Leave Your Mark

Ink

The screeching of my alarm clock echoed through the apartment, but that wasn't what had woken me up. My head snapped off the pillow at the sound of a particularly loud clap of thunder. I lazily rolled over and stretched out my arm to slap the snooze button, each second out of the blanket draining the warmth from my skin. My tired fingers fumbled with the buttons on the clock to turn off the alarm so it wouldn't come back on again in five minutes. I huffed, disgruntled at having been woken up at this early hour. I didn't bother looking at the glowing red numbers that I knew read 6:30 as I got out of bed, shivered slightly, and stretched.

It was time to get ready. It was a big day.

I sighed. It was a big day. That didn't mean I was happy being awake this early.

I hopped in the shower, making sure to wash as much ink as possible off my skin. Sometimes I even forgot who wrote what on their skin: me or my soulmate. Sometimes we would have entire conversations in tiny sketches or writing all up and down our arms. Of course, we agreed to wash it off our skin after the conversations were over, but I felt, in a way, closer to my soulmate after each one. Even if I hadn't met them yet.

I scrubbed my half of the writing off my skin, leaving my soulmate to wash off the rest. That was how it worked: you only had control over the ink you put there. Beyond that, you just had to pray that your soulmate has the sense to wash the rest of the ink off their own skin.

My entire apartment was silent, apart from the ticking of clocks on the walls and the quiet sounds of me getting ready, until my kitten woke up and decided to tell me 'good morning' by rubbing herself against my dripping ankles as soon as I got out of the shower.

I wrapped my towel round myself and bent over to pick her up. "Hi, Misty," I cooed at the tiny silver ball of fluff in my hands. I rubbed her head, and she closed her eyes and purred softly.

With one hand holding my cat and the other holding my towel in place, I padded across the hallway back into my bedroom to work on my hair. When my hair was dry, I parted it to the right and brushed it for a long time, until it fell in its usual soft, blond waves down my back. When I was done with my hair, I put on a pair of galaxy print leggings, a black sweater that came to mid-thigh, a galaxy print infinity scarf, and a pair of black boots.

After applying just enough makeup to look decent, I put on a couple of silver rings and a stainless steel watch, grabbed my phone, and went into the kitchen.

I was getting brunch with someone later, so I just made myself a cup of coffee. After dumping into the black liquid enough cream and sugar for three people, I stood in my kitchen and enjoyed the silence for a few minutes, thinking about what would happen later.

I would be seeing someone I had never met before, the one person that matters most in someone's life. I would be meeting my soulmate.

It suddenly occurred to me that it might be rude to show up empty-handed. I glanced at the clock. It was 8:00, and I wasn't meeting them at the diner until 10:00. I had loads of time!

I started shuffling around my kitchen, getting out ingredients for the recipe I knew by heart: the one for double chocolate fudge cookies.

After a while, my entire apartment smelled heavenly and I was holding a warm, handmade box of steaming, homemade cookies. I folded the flaps down to seal the box, and placed the box on the kitchen island. By now it was 8:45. I had time to kill.

I turned on the blue tooth speaker next to the toaster and turned on some music. And, naturally, the first song to play was one by Pentatonix. I immediately started dancing along and spent the next hour singing and dancing to my various playlists like an idiot. To be honest, if anyone had seen me, I would have been so embarrassed I might have exploded. But it was really fun!

Wait...

I spent an hour singing and dancing! I was going to be late!

I turned off the music, put my coffee cup in the sink, and pulled on a coat and mittens. After saying a quick goodbye to Misty, I shoved my phone in my purse, swiped the box of cookies off the island, slung my purse over my shoulder, and rushed out of my apartment. The place my soulmate and I had agreed to meet was only a few blocks away, so I decided to walk instead of driving. I pulled my coat tighter around my body, as I was immediately hit with frigid wind the second I stepped out my front door. I didn't mind so much; I liked the cold.

I started walking, keeping my head down to protect my face from the wind. My surroundings were briefly illuminated by lightning streaking through the dark grey clouds overhead, followed by a great rumble of thunder. A strong gust of wind whipped my hair about my face and nearly knocked me into another pedestrian walking in the opposite direction.

As I walked, I started thinking about the rumors. I had never met my soulmate, so I didn't know what to expect. Some say that the second you make eye contact, you know without even having to look at their skin. Some say that as soon as you find out, it all makes sense, and you know exactly why you were meant for each other. Some say that a relationship with your soulmate is like any other: it takes dedication. It gets ugly. But it'll work out if you fight for it.

I was snapped back to reality by freezing rain pelting my arms and legs.

I squeaked, jogged into the diner, and pulled the door shut behind me, the tinkling of the bell barely audible over the whistling of the wind. As soon as the door was closed I was greeted by a blast of overwhelmingly warm air. I looked around and saw that, as usual, the diner was packed. My fingers felt tingly from the sudden rise in temperature as I pulled off my black mittens and dug through my purse in search of a pen. I pulled out the first thing I found: a pink gel pen. I started writing in sparkling ink on my palm:

Where are you?

Out of the corner of my eye I saw a raven head whip around with an audible gasp. The corners of my soulmate's icy eyes crinkled with a wide smile as soon as blue eyes locked with brown. I made my way to the table in the corner and my soulmate stood up. He wore a white button-up shirt and black pants, and his black fringe was carefully combed to the side. He gave a timid smile and my heart skipped a beat; he was undeniably handsome.

"I'm Liam," he said in a northern accent, extending his hand for me to shake.

"I'm Natalie." We shook hands and sat down.

"So I guess we're soulmates, huh?" he said somewhat awkwardly.

"I guess," I replied, grinning.

"I have to say, you are even lovelier than I had imagined." He stared at the table shyly. I could feel myself blushing.

Not knowing how to respond to the compliment, I used one of the conversation starters I had memorised just in case things got too awkward. "What's your favorite shape?" I blurted.

He blinked. "Erm, a triangle, I suppose. How about you?"

Good. He was as socially awkward as me. This could work.

"Hexagon. I like the way honeycomb looks."

Liam smiled. "Do you like the weather?"

"Oh, I love the weather! The rain is my favourite, especially thunderstorms, and the cold just makes it even better!"

"I like the rain, too," he replied. "Except I have a fear of loud noises, so thunder isn't exactly my cup of tea."

"I understand. My sister is like that. Can't stand a thunderstorm if she doesn't have headphones on at full volume."

"I'm usually okay as long as I've got someone to spend time with, to occupy my mind."

We were interrupted by a waiter coming over to the table with a notepad and pen. "Are you ready to order?"

"I'll have French toast and a coffee," Liam and I said simultaneously.

Yeah. This is definitely going to work out.