She was only in Paris for three days. She met the love of her life on the Metro

(CNN) — Andye was only in Paris for three days. On day one, she jumped aboard the Metro train that would change her life forever.

It was September 2016. Andye, born in Haiti and brought up in the US, was 25 and finishing up a Master’s degree in Amsterdam, in the Netherlands.

She was in that in-between phase of a degree when studies are over, but graduation is still to come.

Andye planned a month’s adventure exploring Italy, Greece, Egypt and India. On her way back, she returned via Paris to visit a close friend, Seyna, who lived in the French capital and was looking after some of Andye’s belongings.

“I got on the Metro to head back to my friend’s house where I’d dropped off my suitcases,” Andye recalls to CNN Travel. “And that’s where he got on.”

“He” was Steven, a 26-year-old Master’s student originally from the Central African Republic studying in Paris and working part-time in a school. (Andye and Steven have asked that only their first names be used for privacy reasons.)

When Steven boarded the train, the carriage was already full of travelers. He was one of several passengers standing.

Meanwhile, Andye was sitting, her traveling backpack on her knee and her headphones on. Steven noticed her right away.

“I found her really beautiful,” Steven tells CNN Travel.

A few stops went by, the carriage emptied out, seats freed up and Steven ended up sitting opposite Andye. He kept glancing her way. She seemed to be looking at him too. Their eyes kept meeting.

Andye also noticed Steven amid the crowds of travelers.

“We just kept looking at each other,” she recalls. “He would turn around to look at me, and I would look away, and we just kept on doing that for like a good 15 minutes, just staring at each other and looking away.”

As the train sped underground the Parisian streets, Steven tried to think of a polite way to broach conversation with the girl with the backpack. He wanted to speak to her, but he was also conscious of respecting her space and privacy.

Meanwhile, Andye was silently fantasizing about the stranger opposite her.

She recalls being struck by his “calming energy.”

“He had really nice, muscular arms. I was like, ‘Wow, he looks like someone I could really get a nice hug from.'”

As these thoughts flashed through Andye’s mind, they were followed by another, sinking realization.

“I was like, ‘What if he’s my husband, but I’ll never know? Because I’m going to get off this train without ever speaking to him.'”

“Then, at some point — when our eyes finally caught each other, and neither of us turned back — I saw his lips move. So I removed one of my headphones.”

Metro meet-cute

Steven and Andye started chatting when they were on the same Paris Metro train in September 2016.

@DyeTravels

In French, Steven was suggesting Andye could move her heavy-looking backpack onto the now vacant seat next to her.

Andye, who is fluent in French, replied that it wasn’t necessary — the bag wasn’t heavy.

“Then, somehow, I just did not put on my headphones back, because I kind of was hoping that we would keep on talking,” says Andye. “And then the conversation continued.”

Steven asked if Andye was a student — because of the backpack — and she told him about her studies. Steven explained he was also working towards a Master’s degree.

“At some point, I had to get off the train to transfer, and he asked if he could get off with me. And I said, ‘You can do as you please.'”

As they got off the train together, Steven offered to help carry her backpack.

“I felt a bit nervous because I didn’t know him and I thought about how he could probably run away with my bag,” says Andye. “But my gut felt comfortable enough to allow him to take it.”

The two waited for the next subway station together, Steven holding the backpack. Then they got on the next train together and sat next to one another.

“We just kept on talking,” says Andye. “That’s when we realized that we actually were doing our Master’s in the same field of study. We were both studying sustainable development, and we started talking about that a bit.”

When the train arrived at Andye’s stop, Steven got off with her, handed her the backpack. They exchanged numbers, then Steven asked if he could give her a hug goodbye. Andye agreed.

“I thought that was so weird, because in France people just do the kisses on the cheek, they don’t hug,” recalls Andye.

“I was like, ‘Wow, what if this guy is a mind reader? Because earlier I was just thinking I could get a really nice hug from him.'”

After their hug, the two went their separate ways. Steven, glancing at his phone, realized his Metro detour had made him late for work.

Meanwhile, Andye reunited with her friend Seyna and immediately shared details of her Metro meet-cute.

Later that evening, Steven messaged Andye and nervously waited for a reply.

“When she responded, I screamed and ran to my cousin,” says Steven, recalling announcing that Andye…