept getting better.

Then came the news: no sponsorship. And the future we had been drawing together went underwater overnight. On paper, everything had been on track. Inside, I wasn’t well, and not only because of the visa. You know the other reasons. That “right place, right time” feeling had gone quiet, and my mind got dark for a while.

Through all of it, the only thing that made me smile was being next to you. You were the reason I got up in the morning and wanted to be better. You stayed by my side through my hardest days. If there’s one thing I want to do with my life, it’s to repay that with love, and build an incredible life next to you. Whatever it costs.

I remember our last adventure

With everything up in the air, I thought: if there’s one thing we can still do, it’s a trip we’ll never forget. So we rented a car and camped across New Zealand for seven days. The best trip of my life. By far.

Mountains, glaciers, lakes so blue they looked fake. We hiked, we froze, and we laughed the whole way. You in that beanie is still one of my favourite things I have ever seen. And you amazed me the entire week with that simplicity of yours: no fancy hotels, no luxury, just a tent, a car and the road, and you genuinely happy. Watching you that happy made me happy.

That week was only ours. We talked for hours, put every card on the table, tried to work out where life was taking us. You listened to me like nobody ever has, and I’m so grateful for that. It was the last place we were together, and we both knew the distance was coming. That’s exactly why I held you a little longer every single day.

I would climb any mountain to sit next to you at the top.

Staying in Australia meant a life that didn’t feel right, so I came home to Brazil to rebuild, for us. It hurts being apart. But I knew this was the path that leads back to you. So now I work day and night, and every single hour of it is for the future we’re going to build together. These last months, things have finally started falling into place, and you’ve been with me through every step of it, even from the other side of the world. Our story isn’t ending, my love. The best chapters are just about to start.