For more than 25 years, Isabela Machado kept photos and memories of one of her best childhood friends, but she had no idea where she was. I didn't know Gabriela's surname, profession or even which city she lived in. All he had were memories of kindergarten and a flower shop in Goiânia that was part of their history.
Until the radiologist decided to turn to social media. Isabela published a video showing old photos with Gabriela and said she wanted to meet her. The answer that waited for more than two decades arrived in less than 20 hours: a friend of a friend recognized Gabriela Arantes in the images.
"I knew absolutely nothing about her, other than that she was a wonderful child," Isabela told g1.
Isabela Machado and Gabriela Arantes appear together in childhood records, in Goiânia — Photo: Reproduction/Instagram by Isabela Machado
It all started with an old photo
The desire to look for Gabriela came when Isabela saw photos of her husband alongside his friends from kindergarten. She realized that she knew them all because, in addition to continuing to be part of his life, they had also become friends with her.
That was when Isabela returned to her own childhood photographs.
"I saw photos of me with Gabi at school and I was very sad that I didn't have her around too," he said.
The two studied together for a few years, but became best friends. When Isabela was 7 years old, she moved to another city, but kept returning to Goiânia during the holidays to visit Gabriela.
Most of these memories take place in a specific place: her friend's house, where her mother's flower shop also operated. Years later, on one of those vacations, Isabela returned and Gabriela was no longer there.
According to the doctor, the two had not seen each other for at least 25 years, since Gabriela's brother was transferred to Santa Catarina. Without Orkut, Facebook, Instagram or WhatsApp at that time and without knowing her friend's last name, Isabela completely lost contact.
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Isabela Machado and Gabriela Arantes were best friends as children and lost contact more than 25 years ago — Photo: Reproduction/Instagram by Isabela Machado
25 years away, less than 20 hours of searching
In the video published on social media, Isabela gathered the few clues she had. The photographs showed two little girls, schoolmates and best friends. The hope was that someone would recognize Gabriela.
And someone recognized it.
Less than 20 hours after publication, a friend of a friend of Gabriela's saw the video and identified who Isabela was looking for. The publication reached Gabriela, who contacted the doctor via private message.
The two exchanged phone numbers and started talking. The personal reunion hasn't happened yet because Isabela is traveling, but they are already planning to see each other in the next few days.
And she was right there
After spending more than two decades without even knowing which part of the country Gabriela was in, Isabela discovered that they both live in practically the same region. Currently, the doctor lives in Goiânia and Gabriela in Nerópolis.
With contact resumed, some memories that had been stored for decades also returned. Gabriela even published images showing what her mother's flower shop was like, a scene that marked their childhood.
For Isabela, however, the story took on a dimension that she did not expect. In the comments of the video, other people began to remember their own childhood friends and tell stories of friendships that survived time, were interrupted or were never resumed.
"I was lucky to find her and she was even cooler than she already was," said Isabela.
Isabela Machado and Gabriela Arantes with friends during their childhood; video on social media helped us regain contact after more than 25 years — Photo: Reproduction/Instagram by Isabela Machado
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