However Soft Your Symphony

i can't be on this planet alone

Maisy huffed, looking down at her arm, which was indeed turning interesting shades of pink and purple where the coffee had hit her skin. “Point taken.”

Theo rushed to help Maisy get her arm above the sink and under the spray of cold water. Maisy took a moment to thank whoever she needed to thank that the burns were on her left arm as opposed to her right, where her cuff concealed the name of the very man who was lightly touching her arm at that very moment. She tried not to think about that too much.

“I hope you don’t mind me asking but...” Theo began, speaking with obvious hesitation and curiosity. His eyes noticeably darted to Maisy’s right arm. “I noticed your cuff. You’re Romanticist, too?”

Maisy’s eyes widened, and she almost blurted out no, but she quickly realized who she was talking to and amended her answer. “I, uh... Yes. Yeah. Soulmates... I’m against them. Hence the cuff. Which you can see.”

Theo beamed. “You know, I’m really glad to see someone else from our generation who has the same belief that I do about the whole concept.”

“And I’m glad you’re there to influence others to have the same viewpoint.”

“Well. I’m not here to brainwash the youth of our nation, but...” Theo looked up at Maisy with wide, green eyes, smiling sheepishly. “If it gets my point across.”

Theo then winked at Maisy, and Maisy couldn’t tell if that made her want to slap or kiss him. She elected to stay put, thankfully, and opted to smile slightly, shifting her focus back to her arm. Theo watched her closely, letting out a short breath.

“Feeling better?” he asked. Maisy shrugged.

“A bit, yeah.”

“I’ll go ask for a bag of ice. Keep it under the cold water for a bit?”

“Sure thing.”

Maisy was grateful for the moment alone, however short it was. She looked up at her reflection in the mirror, scowling at it when she saw the way her thick, brown hair was beginning to frizz in the summer humidity. She did her best to tame it with small splashes of water, but her caution for whenever Theo would waltz back in prevented her from doing too much.

Maisy kept thinking about how she was finally face to face with Theo, her soulmate, in Los Angeles. At this point, it was all just too overwhelming. She had given up all hope a long time ago that the two of them would even meet. And here Theo was, popping up out of the blue, almost as if it were fate, giving Maisy his full attention. Maisy had absolutely no clue what she was supposed to do in a situation like this one. Were they supposed to immediately fall in love and ride off into the sunset? Was she supposed to fight so they end up together? Or should she let the moment pass and forget about their meeting completely?

Maisy’s mind snapped back into reality when Theo flung open the door to the bathroom, offering Maisy a goofy smile. Maisy found it nearly impossible not to smile back.  

“Here,” Theo said, reaching out to hand her a couple ice cubes inside of a ziploc bag. “Sorry, this is all they had.”

Maisy laughed, looking down at the pathetic excuse for an ice pack. “Thank you, kind sir.”

“Kind sir, now? I’m still the guy who dumped a whole cup of steaming hot coffee on you a few minutes ago, you know.”

“And then you valiantly came to my rescue. Braving the women’s restroom to make sure my arm didn’t fall off. You’ve earned the adjective.”

Theo chuckled. “Good to know.”

“Seriously,” Maisy said, her expression now sincere as she made eye contact with Theo. “Thank you.”