A Super Strange True Love Story: My Disappearing Fiancé

After years of avoiding love, I found a match that seemed almost too perfect. We were practically walking down the aisle before I realized it really was too good to be true.

I still think of writing this Narratively Classic — which originally ran on June 5, 2015 — as a turning point in my career. It helped me find a voice I didn't know I had, and realize how much one's vulnerability can make others feel less alone. When it came out, a lot more people than I expected told me how brave I had been in sharing my story. This worried me at first: Had I been too candid? Should I be embarrassed? Eventually I decided that yes, I should be a little embarrassed, but that was fine — and perhaps embarrassment was the inevitable consequence of being as honest as I could. But I still didn't think it was such an act of bravery to write it. I recently understood why while reading Nora Ephron’s Heartburn. One character asks, “Why do you feel you have to turn everything into a story?” The answer: “Because if I tell the story, I control the version. ... Because if I tell the story, it doesn’t hurt as much. Because if I tell the story, I can get on with it.” (PS: Don't miss the link at the end to the "sequel," where one of the people in this story weighs in with their own surreal and powerful perspective.) 

—Annalisa Merelli

Illustrations by Ayun Halliday | Edited by Brendan Spiegel