Kurt Kankl

Michael was 17 years old.

One evening, he was walking home from school when he noticed a ride-share car driving slowly behind him. The car didn't honk or stop; it just stayed close by.

When Michael turned onto another street, the car turned as well.

He started to feel a bit uneasy.

Finally, the car pulled over to the curb. Kurt Knuckle looked out the window.

"Hey, sorry. Do you know where Riverside Park is?"

Michael explained the way. Kurt thanked him, and then unexpectedly asked:

"Do you live around here?"

"Something like that."

"Cool."

Michael shrugged and walked away.

To him, it was just a strange conversation that lasted less than a minute.

But Kurt watched him go for a long time.

Something about Michael had instantly caught his attention. Maybe it was his voice. Maybe his smile. Maybe the way he spoke so calmly to a complete stranger.

The next day, Kurt saw Michael again near the school.

A week later—near the store.

A few days after that—at the bus stop.

In reality, these weren't coincidences.

Kurt was intentionally seeking out places where he could run into him. He found out which school Michael attended, roughly figured out his schedule, and began appearing nearby more and more often.

From the outside, it seemed as if fate was constantly bringing them together.

Only Kurt knew that it wasn't fate.

He simply couldn't stop thinking about Michael.