• |||Flawless. Beautiful. That was what she was. The way she’d study with me after class, the way she’d bring me hand-made lunches in that adorable lunch box of hers, the way she’d talk to me, perfection dripping from every ounce of her sugar-sweet voice. Gifts from heaven, all of them.
    |||“Hello, Gary! How are you doing?” she’d ask me. Just seeing her bright face and cheerful smile made my day that much better. Her hair was like soft, shiny black silk, flowing straight down her back like the purest river. Sometimes, she’d put it into long pigtails tied with purple satin ribbons. Other days, she would put it into a bun with two fish-adorned fashion chopsticks. No matter how she styled it, it would still be beautiful.
    |||“My hair is ugly. Maybe I should cut it short...” she’d complain.
    |||“No, no! Don’t do that!” I’d tell her. “Your hair is gorgeous!”
    |||She’d just give me that cute look of hers, that little smile. I couldn’t stand that look. Seeing it only made me want to lean right over and kiss her. I knew I couldn’t rush this, though. Her feelings seemed so fragile, so delicate, like a dove’s wing. Springing my emotions onto her at the wrong moment could leave her shattered.
    |||It was as if her porcelain skin reflected what she really was... a beautiful doll. Yet she was a living, breathing person. Some sort of awe-inspiring combination of the two. She was a living example of an angel, sent down to be with me for the rest of my days.
    |||Her eyes were like deep, sparkling blue oceans, and yet, hidden behind them was a sort of sadness... a longing that tugged at my heart every time I gazed into them.
    |||“Is something wrong?” I’d ask her.
    |||She’d always give me a wide grin and reassure me that she was fine, but it was obvious that she was only concealing her true feelings. I would’ve given anything to see those eyes agree with her words. I would’ve given anything to see her truly happy.
    |||One crisp autumn day, I decided to finally let my love be known.
    |||“Please meet me in the park after school. It is very important.” the note read. Into her locker it went, and off to class I walked. For the rest of my classes, time felt like it was standing still. To this day, I have never felt anything more agonizing as the anticipation and anxiety I felt back then. When the final bell’s chimes began, I was out the door before I could even hear their echoes.
    |||Sitting on the park bench, watching the brown-leaved trees sway in the wind, I couldn’t have been happier. 20 minutes had already elapsed since school’s end, and she still had not shown. I didn’t allow myself to lose hope, however. She was always fashionably late, and it didn’t bother me at all. If anything, it was merely another one of those irresistible quirks that just made her that much cuter.
    |||Sure enough, I heard her calls in the distance, her apologies slicing through the chill.
    |||I stood and saw her running towards me, her hair blowing this way and that, her adorable black kitty purse bouncing at her side. She was even wearing the pink sweater I had bought her for New Years. Out of all her clothing, it was my favourite piece. I realized that it couldn’t have been a coincidence– it was fate. We were meant to be.
    |||As she got closer, I felt my heart began to thump wildly. The blood rushed to my face, and when she arrived, I knew she noticed my reddening cheeks.
    |||“What did... you want to... talk to me about?” she asked between snatches of breath.
    |||I hesitated. “Well, I... I’ve...”
    |||She cocked her head, confusion spreading across her features. “You what?”
    |||With one swift motion, I hugged her close to me. Just feeling her warmth against me gave me the confidence I needed. “I’ve loved you, for a very long time. Since the day we met under the cherry blossoms all that time ago, I knew I was in love with you. You’re... the most amazing girl I’ve ever met, and ever will meet. When I look at my future, you’re there with me. I want to spend the rest of my life with you.”
    |||As she opened her mouth, it was like I knew what she was going to say. “Gary, the truth is, I’ve loved you, too. I would be happy to grow old with you.”
    |||However, the words that actually poured out from between those tiny pink lips of hers were more than enough to completely decimate my hopes.
    |||“I’m sorry, Gary. I was planning to ask our classmate Takeshi out... but you're still close to me, and I hope we can still be friends!” She gently pushed me off, turned away, and ran just as fast as before, shouting more apologies to the wind. I watched the sole object of my affection escape like sand running through my fingers. I had been defeated.
    |||I threw the controller at the television screen in a rage, and slammed my fist down onto the console’s ‘off’ button. How could she!? How could she turn me down for that jerk Takeshi, after months of gameplay completely devoted to her?!
    |||My anger quickly subsided, and became a spiraling depression. I turned the television off, and sat in the darkness for what seemed like hours. Then, with tears in my eyes, I climbed into bed, hugged onto my life-size doll of the character who crushed my dreams, and cried myself to sleep over the only one I ever truly loved.