What started with a paper airplane in Lakewood, Ohio, turned into a Taylor Swift request, a viral TikTok video and two families meeting for the first time.

Madeline Glynn, 8, heard her neighbor, Ethan Hayes, playing guitar on his porch and wanted to make a request. She asked her mother, Natalie Hulec, to help her fold a paper airplane, wrote the note herself and had her mother throw it over the fence.

It landed in Hayes’s yard. Hayes, 26, moved in last September and works as a full-time musician, playing covers at bars and wineries and writing his own songs.

Madeline’s stepfather, Russ Hulec, came to the window to explain the note was from Madeline, who wanted to hear Taylor Swift.

“He said it’s for Madeline, his daughter, and I’m playing on the porch,” Ethan said. “Am I going to say no? Absolutely not.”

Hayes played “Love Story.” He needed to look up the words, and Madeline sang along.

Natalie Hulec recorded the moment and posted it to TikTok. By the next morning, Madeline was telling family members, “I’m famous! I’m famous!”

Hayes said he did not know he was being recorded.

“I didn’t know she was recording. I didn’t hear them singing along. I was just playing the song, but 2.7 million is crazy,” he said. “I can’t really believe that, but I do it for 200 views. I do it for them.”

The video drew nearly 3 million views and thousands of comments, which the family said were all positive. Hayes has gained nearly 19,000 followers since it was posted.

“The amount of attention he’s gained throughout this has been so rewarding,” Natalie said. “I’m so excited for him.”

Hayes said the moment spoke to something bigger.

“What are we if we don’t have each other?” he asked. “Community is one of the most important things. As things get hard, it’s always nice to have somebody to lean on.”

He said kindness is simple.

“It costs nothing to be kind,” he said. “I don’t care what my job is. I want to be a good person.”

Before the paper airplane, the two families had never met. Now Hayes is buying a grill, there has been talk of a barbecue, and Madeline has an open invitation to keep listening from next door.

“I’ll be on the porch all summer,” Ethan said. “You’re always welcome to listen, you’re always welcome to send paper airplanes over.”

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