When "Once upon a time" came true

Once upon a time I met a boy. He had a serious face but the smile of a giant. When you walked next to him, if you listened very carefully you could almost hear his mind whirring with hypotheses and math equations. But, if you leaned in even closer, you could hear his heart thumping with so much love I sometimes worried it would knock him over. He was the kind of boy who noticed things, everything, from perfect lighting sprinkled on a sidewalk, to the way a girl wore her eyeliner.
Once upon a time, at almost the same time, I also met a girl. She had a spirit that shimmied above a crowd, daring people to take a chance and look up at the sky. Every step by her side led to moments full of adventure and wonder, afternoons that could have inspired children's books. When she laughed, she became a child again, spinning in circles with her head thrown back to let the air cradle her hair. She was the kind of girl who never sat still, and whose eyes were always open in hope, lined in kohl.
One day, the boy imagined a magical owl. He told me the owl would fly through his window to bring him him the answers to his wishes, even the ones he hadn't spoken aloud. He knew that such an imaginary bird could never exist, so he stopped talking about it and went back to studying science.
Even though the boy had stopped talking about his dream, I realized I knew the perfect person to make the boy's owl become real. I told the girl she had to find a bird to give to a boy who needed it, but not just any bird, an owl. The girl didn't understand why, but she trusted me when she heard it had to do with love and faith, and maybe a little bit of magic too.
After searching and searching, the girl found a perfect, little, white owl. She brought it to the boy, even though she had never met him before. He took the owl and named it Genevieve. He kept her in his room even though he was too old for stuffed animals; it was a reminder of the girl with the dark rimmed eyes.
Over time, I watched boy and the girl became a pair, bringing out the best in each other. An anchor and a dancer, they taught each other how to stand in the stillness and to move in the music.
One night, five years after the girl had given the boy an owl, he gave her back a gift that made her cry with happiness: a ring. She took the ring, put it on her finger and said, "Yes." On that day the boy's dream finally became real; a magical owl had made his wishes come true.
The end (and happy beginning).


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Alex and Mykala, I still remember the exact moment I thought to myself, "They would be perfect together!" The way you have grown and found strength in each other inspires me and makes me believe that fairy tales really do exist in real life. It is an honor to be friends with both of you and to have been there from the very beginning to see you fall in love. Congratulations on your engagement!
Love you both.
(Can I say "I told you so," now? )