I still hadn't quite recovered from the news about my health the next day, my tears having lasted a while until my nurse who told me she was to be called Nurse Abby had to insert an IV into my hand for my medicines to get the fluid out of my lungs. Dad was currently out buying himself some snacks and a few magazines to keep himself occupied, leaving me all alone.
However, my day did brighten up when I saw an unexpected visitor lingering in my doorway with a bundle of bright yellow flowers in his hand, green eyes bright as ever, and long hair pushed over to one side. He looked like a male model with a printed shirt, dark skinny jeans, and boots, quite the difference from his soccer attire. My eyes had widened, and while I wasn't sure if he saw my smile from behind my oxygen mask, I knew he heard my happiness in my voice.
"Harry!" I had exclaimed as he laughed and walked over to me, handing me the flowers and smiling widely.
"Hey Mira. How are you feeling?" He asked, his green eyes flickering to the needle in my hand and the mask on my face in worry. I took the mask off so I could talk easier to him, hoping Nurse Abby didn't catch me with it off.
"Apparently I have fluid in my lungs and I am suffering from congestive heart failure. So not very good." I scowled, Harry chuckling a bit from my expression.
"I'm sorry, that sounds painful." He apologized, pulling himself a chair by my bedside to sit himself down.
"It's not so bad. The coughing hurt an awful lot though." I admitted, watching as Harry's eyes grew a bit wider.
"Coughing? What else happened to you yesterday?" He suddenly inquired, a serious look on his usually goofy face.
"I couldn't really catch my breath and I fainted after calling 911." I told him, Harry seeming amazed for some reason.
"That's exactly what happened to Louis yesterday." He mumbled, making my heart swell with worry. My hand with the taped IV reached out to Harry's, my eyes wide as I realized the dream I had had after fainting was real. Louis was ill.
"Is he okay, Harry?" I quickly asked, Harry's eyes growing wide as he immediately tried calming me down.
"Yeah, he's perfectly fine, don't worry. Sorry, shouldn't have scared you." He reassured me, lightly squeezing my hand before he laughed.
"What?"
"Louis actually sent me to come check on you. Apparently before he fainted, he said you were hurt, and it's been bugging him the entire time that he's been in the healing center." Harry told me, snickering with laughter. "He tried to escape the healers to come see you, but they caught him and put a sleeping spell on him so he would stay put. It wasn't the pretty butterfly kind either, it was the heavy duty knock-you-out-for-half-a-day kind of spell."
"Seriously?" I asked, a bit upset at hearing Louis probably wouldn't come visit today.
"Yeah, as soon as the spell was cast Louis was knocked out cold in the middle of the hallway." Harry couldn't stop laughing, holding his hands out to me. "Wanna see?"
I was a bit confused until my hands held his, my memory keeper talent picking up on the memory Harry was sending to me. Sure enough, I saw everything he said.
Louis was dressed in a jacket, t-shirt, and pair of jeans one of his friends must have brought him, blue eyes sharpened with determination. He was trying his best to be sneaky as he maneuvered around the healing center hallways, choosing to take Harry as a watchman in case anyone was around that would catch him being out of bed. If anyone was within a certain distance, Harry would hear their thoughts. Louis got so far as to be within a few feet of the exit, when suddenly a voice echoed through the hallways.
"Louis Tomlinson, what are you doing out of bed?!" An older woman yelled at the two men, making Louis wince. He rolled his eyes before facing the healer.
"There's nothing wrong with me, I'm fine!" He exclaimed, but the healer wouldn't take his excuses.
"You are going back to bed whether you like it or not!" The healer exclaimed, and with a movement of her hand a midnight blue dust came towards Louis. Louis seemed to recognize what it was, turning to Harry behind him.
"You have to check on Mira for me, make sure she's alright." He ordered just as the dark and shimmering sleeping dust hit his skin, his eyes immediately starting to close and his body getting drowsy. Harry had to stifle a laugh at his friend as Louis leaned forward and fell into him. Harry had to hold Louis' arms to keep him upright as the healer hurriedly came over to them to drag Louis back to bed.
"Come on now, let's get some sleep." She told Louis, who weakly laughed and quite honestly looked like he was high.
"Night night." Louis mumbled as the healer grabbed a wheelchair and settled Louis in it before he fell into a deep sleep, his mouth parting and soft snores escaping him. Harry only laughed as he watched Louis be rolled away to his bed.
I was brought back to the real world when the memory ended, Harry still laughing from the whole scene. I couldn't help the laughter escaping myself, the image of Louis so sleepy was adorable and cute as well as funny.
"So here I am." Harry grinned at me, his smile contagious and rubbing off on me. "Louis should be released from the healing center either later today or tomorrow morning."
I nodded before I noticed Harry rubbing his temples, eyes closed as he took a deep breath.
"Hey, you alright?" I asked. I'm sure if Harry wasn't feeling well I could have Nurse Abby get him some ibuprofen or something.
"Yeah, just gotta tune them out." He mumbled, my mind not quite catching on until I thought about it. Harry was in a hospital full of people, and those people were full of multiple thoughts racing through their minds. He was probably listening to people aching in pain and loved ones worrying over their family and friends, I could only imagine how uncomfortable he must be. I waited for Harry to control his talent again before asking him something.
"How does your talent work exactly?" I was curious. Sure, I had seen people have the ability to read minds in movies and books, but I wondered if they were even correct in their description. Harry softly smiled once he focused his ability again.
"My head is like a radio: I pick up different transmitter signals no matter what. These signals are people's thoughts, and I hear them whether or not I see the person who thinks them. I can focus on certain thoughts and people though so it doesn't get too crowded and overwhelming up here." Harry pointed to his head, his rings gleaming in the hospital light.
"That must be terrible if you ever go anywhere really crowded." I said, Harry only shrugging.
"It can be bad sometimes. If too many voices get in my head, I get a massive headache and oftentimes I have to leave wherever I am. That happened to me when I was a kid going with my dad to watch a footie match in a huge crowded stadium. It was just too many people and too many thoughts for a seven year old to handle."
It was quiet for a while before I remembered how Louis had ended up in the healing center.
"That's really weird how Louis ended up in the healing center the same way I ended up here..." I said, Harry smiling a bit.
"I think I have a theory for that."
"Well then let me hear it."
"First, you have to understand Luxien culture. Terrans believe in gods or deities, whether they are Roman Catholic, Muslim, Hindu, Buddhist, you name it. Luxiens, on the other hand, believe in spirits." Harry explained, pausing to check that I understood.
"Spirits?" I asked, Harry nodding. His curls bounced slightly with the motion.
"Yes. Luxiens have different spirits they believe control the Earth and the living organisms that inhabit it, and they worship them accordingly. A woman trying to get pregnant may pray to the spirit Fertility, while a man going on a long trip away from home may worship Safety to keep his family away from harm while he's gone."
"So is there a hierarchy of spirits? Is there one in charge?" I asked, now completely fascinated by Harry's story.
"The most important spirit in Lux is Fate. Luxiens believe Fate controls everything from what talent you are born with to who your soul mate is." Harry gave me a certain knowing look, which made me confused.
"What?"
"Soul mates are extremely important to Luxiens."
"Soul mates? Like cheesy romantic soul mates?" I asked with a giggle, Harry chuckling.
"Yes, but it's more romantic and powerful than cheesy to us."
"I see." I giggled, allowing Harry to continue.
"Old Luxien legend says there is one soul in the heavens for every two people here, and when those two people are born, one soul comes down and divides into two. The masculine strong and brave half typically goes with the male and the feminine beautiful and graceful half typically goes with the female. Now that doesn't necessarily mean there aren't same-sex soul mates, I'm just stating the general." Harry assured me.
"Those soul mates spend their lives apart until they one day run into each other. You know the phrase 'love at first sight?'" Harry asked, smiling as I nodded. "Luxiens invented it. It's a phrase for when soul mates see each other for the first time. It's said the souls have a sort of magnetic attraction, and the two people can't get the other out of their head."
"Sounds very romantic." I admitted, my mind thinking of how I couldn't stop thinking of Louis when I first met him.
"Luxiens are all lovey-dovey romantics. We're so infatuated with the idea of soul mates we even invented a piece of jewelry to determine if two people are really soul mates." Harry told me, his fingers reaching for the glowing green heart locket around my neck.
Oh my God. This wasn't real.
The heart locket was a way to determine soul mates. Dad always said the light meant someone always loved me because it symbolized his and Mom's souls. Even if half of it was dimmed, I was still loved by both halves of the souls that created me.
"No way..." I mumbled in awe, Harry smiling widely.
"Yes way. The lockets are made out of a special crystal found in Lux. When two drops of blood from two partners are dropped onto it, it lights up if the souls are two halves of the same original one. They're prized possessions for all Luxiens."
My gaze dropped down to my locket around my neck before I looked to Harry again.
"Why are you telling me this?" I softly asked, my mind racing with ideas for what this meant.
"Soul mates are said to be powerfully connected both physically and emotionally. Louis felt the same amount of pain at exactly the same time you did. I think you know where I'm headed." Harry mumbled.
My heart pounded with emotion. This couldn't be...
Were Louis and I soul mates?
"We can't be soul mates...we haven't even said 'I love you' to each other..." I said, Harry shaking his head.
"Doesn't matter. If he did say he loved you, would you say the same to him?"
I was silent as I thought about it. Did I love Louis? Was he more than just a guy I liked? I couldn't help but think back to the photos I had seen on my camera.
I now recognized the look Louis had in his eyes: love. I think Louis loved me.
Would I be able to say I loved him back?
Harry had to stop his talk about Lux when Nurse Abby returned to the room with empty vials and syringes, informing me it was time for my blood test. I had quickly slipped my oxygen mask back on before she could scold me, looking over to Harry again. He gave me a sly look as I thought about his proposition, my mind so distracted by the idea I didn't even feel when the needle went into my arm to draw blood.
Soul mates...was Louis mine?
A/N: Dedication goes to -ruins for being a dedicated reader and leaving lovely comments!
Vote and comment! -Maddie