The Magic Of Pride: A Pride Month Anthology

Honestly

"Six hours just isn't enough," I grumbled to myself as I pushed my way into the break room. "She really needs to stop going to bed so late."

I felt a jolt as my body stirred, but she didn't wake up. I sighed in relief, but I stood still for a second just to be sure. Being Daphne's soul was stressful these days, and I wanted all the free time I could get. Daphne needed to stop being so hard on herself, but more importantly, she needed to stop being so hard on me.

"Trouble in paradise?" A familiar presence floated by, and I recognized it as Jani's soul, my oldest soul mate.

I sighed. "Please, this is hardly paradise. I should've just signed up for a cat. Apparently, humans come with a lot of issues."

Jani's soul shimmered beside me. "Tell me about it. At least yours doesn't have the alcohol problem."

"That's true," I agreed. "Could you imagine dealing with someone who's an underage alcoholic and homophobic? Good thing mine is just a law-abiding homophobe."

"It's a different kind of torture," Jani's soul pointed out. "Jani is destroying herself physically, and Daphne's destroying herself emotionally."

They really were a match made in heaven. Okay, no, that's not true. The match was made by us. It had taken them a while to find each other because we couldn't really force them to do anything; we could only serve as their consciences when they were awake. They were definitely the most unlikely pair of friends I had ever known, but we were determined to make it work, even if it meant going over an excessive amount of speed bumps.

"We need to stage an intervention," Jani's soul told me. "The only way anything can improve is if they talk to each other."

"You don't think I've tried?" I huffed. "Daphne keeps chickening out. You know that. But don't worry, she's so close to cracking."

"Okay, well, you know Daphne better than I would," Jani's soul said. "What do you suggest I do so that your human can feel better about herself?"

I had been thinking about this on all my breaks for the past few weeks. Daphne and Jani had been drifting apart for a while now, like many friends did while they grew through their teenage years. Fighting for this friendship was getting increasingly more exhausting, and Daphne could feel it. If only she could use that as reason to get some more sleep at night.

"Daphne's ready," I said. "Before she went to bed last night, I reminded her how important Jani is to her and how much they've been through together. They just need to sit together, wallow in their feelings, and they're gonna break."

"Daphne keeps letting uncertainty scare her," Jani's soul said. "Which means that so far, none of the attempts have been successful, and everyone's time has been wasted. Why would it be different now?"

"I can feel it," I insisted. "She just needs a push. A little one. Can Jani do that for her?"

Jani's soul floated a little closer to me. "Listen, I don't think anyone wants to waste energy on something hopeless. So, let me ask you again like I've been asking you all month. Are you sure?"

I wasn't, but this was our last shot. I wasn't sure if Jani's soul could tell, but the friendship between our bodies was so dissolved that we could lose our connection any day now. If that happened, there would be no use in trying to fix the damage, and we'd both need new soulmates. Since Daphne's decisions and actions were creating the divide, the mess was technically my fault.

"No," I admitted. "But do you trust me?"

I wasn't sure what Jani's soul would have said to that because while she was studying me, she faded away. Time always passed way too quickly when our bodies were asleep, and unfortunately, this was the only time we got with each other because our bodies weren't exactly getting along. And it was, of course, because of me.