The Exception to the Rule

An accidental email kicks off an unlikely, slow-building connection between two strangers. As a teenager, a girl receives a message meant for a teacher that a slightly older boy sent to the wrong address by mistake. Rather than let it end there, the two strike up a correspondence and settle into a private annual tradition, exchanging emails on the same date each year under strict self-imposed rules: no photos, no real names, nothing too personal. The story follows these snapshots across years as they grow up -- through the awkwardness of high school, the excitement and homesickness of college, and the uncertainties of early adulthood -- with roughly the first half told entirely through their emails. Over time the careful rules begin to slip, and they find themselves sharing far more than they intended, including the mounting temptation to finally meet in person. This is a short story, part of Amazon Original Stories' The Improbable Meet-Cute collection.