The Red String

Prologue

    Serena was only four years old at the time when her isolation began. It all began in kindergarten when her teacher gave a lecture about how everyone had a soulmate. The teacher told her class about how they could find their own soulmate by following their red string of fate. Now every living person had a red string, a single strand of fate that could lead one to their other half. It didn't matter what your status was. Someone who was rich could have a poor soulmate and someone optimistic could end up with someone pessimistic. The red string emotionally and slightly physically connected you with the person that you are destined to be with.

Serena was puzzled during that lesson. During that lesson, the young brunette was confused due to the fact that she didn't have a string, and through her young ignorance, she decided that it would be okay if she asked the teacher why she didn't have a string in front of the entire class. This lead to her being bullied and teased all throughout her years in elementary and middle school when she revealed to everyone about her not having an other-half. Her childhood was never really bright or social because of those years.

Her parents wanted nothing more than to see their little girl happy again, so they started anew by moving to the small town of Wayford. When they had moved, high school was about to begin and Serena decided that she had to pretend that she had a soulmate. From then on, she lied her way through life. Her loneliness was masked with an abundance of lies and her pain hidden with a bright smile.

Now, she lives in this world. A dull gray world, lifeless within her brilliant green eyes. The girl wouldn't say that she's depressed, but she wouldn't say that she's content with her life either. She always used to hope that one day she'd find her soulmate, but after all of these years she had given up on finding one. Now she walks the streets of her hometown, on her way home from the prison people call a school.

Serena looked up at the gray cloudy sky, waiting and silently longing for the tears of the heavens to start its downpour. The rain comforted her in a way, the cold droplets upon her warm body always seemed to relax her. As if the sky felt her need, raindrops heavily fell upon the earth, her clothes and hair dampening within seconds. The scent of fresh rain filling her freckled nose.

For only a moment, she closed her eyes to bask in the serenity of the rain. And in that moment the sound of a truck's horn met her ears. Before she even had the chance to turn her head, she was pushed down to the cold hard cement.

Unlike how most people explain their near-death experiences, everything did not slow down around her. Her life did not flash before her eyes. Everything just seemed to suddenly stop. And for just a moment, she saw red. A red glowing line coming from a knot on her left ring finger. That miracle was short-lived as she was welcomed by darkness.

The sounds of beeping awoke her from her slumber. Serena's body felt sore and stiff, while her throat felt uncomfortably dry. Her hazel eyes opened to be greeted with the white ceiling of a hospital room. A sharp pain pierced through her head, causing her to groan out in discomfort and alarming a nurse who was walking by.

"Oh, you're finally awake," a nurse stated, her voice slightly displaying some disdain.

The nurse's hair was up in a tight ponytail while her outfit consisted of the usual blue nurse attire. She looked decent, but her face was caked in makeup. It didn't look very decent at all. Serena wondered how was she allowed to wear that much makeup. She surely would've gotten a heart attack if she were to wake up to see that amount of makeup on a middle-aged woman.

Serena stayed silent, unable to speak with the dryness of her throat. The clown glanced at her only to then head towards another nurse, mumbling some words before walking away. The nurse the clown spoke to looked at her and gasped.

"Oh, my," The new nurse came into Serena's room with a smile. "Hello there, my name is Wendy. I'm your nurse. How are you feeling?"

Wendy was a fairly nice looking lady. Unlike the former, she barely wore any makeup, displaying her natural beauty. Her ginger hair was pulled back in a messy bun, away from her sun-kissed and freckled face. She seemed to be in her late twenties or early thirties. She held the look of someone who smiled and laughed a lot, unlike Serena who barely ever showed much emotion.

Serena's face remained blank as she drag two fingers down her neck, using sign language to tell the nurse that she was thirsty. Her knowledge in sign language wasn't very vast but she knew enough to get her through a day without speaking whenever she didn't feel up for verbal communication. The nurse seemed to understand what she signed and left the room, hopefully, to get some water. Laying back down onto the hospital bed, Serena started to wonder how she got there. All she could recall was seeing a strand of red. She abruptly sat up and looked down at her left hand, noticing a red knot, connected to her ring finger, leading out of the door.

Wendy returned with a pitcher and an empty glass, placing it down onto a table that resided to the right of the hospital bed. "I have your water, here you go," Serena took the water within her hands and greedily downed it within seconds. The nurse smiled at her sudden action, "What's your name?"

Although her thirst was quenched, Serena decided not to answer. She didn't want to be rude, but she just wasn't in the mood to speak as she was too busy thinking about what to do with her newfound string. She began to wonder what a person would do in this situation. Serena could hardly believe the sight of the red knot on her ring finger. Thinking that it was fake she tugged at the string, hard.

Serena yelped out in surprise as she was suddenly pulled towards the doorway, yanking out any needles that connected her to the hospital machinery. She hit the closed door with a thud. Wendy quickly rushed over and helped her up, "Are you alright? What happened?" Her heart began to beat faster as a wave of excitement crashed into her.

"I-I have a string... I have a string!" Serena exclaimed happily to no one in particular. She shoved her hand in front of Wendy's face, "I finally have a string!" Wendy looked bemused at her sudden outburst, not knowing about Serena's lack of a soulmate throughout her life. Only those who are connected by the string were able to see their own knots. Fate decided it would've been way too confusing if everyone could see other people's strings. That'd be a tangled mess.

Serena didn't wait for her to respond as she quickly threw on some fresh clothes that were conveniently sitting on a chair. She then flew out of the door hastily making her way towards the nearest exit, ignoring the calls of the nurses and doctors behind her.

Adrenaline coursed through her veins as she ran, faster than she ever had before, following the glowing red strand. She didn't know how long she ran for, or how far but she finally found herself nearing her destination. Serena looked up at the building before her, the train station of Wayford.

Walking in, she found it packed as usual. She groaned out in exasperation, thinking about how long it would take for her to find the end of her string. Serena pushed through the crowd, desperately trying to find it. The fact that she had just run a few miles without any breaks hit her as her adrenaline started to fade. She sat down on a bench and began to ponder how long she would have to wait before she would be able to find her soulmate.

"May I sit next to you?" Serena looked up to the source of the voice to reveal a young man, who looked to be around her age. He had short wavy black hair swept to the side and cold blue eyes that seemed to clash with his warm smile. The girl looked at him confused to why he would sit next to her when there were so many other available and vacant benches surrounding the vicinity. She nodded anyway, unable to see why she shouldn't say yes. He plopped down next to her. Her eyes widened as he held out his left hand for her to shake, "Thanks. My name is Gaige by the way. It's great to finally meet you, soulmate." There on his left ring finger was a red string that led to her very own.

Revised Version