I want to tell you a story – one I’m just beginning to understand. It starts with a boy.

He lives a fortunate life. He has all that he needs. Just like all the other boys, he has great friends and a family that cares - but there's something strange, something he can't quite pick. He isn't free.
One day, the boy disappears. He leaves. Late at night, and with nothing more than a whim and a wallet, the boy begins a new life.

His family cries for him, and his friends wonder at the boy they knew. He left a letter to each of them. They know he's out there in the city, they just don't know where. These people are beginning to realise how much they love him. It’s because of that unknowing – the possibility that he won’t come back.

Out in the night, the boy shaves his head. He has started a new life. It’s small, but he talks to people and makes new friends. In his spare time, he writes letters to the people he knew and loved. Sometimes, when it's late, he even taps their window. If they wake, he'll say hello. He'll tell them about his new life, and that he's safe. But he can't stay for long.

Like a spirit he drifts between the people of a past life. They cherish what they shared - but the point is, they still can. It’s just that they’ll never know when he’ll appear, or where he is. All they know is that he’s still out there. He’s just free.

Some years later, his hair will have grown. There’ll come a time when others begin to think it’s too long – that he’ll need to cut it. It reminds him that sooner or later he’ll have to disappear. This is just the life he has chosen. Others can choose to love him, but first they need to accept that he won’t be around forever. He needs to be free, and you’re not free if you can’t disappear.

You see, sometimes love is about letting go. For many people, they don’t realise this until it’s too late. The boy doesn’t want it to end that way. He knows he can show the ones he loves just how much love can be for another person. They find it in letters, and in a knock at their door. They just don’t know when, and that’s why every time he visits there are tears, hugs and kisses. This is what people need to feel for each other, and what they will share with every other person they love.
It starts with a boy.