I sat in my older sister’s car with the engine idling in front of a red light. Thing had been red for like five minutes. At this rate I wasn’t gonna be home until six, and my mother was making those famous burritos. I really wanted them. I sighed. To pass the time, I switched on the radio. My sister gave me the evil eye but allowed it after I switched to her favourite station.

The radio person was talking about something. “…there’s this kid right here in this town, like twelve or thirteen years old. She’s been going viral on instagram because of her awesome singing. Literally all of her songs, you can’t tell the difference between her and the original song, she’s so good! Here is one of her songs, then we’ll play the original.”

Curiously, I turned on my phone and went to Instagram. There was the kid. I was a bit curious to learn more, but then the light finally turned green and Sis gunned it for home. When she guns it, you literally cannot move. You are pressed against your seat.

Later, I scrolled casually through Tinder on my phone. It was a thing I liked to do; I was happy single, but it was just amusing to see the profiles. Anyways, I was scrolling through, chuckling at a few, when I came across a profile that makes me laugh. It’s the kid they were talking about on the radio. I take a closer look. Her name is Natalie, she is twelve and a half. I read her profile and discover she likes to read, write, bake, act, sing, of course, and enjoys all sports but baseball. She’s also a babysitter. I clicked away and sent out a message:

**Do u want 2 get 2gether? There’s this nice park downtown.**

A few minutes later, she responds with:

**Sure. I’m good Sunday night at 7 if u can forward directions.**

I type back:

**Gr8. It’s the 1 on Ridge Road, the James Cook Memorial park. The one by the library. See u Sunday.**

Call me crazy. I’ve only ever had one date on this thing in my whole long life. But, meh. It might do me some good. Mom and Dad are always getting on my nerves to get going on finding my soul mate.

Sunday rolls around before I know it. I get home early to get ready. Mom is still out so I microwave some cold leftover chicken nuggets and fries. There isn’t much left, so I grab some pickles to fill my whining stomach a bit more and add some balance to my palate.

Then it’s time to get ready. I pull on a black t-shirt and jeans (my idea of dressed up) and pop a cap on. I pull on a hoodie, too. Then it’s time to go. I hurry outside then begin walking to the park. It’s not far, I can’t drive, and Mom and Dad have the cars out tonight anyways.

I arrive at the park and wait. Soon a kid bikes up to me. She has . “Are you Natalie?” I ask.

“Are you Jordan?” She retorts.

“Yes,” I answer.

“Ok, and yes, I’m Natalie.” She puts her bike up on the bike rack. We start walking down the path.

“Have you had any relationships before?” I ask to break the silence.

“Yeah. This one kid named Jay. He was a jerk, though, so I dumped him.”

I inwardly shudder at the ease of which she says this. If we even begin to develop a serious relationship I better watch myself.

“You know, I’m not really looking for a serious relationship anymore, really,” she comments softly, as though reading my thoughts.

“Neither do I, even though Mom and Dad are always begging me to get a girlfriend for the prom, even though that’s like two years off. I don’t get the idea! Why can’t I be peacefully single?”

She laughs. I kinda like her laugh. It’s real, not forced, and soft. Tilting her head in a cute way, she looks up at me. “Yeah. With me, it’s the opposite, with my dad especially. ‘NO BOYS!’ ‘I made you a custom bed that can’t hold more than one regular teenager/tween!’ ‘Remember, no getting married until 67, or kids until 89!’ I mean, I already don’t really care one way or the other. It’s not like I’m rebelling, sneaking out and kissing under the moon. He doesn’t have to be so serious about it.”

“He’s probably joking about the marrying at 67, though,” I smirk.

“Probably, but with my dad you can never tell.”

The conversation drifts off the romance topic. We talk about regular life, school, siblings, our favourite food, etc. We talk for over an hour, and we’re coming back to the bike rack. I realize that we’ve bonded, in ways I haven’t with any new friend before. Like, we’re destinied to be together.

_Aw, crap. Now I’m thinking like one of those mushy-brained romance novels._

I notice something familiar in the bushes… two wonky ceders, curving to form an open doorway in the otherwise-sealed off brush. A memory sparks. An old secret. All at once I have a sudden desire to reveal the secret to Natalie. It would be nice to share this with her.

“Natalie,” I burst out, “can I show you something??”

She gives me a strange look. “Suure, I guess?”

I lead her through the ceder door and down the little path through the wood behind it. Bursting out of the woods, we’re in my secret place.

“This is my thinking place,” I say proudly, gesturing around. The path is the only opening in the back, so it feels like you’re in your own little corner of the world. Night or day, it’s always lit. The large rock ledge with a tiny teepee that 6-year-old-me constructed looks out onto a still, quiet lake reflecting beautiful bright constellations of starts in the clear, cool night sky. It was breathtaking then, and it’s still breathtaking now. I look over at Natalie. She’s looking around in awe, her eys reflecting the sky.

“This is brilliant,” she breathed.

“I know!” I grin. “It’s been my little private place ever since I found it. Whenever we came to the park, because there was a fence, Mom let me and my sister run wild. So I spent most of my time here.”

“It’s so peaceful.” Natalie inhales the air. A loon coos somewhere on the water.

We sit on the edge of the ledge, our legs dangling in the open. “You know what?” I whisper. “Forget what I said earlier, Natalie. I really do like you.”

“That’s funny, because that’s what I was thinking about you,” she smiles back playfully.

We’re leaning into each other before we even realize what’s happening. Her kiss is soft and tender, fresh and minty. I feel a sense of intense joy and lean even closer, as we wrap oursleves in each other. As we pull apart, we smile at each other once more, and I whisper, “It’s serious now, isn’t it?”

“It is,” she whispers, and then we’re kissing again, tasting love and togetherness and something like joy.