For a long time, more or less since I came back to Slowly, I found myself fascinated by the stories shared by users, curious about how people had the desire to share themselves with the whole world. It happened sometimes to read stories of people who, after years of letters, finally meet each other in real life, overcoming any geographical barrier. I always thought that all of this was truly incredible; wondering how deep and wonderful the connection between these people must be to bring those two souls face to face for the first time. I always imagined that reaching something so fantastic was very rare and I must admit that, after reading some of these stories over the months, I wondered if the chance to meet someone I had met through Slowly would ever come for me too. The main reason I re-started using this app was to write to someone from far away and improve my english writing skills, I didn’t have any further particular expectations. For this reason I always saw a real life meeting as something unlikely to happen, a dream, something so beautiful and fascinating that it seemed almost too perfect to come true. Well, never would I have imagined that at the beginning of september 2025 this dream would magically become reality.
It all began a few months ago, when I had the chance to meet a Puerto Rican girl, living in Florida, who was planning a complete tour of my country (Italy) for the month of September. To be completely honest, at first I took the whole thing very lightly: I talked to her a bit about the culture here and various places, exchanging completely “normal” letters. I immediately noticed similar interests between us: obviously traveling, which is common in almost all of us Slowly users, but also the desire to have that total flexibility that can make us feel truly free in a world where everything seems programmed and predetermined.
Then, when she told me she would be coming soon, I was completely flabbergasted; I couldn’t believe she would be in my country so soon. It was magical when I received her first letter from Italy: I used to see them arrive from the USA and to wait for 24 hours; realizing that all of this was happening made me so happy and somehow bewildered at the same time.
But more than anything else I was impressed by her courage in facing that travel alone, the courage to take the leap and chase her dreams no matter what happens. It was from here that I began to admire her even more, seeing in her a sort of ideal way of living, a special person from whom everyone should take inspiration, myself first.
I never explicitly asked to meet her because that’s her journey, her dream. I thought it would be a little bit disrespectful and intrusive to say “so, are we going to meet each other or not?” I was tempted to do it but in the end she did and in that moment I felt truly happy. I had fantasized about meeting someone from far away for a long time, someone who doesn’t speak my language, someone who grew up and lived in a completely different place compared to mine. Finally all of this was about to become reality and I couldn’t contain my elation anymore for what promised to be one of the most unforgettable days of my life.
I must admit that, besides the more than justified excitement, I also had a little bit of fear at the thought of what was about to happen: this was a unique event for me and obviously there was the risk of not connecting in person and ruining a friendship that had lasted months. Inside me there was a part that kept saying that maybe it would be better to let it go, but the other part would never have forgiven me if I had thrown away such an opportunity. So in the end I replied to her letter, setting the meeting for friday 5 september in the center of Florence.
I still remember well the morning I woke up knowing that the road I would have to travel that day would be very different from the usual one. I got ready with the feelings of someone who knows that when they return, they will not be the same. I took my car and left for the cradle of the renaissance, with my heart beating harder every kilometer I travelled. As soon as I arrived I already felt satisfied somehow: I was happy to be there and I enjoyed the wait for the fantastic event that was about to happen. I knew she was busy at that time, so I decided to take a nice walk around the city meanwhile, clutching in my hands a physical letter written just for her, whose content is personal and will not be disclosed in this story.
When the time of the meeting arrived my heart was in my mouth: I was there, just a few meters from the meeting point, the statues of two lions, chosen by me as the meeting place because they represent our zodiac signs, waiting for a message from her telling me that she had arrived too. Once I received it I took a deep breath and headed under the statues; every step had become heavy and I almost felt out of breath even though I was walking normally. Once I arrived I started to look around for a person matching the description but not seeing anyone, so I started spinning around like someone who doesn’t know where they are. Then at a certain point I turned around and saw her coming to me, finally the moment I had been waiting for so long had arrived. I remember those moments perfectly: I remember her slalom through those last few people in the crowd that separated us and slowly everything around her seemed to disappear. In a square with tens of thousands of tourists it was as if there were only us, as if time had suddenly stopped and the whole city at that moment was ours at all. In the end, in those moments that lasted an entire lifetime, she arrived in front of me, I hugged her and gave her the letter. In that moment I felt free as I had never been, any kind of heaviness of life had disappeared and I felt I had reached a sense of pure and authentic happiness. Everything I had dreamed of in the previous days was coming true and it was all so beautiful, just as I had imagined it.
She was also as I imagined her: she looked so sweet, she truly gave me the impression of being a good and kind person. I immediately felt I wanted to be her friend and it was at that moment that I understood that day would be fantastic no matter what was going to happen next and this meeting would be just the beginning of such a new life for me.
During this day we walked a lot together, both my feet want to specify “too much” 😅. There wasn’t a planned activity for the day, in reality I was so excited that if someone had told me I was in Antarctica, I almost would have believed it. We ended up wandering around shops somewhat randomly looking for a backpack for her, which we finally found when we were almost losing hope. I admit sometimes there were some small communication problems that created some embarrassing situations that we laughed about afterwards. And in the end, I wanted to accompany her to her rented apartment, even though it was far from where I parked my car. This because every single minute spent with her was important to me, so much that in my heart I wished that day would last forever. When we said goodbye I was about to start crying in front of her. I would have wanted to say a thousand things, but in that moment my mind struggled to find words; I believe that my eyes spoke much more than words could ever have done. And in the end, in that “unknown” square on the outskirts of the city, which has now become more special to me than any historical monument, we gave each other the final hug, a hug that lasted an entire lifetime. If I close my eyes now, I can still feel myself in that exact moment in that exact place.
Once I came back home I felt inside me that sensation of having experienced something incredible. Thinking about it I don’t remember a day when I was so spontaneous, I don’t remember a day when I smiled so much and with such a desire to do that. My dear Janice didn’t just gift me the wonderful memory of a day spent together, on that 5 September she gifted me back myself, the version of me that I would like to be every day and all the feelings that come with it. In recent years I had focused too much on material aspects of life, thinking that happiness would have been a consequence. Instead thanks to this wonderful adventure I understood that it’s not like that, or rather, that’s not the priority. What I truly want is not to be esteemed, admired and respected by everyone. Instead, my real dream is to have eyes that look at me like hers did that day; someone unknown who becomes special in such a short time and who will remain so forever. All of this without a logical and precise reason, but simply because we share a connection that goes beyond any concept I can describe in words in this story you’re reading and that allows us to feel alive every day. Because happiness is not a goal we reach through numbers, but a friendly face that smiles at you when you feel you need it most.
For this reason I will never forget that date; it will be one of those days that will remain in my heart for my entire life, one of those I will tell about with tears in my eyes even in the distant future when all my hair has turned white. All of this hoping of course that this will be just the beginning for me and that I will have the opportunity to experience even more this and all the other friendships that life (and Slowly) will gift me.
It’s easier to be happy when you know there’s someone who cares about you on the other side of the world; now I feel that my life is more precious and more worthy of being lived. When I wake up I don’t feel just a person with their routine and their goals, but I feel like a distant brother to all those people who decide to give me part of themselves every day.
So I want to thank my dear friend Janice for everything that words were not able to describe in this story and I also thank all my penpals for the affection they give me every day. At the end of this I want to thank the entire Slowly team for making possible all of that and for making my life much more beautiful. As a young developer I must admit that I wish I had the idea of such a fantastic app too! 😂
Oh and a special thanks to anyone who read this until the end; one day we will all shine together.
I love you all.
