Two years ago, all of my letters here were written to one guy. I had never spoken more than a dozen words to him, all of which were "hi".

I went to private school and got home early. Two afternoons a week I walked a friend's dog and one day I walked down a different street. The timing was just right that I passed the public school kids getting off the bus at their street. First off the bus was a big group of noisy, rowdy high schoolers, jostling into each other down the steps past the bus driver. They yelled hello to me. A few steps behind them was a quiet boy, with dark hair and dark eyes and a beautiful smile. He nodded and said hello.

After that, I walked the same route every day to see the quiet boy. And every time, he would get off the bus, we would greet each other, and go our separate ways. A few times I caught him looking back at me over his shoulder. This went on for months. I daydreamed about introducing myself, and the two of us walking down the sidewalk together, talking about our lives. I wrote letters, crafted poems, and walked twice a week, without fail. 

The next year, the same kids got off the bus, but he wasn't with them. I stalked him on Facebook and discovered he had gone off to college a few states away. I walked down his street every once and a while, glancing at his house as a passed, as if he were going to materialize in the window. But after a few months I moved on, to different streets and other people. 

Last month, I was out walking my dog past his street, and I stopped to talk to a woman with a white puppy. A car pulled up to the stop sign, and I glanced over. It was the same boy. He flashed his beautiful smile and we waved at each other, as if in silent recognition of our previous relationship, and he pulled away. 

Last week, I friended him on Facebook at the prompting of a friend. He messaged me right away. We talked on and off for a few days, about random stuff, from professions to sailing to planets. 

Today, we had our first date, and it was amazing.