Back in 2010, we didn’t even realize we already knew each other. We first met at Johnny’s mum’s house through our mutual friend, Hikari, and our friendship quickly took off. Not long after, we discovered that we had both gone to Rockland Elementary School—our classrooms were even across the hall from one another!

After graduating, Emily moved away to attend college in Victoria, while Johnny relocated to Fox Creek, Alberta. Although we stayed in touch online for a while, the distance eventually led us to lose contact.

Fast forward to 2016: Emily had moved back to Campbell River and was working at Shoppers Drug Mart when she heard a familiar voice from the till behind her. Turning around, she was surprised to see Johnny—neither of us knew the other had moved back to town. We reconnected that weekend and haven’t spent much time apart since!