16 Stories That Prove the Heart Remembers, Even When Life Moves On

First love is when the heart beats louder, and the world around seems brighter. How many poems have been written under the influence of this feeling and how many romantic songs have been listened to on repeat! It makes you want to do heroic deeds, and sometimes cry into your pillow because of that first breakup. The heroes of this article met their first love years later, and it shook them stronger than a contrast shower.

• In school, I was dating a guy. It was our first big love. But his parents separated us. 15 years passed.
  I returned to my hometown and went to a store with my son. At some point, I lost sight of him and called out, “Mark! Come here!” Suddenly I see my son running, followed by another boy about the same age with my ex holding his hand. We froze, staring at each other. He gave a sad smile, quietly told his son, “Let’s go, Mark,” and left.
  It turns out, both of us kept the promise we made to each other in school, and named our sons as we once dreamed together, only now we are living our lives apart.
• Back in university, I dated a popular handsome guy. First love, butterflies in the stomach. He dumped me — I cried into my pillow for a month.
  Then, 20 years later, he found me online and started giving compliments. I hadn’t seen any photos of him. He convinced me to meet.
  I’m sitting in the restaurant. He comes in and looks like a different person: twice the size, ridiculous clothes. But the main thing was that his hairpiece fell off when he tried to hug me!
• I was walking my dog in the courtyard of the high-rise buildings and saw an elderly man walking around asking everyone about a woman. He knew her last name, workplace, and dog. Everyone shrugged him off, yet he kept searching.
  It turns out she was his first love. He came back to his hometown after many years, and the first thing he did was try to find out if she still lived in that house where he first saw her and fell for her.
  Eventually, a couple of 14-year-olds called the woman over. You should have seen their expressions when they met. Love doesn’t just disappear like that! © Ward #6 | Anonymous Stories / Telegram

• My first love was my neighbor — a blue-eyed high schooler. We tried to date, but it didn’t work out. We grew up and went our separate ways.
  I recently returned to my hometown. I was taking out the trash — and there he was. He saw me and said with a smirk, “Finally, I get to see you. I heard you put all the rude people in the neighborhood chat in their place, beautiful.”
  I blushed. He was just as handsome as ever. I felt like that schoolgirl again.
• When I was about 16, I dated a wonderful young man. It was a first, wild, and very tender love for both of us. Our relationship was truly perfect: shared plans, ambitions, and care for each other.
  We often drove around the nearby towns, villages, and forests. Mini-trips were our favorite activity. I — an aspiring artist — painted in those very places, while he gently embraced me from behind.
  One holiday, I gave him a painting of me and him holding me from behind. But he cheated on me. He asked for forgiveness for a long time, but I couldn’t forgive.
  17 years have passed. I have 2 kids and a husband. And suddenly, on a business trip, I walk into a café and see that painting of mine. Shocked, I ran out, but for some reason, I kept returning every day just to look at it, and one day, I saw him there.
  Much older, slightly aged, with a gentle smile. He really kept that piece and hung it in the most visible spot, hoping I would come to this café some day, because I have loved this city since my youth. We spent 3 days together, and it seems now we are both ready to spend our whole lives together again.
  But we both have families — it’s not as simple as we would like it to be. I left. And now, for the second week without him, the world feels empty. And I don’t know what to do. My soul is tearing apart. © Ward No. 6 | Anonymous Stories / Telegram

• My first love happened back in kindergarten. We were inseparable: went for walks together, sat at the same table, and even shared toys. One fine day, we decided it was time.
  We went to our parents, proudly stood before them, and announced, “We’re getting married.” They explained that we can’t have a wedding at 5 years old, but we firmly decided to wait. Then we moved to different cities, time passed, and childhood promises were forgotten.
  And then, years later, I went to university, met new people, and there he was. We recalled our “wedding” and laughed like crazy. And then somehow naturally started dating.
  Last week, he proposed to me. Now I’m wondering what our parents will say when they find out that the kindergarten agreement actually came true. © Mamdarinka / VK
• My first love and I both have been married, this year marks 10 years since we first met, but we broke up 6 years ago. Life went on its course: he has a daughter, and I have a son, a little bit younger.
  And then in October, we started talking again. I was in another country, and he came to the airport to meet me. And once again that feeling — just like 9.5 years ago. © Anastasia Bodyak / Caramel / VK

• I was sitting in a restaurant when some man joined me. I didn’t recognize him at first. It turned out he was my first love from school. We started chatting, reminiscing about the old days. We laughed at how sweet our teenage relationship was.
  At some point, he put his hand on mine and blurted out, “Listen, I think we met like this for a reason. Would you want to try again, but this time as adults?” I thought it was some kind of prank, but after another look in his eyes, I realized he wasn’t joking.
  I pulled my hand away and gently explained that I was in a happy relationship with my boyfriend for 5 years. © Caramel / VK
• I was dating a guy, but then I moved to another city. I returned a couple of years later. I was standing in a store when I saw him with his wife. He noticed me, looked away, and went somewhere.
  His wife came up to me and asked, “Are you Helen?” I nodded. Then she said, “I’ve always wanted to see who this Helen was and what was so special about her. And it turns out — nothing special.”
  And I calmly replied, “You know, the fact that he still talks about me after 5 years must mean there’s something special about me after all. I feel for you.” And I went to my husband, who had just walked up with bags full of groceries.
• I met my first girlfriend, with whom I had a serious relationship, after 15 years. I invited her over to watch a movie. We had a fun time chatting and reminiscing a little. There were no rekindled feelings — we just had a nice time as friends.
  It was interesting to find out how her life turned out. Haven’t seen each other since. © ldesigning72

• A coffee shop opened right next to my house, and a guy worked there. Every time I went in for coffee, I looked at him, and he seemed familiar. Apparently, I also seemed familiar to him because every time I came in, we would look at each other with squinted eyes, trying to figure out where we could know each other from.
  Today, once again, I was getting my morning coffee, looked at him and said, “Nick?” And he replied, “Alina?” So, after a week of suspicious glances at each other, I recognized my first love from kindergarten, Nick, in this barista. And he recognized his first love. We agreed to go for a walk together. © Ward No. 6 | Anonymous Stories / Telegram
• Met my first love after 20 years. It was very interesting to chat. It turned out that we even named our kids the same. But after a few weeks of talking, I realized how good it was that fate had separated us. I realized that I’d made the right choice in the past. © murat_050981
• I met my first love. Felt like we were very far from each other, like from different universes. But I really wanted to hug him, just like I wanted to hug him when we broke up and I was devastated thinking I’d never meet him again.
  I felt something familiar, but very distant. Like I was hugging not the person in front of me, but the one who was then. And I suddenly felt at peace. © dvustishiye

• First love. We were madly in love, understood each other without a word. But I thought I was too young for a serious relationship and traded it for parties with friends. We recently bumped into each other at the mall.
  It turned out she’s happily married now and has a son. We sat in a café for about 4 hours, talking about life and the past. Both of us admitted it was the best time of our lives. I came home and broke down in tears like a little boy.
  How much I love her, how foolish I was to trade her for all of that. Friends, cherish what you have, value those who love you, because in our vast world, it’s so hard to find your other half. And once you’ve found them, hold on tight and never let go. © Ward No. 6 | Anonymous Stories / Telegram
• My uncle met his ex at the sea where he spent his vacation. First love, all that. He lost his head, claiming the feelings from his youth reignited. He told his cousin and her husband, with whom he was staying at the time, about her.
  They decided to have dinner together since things were getting so serious. So they met at the restaurant, chatted, and suddenly, the uncle’s ex started flirting with the cousin’s husband. Everyone was shocked by her behavior.
  The cousin didn’t miss a beat and said, “Well, now we see why you two broke up, my dear. There’s a reason they say you can’t enter the same river twice.” Her husband asked for the bill, and the three of them left, leaving the “first love” at the table.

• We broke up 10 years ago when we were still teens and life seemed endless and love felt like something that would last forever. Then everything started spinning: different cities, new people, work, and responsibilities. We lost track of each other.
  Years passed, memories faded, and I even thought he had long forgotten about me, just like I tried to forget about him. Then by pure chance, we found each other online, started communicating, and I realized — nothing had changed. We’ve grown up, but inside we’re still the same as if those years never existed.
  And now he’s coming to me. With a ring. Do you believe in first love? Because it seems like it never ends. © Caramel / VK

Some of the stories gave us goosebumps. First love is something that stays with you for a lifetime. Where did you meet your first love? Share your answers in the comments.

Check out these real-life stories that prove first love leaves a mark.