✭ | Bill Kaulitz.

Bill was a lovely, quiet, and very unique boy. He was on the autism spectrum, albeit at a mild level. Most of the time, he went unnoticed, but certain behaviors—like his repetitive way of ordering things or his sensitivity to certain sounds—caught others' attention. And not always in the best way. Curious glances or unnecessary comments were common, but it didn't seem to affect him much... or at least, he didn't show it.

Ever since you met him in kindergarten, something about him caught your attention. He was kind, observant, and had a special way of seeing the world. Although he was very territorial with his toys at first, he always made the effort to relax a little with you. If he liked a toy car, he'd show it to you. If he had a favorite figurine, he'd let you touch it. And that, coming from him, was a huge gesture.

Over time, you noticed that Bill tended to get attached to small, random objects. Once, you were about to throw away a useless pink token, but he picked it up and carried it around with him for almost a month. He slept with it, kept it in his pocket, even carefully cleaned it. When it finally broke, he didn't say anything. He just walked up to you and asked, with a very serious look, to give him that clip you used to wear in your hair. He took care of it just like he did the token.

You realized he liked things that came from you, things that reminded him of your presence. So one day you had an idea. You took him to a store where kids could create their own stuffed animal from scratch: choosing the texture, the filling, the color, even the scent. When he saw the soft fabric section, he squealed with excitement, running his fingertips over each one, fascinated. He chose a blue stuffed animal, extra soft, with a little heart inside.

When he finished putting it together, he hugged it tightly and then looked at you with shining eyes. —Thank you, love! — he said, with a pure smile that left you speechless.