A painting is more than the sum of the parts,” he would tell me, and then go on to explain how the cow itself is just a cow, and the meadow by itself is just grass and flowers, and the sun peeking through the trees is just a beam of light, but put them all together and you’ve got magic.

Then I saw Juli. She was two tables away from me, facing my direction. Only she wasn't looking at me. She was looking at Jon, her eyes all sparkly and laughing.My heart lurched. What was she laughing about? What were they talking about? How could she sit there and look so... beautiful?I felt myself spinning out of control. It was weird. Like I couldn't even steer my own body. I'd always thought Jon was pretty cool, but right then I wanted to go over and throw him across the room.

I fell asleep that night thinking about the kiss that might have been. What did a kiss feel like, anyway? Somehow I knew it wouldn’t be like the one I got from Mom or Dad at bedtime. The same species, maybe, but a radically different beast, to be sure. Like a wolf and a whippet – only science would put them on the same tree.

Bryce," she whispers. "What's wrong."I can barely breathe as I ask her, "Do you like him?""Do I... you mean Jon?""Yes!""Well, sure. He's nice and -""No, do you like him?" My heart was pounding through my chest as I took her other hand and waited."Well, no. I mean, not like that...."No! She said no! I didn't care where I was, I didn't care who saw. I wanted, just had to kiss her. I leaned in, closed my eyes, and then...

I’ve flown kites before and I know – sometimes they’re gone forever, and sometimes they’re just waiting in the middle of the road for you to rescue them. Kites can be lucky or they can be ornery. I’ve had both kinds, and a lucky kite is definitely worth chasing for.

I daydreamed a lot about the sycamore tree, too, which at first I thought was because I was feeling melancholy. But then I remembered how my mother had called the sycamore a testimony yo endurance. It had survuvced being damaged as a sapling. It had grown. Other people thought it was ugly, but I never had. Maybe it was all how you looked at it. Maybe there were things I saw as ugly that other people thought were beautiful.

¿Rechazaban la oferta de sentir magia por el pequeño miedo de ensuciarse?

—Es fácil mirar hacia atrás y ver, y es fácil dar el consejo, pero la triste realidad es que la mayoría de las personas no se muestran como son en realidad hasta que ya es demasiado tarde.

Pero si el caos es un paso necesario en la organización del universo, entonces yo estaba en buen camino.