It began in fourth grade when I began to “like” you. Through middle and high school sleep came most nights while thinking of you. We had one date to a dance when we were fourteen but you spent most the time with others. I never got to kiss you even one time. R.Y.

Think of that person you knew when you were a kid,
who you always thought you could have loved
completely and forever. Well, you could have.
It’s the truth, and it’s the saddest and simplest thing.
There isn’t just one person for each of us in the world.
There aren’t many, but there are always a few people
we could have made it with, that maybe we still want to make it with,
that press themselves so close to our hearts they leave scars,
and then slip through our fingers and disappear from our lives.
And it doesn’t make a difference if you’re thirteen or ninety-eight
because some things you feel are real, no matter when.
From “Flick” by Abigail Tarttelin