• She was amazing in ever sense of the word. It was nearly five years ago when it began. My parents drove me down to the new house. We had been here before, but this was the first time we’d see the house since its completion. After living with my bully of a cousin, P.J., it was a nice change to finally have someplace I could call home.

    The old car sputtered down the identical roads shaking with every jerk and jolt. It had rained the day before, but somehow the water still managed to remain in the ceiling. We drove over another pot hole and water sprayed out through the holes in the roof. A small puddle began forming at my feet, making my sneakers squish uncomfortably, I sighed, it was definitely time to get a new car. When we lived in Chicago we had always taken the bus. Here we needed this old car to go anywhere. My dad had quickly settled on a used Dodge Omni. It worked, I suppose, but sadly, that was all that it had going for it. A radio that hummed quietly in the background, but it was to low to hold my interest. I attempted to use the crank to lower my window, but is was locked in place. I moaned dreaming of the cool breeze that should have blown through my hair..

    I sat fidgeting in the back seat while my mom and dad were conversing about something my mind had no interest in. Once I heard words dealing finances, I automatically tuned them out. Although I should have outgrown it by now, I had decided that it was much more exciting to just let my imagination take over again. Outside the foggy glass, people were all faceless obstacles for, well, my imaginary friend. I guess he wasn’t really a friend, rather some stunt devil biker perpetually driving next to our car. I’d watch him jumping big ramps and grinding on long rails with each individual movement directed by my mind. He too was faceless just like anyone else.

    I hadn’t made any real friends here. It's not like I couldn't, but the few months I had been in sunny Florida hadn’t been very kind to me. I was always a bit of a lone wolf anyway. I had no siblings, and I left all of my friends behind in Chicago. The closest person I could think of as a friend in Florida was the menace making my life as miserable as he could. Our only interactions was when he'd snap at me for getting in the way. Memories of the many times he'd push me around flooded my mind. I guess P.J. didn’t like me much, though I never understood why.

    The car slowed as we turned into the newly built neighborhood. The houses here were much different than any one I have ever seen. The pristine white paint, the clean uniform grass, the newly paved smooth black asphalt all lead to a strange lack of character. It was as if we were in some Pleasantville too perfect for actual human life, a stark contrast to the dull Chicago apartments I had once called home. Even P.J.’s ramshackle of a house was much different. His house was brown, too brown. The streaky windows were almost always open, because my uncle Paul was too stingy to repair the worn air conditioner. I almost passed out my first week here. The heat was utterly unbearable compared to the cool windy city. I never really appreciated the cold weather.

    My dad drove painfully slowly now, boring my motorcycle rider until he vanished in a puff of boredom. The scenery was, yet again, monotonous. The houses, neatly lined up in a row, were completely empty, all but a few families struggling with much more luggage than us. A beautiful lake was carefully placed in the front of the tiny neighborhood, but I couldn’t spot any interesting flora or fauna. Even the more common animals like squirrels and ducks were always so interesting to me, but this part of Jacksonville seemed to only be home to lizards. I hoped all of Jacksonville wasn’t this boring. We finally slowed to a stop at the end of a cul-de-sac.

    There she stood, just like any other pedestrian, on the driveway beside our car. However, she was never faceless. Her beautiful amber hair was tied up in a cute pony tail, keeping all but a few wistful strands from flowing softly over her precious face. Her eyes were intense, yet cheerful, while her facial features were very delicate. She had dimples tucked below her cheeks, not the deep ugly kind, but the tiny cute ones that stop you from breathing. It was hard to look away, but I somehow manged to the moment our eyes met. I had had to look down to make sure my heart was still there. From the corner of my eye I could see that she donned a casual outfit that matched her cute demeanor.

    “Hi!” she said waving to me as a cheerful smile grew across her face. Meeting her gaze, I couldn’t help but smile back. She was purely delightful. Unreal.

    “Hi.” I replied automatically. I remained in the car, probably because my mind had gone blank. It was always at the most important moments that my brain decides to jump ship. So there we remained looking at each other smiling. The phrase comfortable silences came to mind. My nervousness prohibited any more words from coming out of my mouth, afraid the butterflies would escape.

    It seemed an eternity, though that was not nearly enough time, before a voice beckoned her. She jumped at the voice not losing an inch of her perfection. Her alluring gaze shifted over her shoulder freeing me from its hold. She gracefully pivoted her body and sang “I'm coming!” her voice all sorts of sweet. Turning back to me, she slightly cocked her head to the side. My heart beat impossibly irregularly. The cheerful smile remained.

    “It was nice meeting you” she said dancing back to what I thought, and hoped was her house.

    It took what seemed to be ages before my heart restarted. My mother was growing impatient while my brain tried to comprehend how such perfection could ever be real. I looked down at my average self, embarrassed by the worn clothes I wore. I never thought I’d meet an angel here.

    Coming back to my senses, my parents were already unloading the few things we owned. I examined the finished house which looked much better than I had remembered it. The details slowly fell into place until my heart stopped. The realization hit me hard. She was living directly across from me.