Once upon a time there
was a boy. He lived in a village that no longer exists, in a
house that no longer exists, on the edge of a field that no
longer exists, where everything was discovered and everything was
possible. A stick could be a sword. A pebble could be a diamond.
A tree a castle. One upon a time there was a boy who lived in a
house across the field from a girl who no longer exists. They
made up a thousand games. She was Queen and he was King. In the
autumn light, her hair shone like a crown. They collected the
world in small handfuls. When the sky grew dark they parted with
leaves in their hair.
Once upon a time there was a boy who loved a girl, and her
laughter was a question he wanted to spend his whole life
answering.