love comes from paper airplanes

Sarah wasn't looking for love. Not really. She was content with her life - blasting music in her beat-up Honda Civic, weekend shifts at the local bookstore, and a cat named Mittens who judged her every move. But then came Kevin, the new delivery guy at the bookstore.

Kevin wasn't your typical delivery guy. Sure, he brought boxes, but he also brought chaos. Literally. One particularly windy afternoon, a rogue gust of air sent a stack of paperbacks tumbling. As Sarah dove to catch them, a multicolored paper airplane soared past her ear, landing with a dramatic flourish at her feet.

Unfolded, it revealed a messy drawing of a heart and a wonky inscription: "Sorry about the paper tornado! - Kevin."

That was it. The spark. Sarah, who usually hid behind towering shelves, found herself giggling. She spent the rest of the day replaying the moment, the silly drawing warming her heart more than a hundred romance novels.

The paper airplanes became a routine. Every delivery came with a new one, each a little more elaborate than the last. A paper plane shaped like a rocket with "To the girl who loves books (and maybe clumsy delivery guys)" scrawled on it. A tiny origami crane with a note that read: "You make my heart take flight." Sarah responded in kind, leaving little notes hidden amongst the books she shelved. "Next time, try a glider!" she wrote once.

One rainy Tuesday, Kevin's delivery came with a soggy paper airplane. The message inside was smeared, but Sarah could just make out: "Meet me by the oak tree after closing? - Kevin."

Under the dripping oak, Sarah found Kevin, not with another paper airplane, but with a nervous smile and a bouquet of wildflowers. "I, uh, wasn't sure if these were your thing, but..."

They talked for hours, the rain a gentle background hum. Turns out, Kevin loved books just as much as Sarah. He folded paper airplanes because they reminded him of childhood adventures, a way to bridge the gap between him and the cute bookstore girl.

Love, it seemed, didn't come from a knight in shining armor, but from a slightly soggy paper airplane and a shared love for a good story. And that, thought Sarah, with a smile brighter than the rainy sky, was a pretty darn good beginning.