Hello, my name is Ray.And this is the story of how I met the woman who changed my life…and how I spent twelve years living under her light.
I wish I could start by saying our paths crossed perfectly.That we bumped into each other in a hallway, our books fell to the floor, and our hands touched.
Love at first sight.
Or maybe hatred…that over time turned into admiration.
But no.
Our story is much more complicated than that.
The truth is, I was always there.
Since kindergarten, she was the girl everyone wanted to lend their toys to.
In elementary school, the one who always had someone wanting to talk to her during recess.
And in high school… well, in high school, everyone wanted to ask her out.
And me?
I was always nearby… watching.
I never had the courage to speak to her.
I saw her laugh with her friends in the playground.I saw her cry once or twice, thinking no one was looking.
I saw her happy.I saw her sad.
And every time I thought about approaching her…my heart would just freeze.
I tried many times.
In fact, during the last three years of high school, I came up with a thousand ways to talk to her.
Phrases I repeated in my head on the way to school.
Little plans that always ended the same way:
with me turning around halfway before reaching her.
Maybe it was fear of rejection.
Or maybe…it was a sign from fate that I refused to listen to.
But the last year of high school was different.
I knew it was my last chance.
After school, paths almost always diverge.People move to different cities, start new lives…and sometimes disappear forever.
So I made my decision.
After weeks of thinking,and marking off days on the calendar like it was a countdown…
the day finally came.
She looked as beautiful as ever.
Her smile lit up the fieldand seemed to outshine everything around her.
I gathered every ounce of courage I had.
And after almost twelve years of seeing her every day…
I opened my heart to her.
Twelve years of silent affection.
Twelve years of a story that existed only for me.
As I tried to speak, she looked at me for a few seconds.
And then she said something I still remember perfectly.
It wasn't a rejection.
It wasn't a yes.
It was worse.
With a mix of surprise and confusion, she simply said:
—"Wait… you could talk?"
And then she walked away.
And that was how the last day of high school ended.
But this story…it begins long before that.