It all started when Diego, a Spaniard, and Mali, a Thai woman, crossed paths in the lively Dutch capital of Amsterdam. Both Diego and Mali were certain that their native languages were the most expressive on Earth, despite the fact that none of them could speak Thai or Spanish. Worse yet, none of them had a strong command of English, the common language that could have helped them communicate beyond their language barrier. On a rainy afternoon in a quaint cafe, a connection grew between them, and this merely served to ignite it in the unusual and magical way of life.
Diego was an expressive guy. He made animated gestures with his hands, arched eyebrows, and belly laughs with every word he said. His whole being conveyed his excitement. Mali, in contrast, was the antithesis of him; she was mild-mannered and soft-spoken, yet her expressive eyes, loving smile, and graceful motions conveyed a thousand hidden meanings. In contrast to Diego's raging inferno, Mali's heart was a gentle, constant fire.
Their charming and unplanned first encounter was a happy accident. Without checking, Diego sat down at Mali's corner table, presuming it was free, after ordering his normal cafe con leche. As Mali sipped her Thai tea and fiddled with her phone, she glanced up to see an unfamiliar figure gesticulating in Spanish. In his quick and sincere Spanish, Diego began to apologize, as if his sweeping hand gestures would explain everything. Keeping her cool, Mali nodded subtly and responded in Thai, perhaps saying something along the lines of, "Don't worry about it; I'm not offended." Her soothing grin alone was enough to put Diego at ease, even though he couldn't understand a word she said. They looked at one other with a mischievous grin and went back to their drinks, completely oblivious to one another.
They kept running into each other, as luck would have it. A series of chance meetings at a cafe led to more planned get-togethers, and eventually to leisurely strolls along Amsterdam's canals. Small, universal deeds strengthened their kinship even as words failed them. When Mali cocked her head slightly to show that she was laughing, Diego knew she was finding something amusing; when her eyes remained warm and steady, Diego knew she was affected. On the other side, Mali learned that Diego's enthusiastic nodding meant agreement and that his rare hand-to-heart gestures conveyed true sincerity.
Even without a common language, they came up with countless hilarious methods to express themselves. Diego, attempting to mimic a mime artist, acted out complete scenes from his favorite Spanish films in an effort to explain them. With a mischievous grin, Mali would try to narrate Thai folklore, bringing the characters to life with gentle hand motions and melodic sounds. The two strangers, their bodies serving as a bridge between their emotions, must have appeared like something out of a silent film to anyone observing.
Their bond became stronger despite the fact that words occasionally fell flat. Whenever there were misconceptions, they would always find a way to laugh it off. For example, when Diego wanted to complement Mali on her "flower" tattoo, but she mistook his question about flower growing for a compliment. They mastered the art of reading each other's subtle signals. Diego noticed that Mali's nearly imperceptible arch of her eyebrow indicated uncertainty, but a swift nod of her head indicated her agreement with his scheme, whatever it may have been. Furthermore, Mali saw that whenever Diego would scratch his chin, it was a sign that he was either thinking deeply about something or was slightly disengaged from the conversation.
Diego showed up at their go-to cafe one bright afternoon prepared. He tried a variety of subtle and humorously grand methods to propose for weeks before settling on a sketch as a surefire technique. One of his attempts involved Google Translate, which nearly led Mali to think he was asking her about marriage laws. Out came a tiny, hand-drawn picture - a charmingly rudimentary drawing of himself knelt on one knee, ring in hand, alongside another stick figure who looked slightly like Mali, whose face beamed with joy. Above the two figures, he inserted a massive heart to make his intentions clear.
A smile crept over Mali's face as her eyes expanded in awe at the drawing. Her eyes sparkled with happiness as she nodded enthusiastically and gripped his hands with her own exquisite, delicate gestures. A translator wasn't necessary, and there were no misunderstandings; all that was required was a soft grip of their hands and the shared laughter that had always strengthened their bond.
Their friends were overjoyed when they were married six months later in a ceremony that was conducted in both Thai and Spanish, much to the officiant's bewilderment. Contrarily, Mali and Diego were not in need of translations. Even if they didn't fully comprehend every phrase, they were all fairly clear about what they were promising. Nodding and smiling and using a language all their own, they had sworn to make it work - because love, after all, was the only language that mattered.
