Something Like Fate

by Amy Lea

“Grief is love persevering.”

He doesn’t have the urge to constantly check his texts or notifications. His thumb isn’t itching to scroll mindlessly through his feed. He looks at me like I’m the only object in his field of vision. Listens to me like I’m the only sound for miles.

Being around him makes me want so much more out of life than I thought possible. With him, I’m not stressing over obligations or money. I don’t have Dad or Teller making sure every decision is measured and thought through. Caleb lives his life without fear or stress about what tomorrow might bring. He takes risks and is always searching for ways to push himself.

I wish I could bottle Caleb’s spontaneity and sense of adventure and douse myself with it every day. I’ve never ...

Even with my siblings—when we were younger, my brothers were inseparable. Always playing together, doing sports. Everywhere we went, they’d pair up. I still remember going to Disney, where almost every ride is for two, like most of the roller coasters. They’d always go together. Then there was me. The odd one out. And I know it’s dumb. Obviously, there’s gonna be one left over with three kids. But it was all the time.”

There is truly no one crueler than a middle school girl.

I think back to what he said on the beach: Fate, or something like it.

My whole life I’ve thought with my head, and you . . . you make me think with my heart.”

“It’s easy to have fun with someone on all these elaborate adventures. But the real challenge is finding someone to enjoy the mundane. Someone who makes you look forward to the blurry gray of everyday life. That takes someone special. That’s what’s real.”

Maybe epic love is when there’s no one else in the world you’d rather have a million mundane Tuesdays with.

Your sunshine is the closest thing to magic I’ve ever experienced. You’ve completely ruined me for anyone else.”