A Half-Strange Woman

Over the course of one autumn and winter, she and he gazed at each other from afar fourteen times.

They never really met, and they never spoke.

He was just a step away; she was worlds away.

When they reunited three years later, it felt like their first meeting.

The old story ended before it could begin.

The new story began only after the ending.

Everything returned to the beginning, starting with a simple, "Hello."

I'm not someone who knows how to write stories, so I turned one into a fiasco.

This hardly counts as a novel. I failed so badly that I couldn't even get him to say a single word to her, though my own unforgettable experience at least involved meeting someone once.

If you don't mind this bland little dish, so tasteless it has no meat or bones, I'll be very grateful. This is to commemorate my first time "cooking," twenty years ago.

Theme: We wrote a song together before we ever greeted each other.