Traveling to overcome pain, the girl finds love

After going through sad days after her mother passed away, the American female tourist decided to travel to Hawaii to ease her grief and here she found her destiny.

In the summer of 2015, Christian Friese was staring at a map trying to find her way to her connecting flight at the Honolulu, Hawaii, airport when a man in a Hawaiian Airlines uniform approached her. He smiled and asked if she needed any help.

After giving Christian directions to the gate, the man introduced himself as a Hawaiian Airlines employee named Aaron Malulo. Aaron was also on the flight from Portland, but they had not met on the plane. He first noticed her when he saw Christian standing alone at the airport looking at a map and "looking lost." "I thought she was cute," Aaron said of his initial reaction to meeting Christian.

Christian and his wife Aaron and their one-year-old son Cruz. Photo: CNN — Christian and his wife Aaron and their one-year-old son Cruz. Photo: *CNN*

As she led Christian to the boarding gate, the two shook hands and said goodbye. As Aaron walked away, he considered turning back and asking for a way to contact Christian, but then ignored it. The young Christian thought she would never see Aaron again and considered meeting him a gentle, exciting start to her solo trip.

Christian usually travels with a group of close girlfriends, and this was her first time traveling alone. A year ago, Christian's mother died suddenly, which took her a few months to recover from. After that, she decided to pack her bags, leave her home in Portland, USA, and catch a flight to Honolulu and then to Kauai, an island famous for its stunning cliffs, mountains and lush rainforests.

After a few days enjoying Kauai, Christian returned home. As he boarded his connecting flight, Christian noticed Aaron greeting passengers at the entrance of the plane. Seeing Aaron surprised Christian and made him "overwhelmed with happiness," before he later scolded himself for being so casually dressed. Aaron recognized Christian and smiled at her as she approached him. They both greeted each other, happy to see each other again.

Sharing his love story with CNN, Aaron recalled that he had no work scheduled that day but a colleague was busy at the last minute. He thought of Christian and hoped to see her again so he decided to take over.

Wedding photo of the couple. Photo: CNN — Wedding photo of the couple. Photo: *CNN*

During the 5.5 hour flight, Aaron kept coming up to say hello to Christian, asking her how she was doing, and chatting a little about her time in Kauai. Christian watched Aaron walk around the plane and noticed that he was well-liked by many of her coworkers, which made her like him even more.

As the plane was about to land in Portland, Christian decided to take a chance. She gave him her business card with her contact information and wrote a thank you note on it, thanking Christian for taking such good care of her. When Christian gave her the card, Aaron said, "This is a great sign."

After work, Aaron immediately sent a message to the young female tourist. From then on, they often texted back and forth, but not much because they were busy with work. One time, Aaron went to Christian's website and read her bio. He realized they both went to Oregon State University, so he texted her to "show off." The message arrived just as Christian was attending an event in Oregon. After that, she texted him to go see the Beavers, Oregon State University's football team, play in Michigan the following week. Aaron quickly agreed.

Before the day of meeting Christian, Aaron was nervous but reassured himself that they were just going to a football game and it would be a great way to see her. The tension between them melted away when they met. They easily connected and had a lot to talk about. They spent the rest of the weekend wandering around and talking.

They soon had another date when Aaron visited Christian in Portland and more dates when he flew to the city she lived in.

Two years later, they bought a house together and moved back to Portland. That Christmas, he proposed to her in their kitchen. In 2018, they got married in Hawaii, on the island of Oahu - not far from where they first met.

The couple now have a one-year-old son and live in Portland. They still go to football games together. Christian said that after her mother passed away, her fateful encounter with her husband nine years ago was a reminder that "everything will be okay." Christian said meeting Aaron that summer was "just what my heart and soul needed after a difficult year" and that her life would turn over a new leaf.

Anh Minh (According to CNN )

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