He fell in love with the girl in the window.
He was nine when he first saw her. She had just moved into the house next door, her room and window across the yard from his. Everything about her screamed life. The first thing she ever did in that room was open the window. She was one of those people who would have given anything to truly fly, like a bird, free. He shared that feeling of wanting to fly away from life’s troubles, and his feelings for her only continued to grow from that day on.
He wanted to meet her more than anything else. When school came around after that first summer, though, he realized that probably wouldn’t happen, as she didn’t talk much... and she was weird. He could have denied it. He could have also denied the fact that the sky was blue, or the fact that he actually loved her weirdness. But he wouldn’t, and he didn’t. Her too big shirts hung off of her gangly frame. Her glasses were huge, square, and hid most of her face. She was hiding. He just couldn’t understand why.
He loved everything about her, and thought she was perfect, especially her eyes. At first glance, they appeared ordinarily brown, normal, plain, and practically dull. They were more than that though. They were the color of autumn, when the leaves were changing, and everything had a kind of gold tint. Her glasses, while they hid the rest of her face, only magnified her beautiful eyes. Most people didn’t notice them, but they did notice her, no matter how much she hid. They mocked and teased her, and he couldn’t have stopped them, even if he tried.
Years passed, and her bullies relentlessly tortured her. Both he and she kept to themselves for the most part, though, so they never crossed paths, except for one day.
“Jason, I dare you to kiss Shannon,” Daniel, his friend, blurted out at lunch one day when they were thirteen. “I see you staring at her all the time, so just do it.”
He shook his head, and protested to no avail. Daniel wasn’t going to drop it until he kissed her. So he did.
He went over to where she was sitting, alone, reading her book and not eating, as she had for the past four years. He walked up behind her and tapped on her shoulder. She turned around and looked up at him with wide eyes, and before she could say anything, he kissed her. It was little more than a peck but it was enough, enough to get Daniel off his back and enough to leave a lasting impression on him. His first coherent thought was of how soft her lips were. His second thought was that she kissed him back. She drew her two fingers to her lips and looked as if she was about to say something, but he walked away from her and the cafeteria before he had the chance to hear what she might have said. He spent the rest of the day in the bathroom thinking about her and her lips and what she almost said with them.
He went home that day and watched her dance and spin with a newfound admiration. She had always done that, she wasn’t the one who had changed, no, that was him. When she threw her arms out and spun in circles until she was dizzy, he noticed the way the light danced off of her brown hair as it flew around her like a halo and she completely lost herself in what she was doing, like she actually didn’t have a care in the world. That day, he threw caution to wind, and without caring whether she or anyone else saw or not, opened his arms wide and spun in circles.
More time continued to tick away, and they still never spoke to each other. Nothing eventful really happened, until they were sixteen and it was the night of their fall dance.
He didn’t normally attend school functions or social events in general, but he had allowed Daniel to talk him into going to the dance and bringing a date. Daniel was bringing a date, so Daniel continuously pestered him to go with Natalie from calculus, until he finally relented. He had a decent time, and he didn’t get home until close to midnight that night. He immediately realized something was off when he got home.
Her window wasn’t open.
If she was home, her window was always open, even late at night. Something was definitely wrong.
He ran straight to the window. He flung it open, and once he did, he saw a paper that had been stuck there begin to flutter down. He grabbed it and opened it. It was from her.
To the boy in the window,

Where do I even begin? You have been my saving grace, my guardian angel, and kept me alive for this long, accomplishing a miracle in doing so. I want you to know this has absolutely nothing to do with you. I love you, and I know in my heart that you love me back, and I would hate to hurt you, but I have to do this. That day you kissed me was the first day you really saved me, because I knew you watched me and loved me when I saw you dance. I almost said I loved you that day. Life was hard, though, my parents were divorced, and I was divided and felt so utterly alone at both home and school. I just had you and my grandmother, really. She died yesterday. After her death, I realized you’ll go to college and I won’t even have you. I can’t do it anymore. Did you know I’ve always wanted to fly? I guess I’ll finally get to. I’ll be leaving this world the way I first entered yours. Goodbye.
Love,
The girl in the window