It all started with “Hey, how are you?” It’s funny how I added J in Facebook without really knowing who he was. We had two common friends anyways, which were both our older sisters, so what do I have to loose, right? But honestly, I thought J was his older brother who I’ve met before and a profile picture of a black Mazda 3 helped in concealing his true identity.

And then a red notification popped up saying I had one reply on a message I have earlier posted. It was from J. A few minutes later we were chatting in Facebook. This was almost two years ago, so everything was still vague to me at that time. We decided to continue the conversation through a popular messenger. And there it was, a confirmation he wasn’t what I thought he was. He was the youngest of the Tapia’s who I have not heard anything about. This was really weird especially when you think of all the things that links us together. See, her sister stayed in our home together with another cousin of his when they were fixing paperwork here in Manila. His older brother, the person I’ve mistakenly thought he was, has been present in some of our family dinners in Bacolod. And the most valued link is that my mom was his aunt’s best friend since they were in second grade!

Likewise, J never really heard any stories about me. He has known and has constant communication with my older sister since he was 18. And again, my mom was a link, being with their family at the airport when they were about to migrate to the States. We never existed in the lives of each other, not until that one simple Hey was posted online.

And who would have know that in just one random wall post he would be the man I’ll be marrying in the next two months?

Life gives us random twists of faith. An invitation for a cup of coffee could mean nothing but could also start a deeper friendship. That’s what happened to J and I. A friendly non-romantic Hey will turn into a deeper and more meaningful I do.