Michael was a professor at Johns Hopkins - SAIS, the graduate program where Valentina was completing her Master's Degree. Without having met Valentina before, Michael participated in a SAIS-sponsored event about politics in Venezuela. Valentina saw the event flyer in the school elevator and she decided to attend the event. During the Q&A that followed Michael's talk, Valentina raised her hand and asked Michael some illuminating questions. During the mingling that followed the event, Michael made a bee line to introduce himself to Valentina. He suggested they get a coffee so that they could continue the discussion, and they did. They did not seem to see eye to eye about the Venezuelan situation, but each person was always willing to listen to different opinions. This was in 2012 and it the was the beginning of a beautiful intellectual and loving friendship. They were both there for each other for almost a decade, even though there was the question about whether there was something else there. Their friendship was always one of the most important pillars of each other's lives. Almost three years ago, Valentina and Michael had a heart to heart conversation about how their friendship had grown over the years and how they were both in a place where they were now able to embrace the profound love that they had for each other. The rest is history... Nothing ever felt so right and so handmade for each other's hearts.