Yuliya

It is your average, run of the mill story of 'boy meets girl.'  So long as the boy is living in Canada, finishing his undergraduate degree, awaiting an opportunity to volunteer in a third world country and the girl is finishing her masters degree in Italy, considering living there permanently or returning to live in the United States. Like any standard meeting, it takes place over the internet in the form of correspondences through an online dating site that he has been on for over a year and for which her mother had only just signed her up.    Their eventual meeting in person waits as he tours Europe for a month just as she returns to the United States. He forsakes a volunteer position in Indonesia in order to drive 12 hours to meet her. Within days their love blooms. It endures the brisk fall of missing one another. It endures the bitter winter of an uncertain future - two lovers divided by a territorial border, individual plans and destinies. It endures the teary-wet spring sifting through visa possibilities, in-between-type jobs, Skype dates, long-distance travel. He gives up on a future in Toronto and she risks so much for a future in Washington D.C.    Finally,  with a ring clutched in a pocketed hand and only love on his mind, he gets down on one knee. He, Tyler, asks a question. She, Yuliya, with two words, shatters the borders, the obstacles, the hardships as the story comes full circle; nothing more than your average, run of the mill story of 'boy meets girl.'