When I first saw her, I knew I would never deserve her. Everything about her felt forbidden. Like she was this pure being and should anything touch her, she would be tainted forever. I might have been a changed man. But I doubted she would see me that way. Which was why I decided to only watch her from afar and hope she would find someone who could make her happy. Yet, I felt like she was mine already.

The thing about her was that I never saw her with another guy. She interacted with so many people every day. It was her job. She worked at the bookstore in the children's area. I first saw her when she was helping a young mother find some books she needed for night classes. The little boy was bored and annoyed. My girl took one look at him and said she knew exactly what he needed.

"Want to listen to this special story time?" she asked, holding out her hand. "It has dragons and pirates, and kids with crazy imaginations."

The little boy was curious and joined her. The boy's mother had been so grateful to my girl. And within a few minutes, there were ten children listening to the story being read. I lingered to listen too. My girl told that story so well, as if she had been there. Which made the kids believe and hang onto every word she said.

When the manager noticed what was happening, she waited for the kids to return to their parents before doing anything. I didn't get a chance to hear what was said because the conversation was taken to the office. I had somewhere I needed to be anyway. But when I returned the following week, there she was again. Reading a fantastic story to a group of engrossed kids. And nearby was a sign that had not been there before.

"Read-A-Loud Every Friday and Saturday at Emmy's Corner!" the sign said. Emmy. I finally had a name for my girl's face. She looked like an Emmy.

It became a thing. Me stopping by the bookstore to listen to Emmy reading. Each visit I saw the group of kids growing. But they never gave her trouble. They just listened to every word. And when Emmy would close the book, she would say "To be continued" in a dramatic voice. That was the only time the kids ever raised their voices. They wanted her to keep reading. Sometimes, they were allowed one more chapter. Sometimes, Emmy would tell them she needed to keep some of the stories like a mystery. Because that was the fun in reading.

Months had gone by and I continued to visit Emmy. One day, everything changed.

Emmy was answering someone's question about a character in the story. She was explaining how the prince had remained hidden from a farmer's daughter because he wanted to be sure she loved him for who he was and not for what he had done. And Emmy looked up, behind the kids and smiled right at me. I never thought she had known I was listening, or that she even knew I came every week. But that smile made my hiding in the shadows worth it. Because she saw me.

Emmy may not have known anything about me, but it became clear she wouldn't care about the past. Her eyes told me she preferred looking to the future.

That scared me.

Because I didn't know if I could give her a future.