“I think I just met the happiest person in the world.”

I said it out loud to myself as I stood on the sidewalk, staring at the empty bench where she had been sitting just minutes ago.

It had been a normal morning. Or at least, what my mornings usually felt like—rushed, stressful, and heavy. My bag was too full, my phone was buzzing with emails I hadn’t checked, and my head was pounding from lack...