Soulmates

Chapter 1

1700s Thailand

In the silent withering night, the blowing of the summer wind with the rustling of fallen leaves was music to the man's ears. His almond-shaped eyes stared wistfully into the opened window. The soft light from a lit candle tells him that she was still awake. The object of his affection. A girl who held his heart in the palm of her soft and delicate hand, without even knowing it. Ever since they've met, her at the tender age of 6 and him at juvenile 8, he knew he'd follow her through the gates of hell if that meant being with her. From her intuitive mind to her soft voice and doe-brown eyes, he was in love. She hadn't always been the graceful beauty she is now, no, she was awkward, gangly and rather out of place but even then there was something about her that captured him and kept drawing him in until there's no way out. Now at the fruitful age of 16, the beautiful swan she has grown into is to be wedded. The handsome groom-to-be comes from the wealthiest family in the village and considered even wealthier in surrounding villages. The groom-to-be was not him.

It could never be him.

He was no one but a servant boy. Orphaned and taken in by her gracious family to be just a lowly servant. His tasks were simple; mend the garden and look after her as she wanders. It was wonderful, for a split of a second he imagined being worthy of her, being with her and simply loving her. The girl with sunshine in her smile. Those years where he walked 10 steps behind her and listened intently to her rants or meaningless curiosity, it was great until it wasn't. He remembered it so vividly that it haunts his every breath.

They were at the far back of her spacious garden, just skirting into the deep forest where the dandelions and wild roses were sprouted in and out. Her eyes cast down and hands clenched tightly to her lovely ivory knee-length dress.

"Miss?" he'd asked, taking a step closer.

Still, she said nothing but her shoulders hunched, as if they were carrying the weights of the world.

"...Please..." The pleading was soft and whimpering but nevertheless she couldn't hold out any longer.

"I am to wed," her voice just above a whisper but it sounded like she screamed it out.

"Ten nights from now," his heart fell to the sole of his crack dry feet, dirty and all.  

"Congratulations..." The light utter was as pathetic as you could imagine.  

"You can't possibly mean it," her once dazzling brown eyes now sparkled with unshed tears.  

"Miss... You deserve nothing but the best. I only wish for you to be happy", this, she knew was his complete truth and devastating lie. He knew she would only be truly happy if she was in love. And she was. Just not to her betrothal.

That was nine nights ago. After tomorrow's night, the small glimpse he caught of her would be no more. It would not be allowed. And he knew he'd be wishing on shooting stars for, ever another slip of her sight.

In his world, the pain did not really exist. How would you describe the pain if that was all you know? What existed was happiness. However small or big the dosage, it came in the form of her sunshine smile. For just a brief moment he is filled with contentment and relieves, the constant void was filled, even if it is for just a second.

'Maybe, in another life', he thought as he savours up every glimpse he could get of her, and in hindsight, he should have known that the moment he closes his eyes, it would be his last. The groom-to-be could never have allowed the boy, who held a mutual affection for his soon-to-be bride, to live and be a constant presence in her life.

It was swift and painless, the second best thing the world had ever offered him. The first was allowing him to be graced by her presence.

How do soul mates find one another?