Okay, I was ready with unpacking my stuff. Contently, I fell back on my freshly built together sofa and stretched my aching shoulders. That shit was exhausting.
For a while, I stayed like this, awkwardly laying on a new smelling sofa that didn't quite feel like home yet and stared at the unfamiliar ceiling. I had to do something. Or else, I would go mad, so I took a jacket and my keys and decided to roam the city for a bit. Couldn't hurt to get to know the place I would live in for the next few years.
After some aimless walking around, I saw an old fashioned gate-entry with an iron fence that was formed beautifully like leaves. It led into a park. The gravel paths were leading in slow curves past some trees and flowers. People of all ages were sitting on randomly placed benches and enjoyed the day. Luckily, it wasn't raining yet, though the sky looked like it might start soon.
I didn't care and kept walking around. I stopped at a statue of a boy around my age that just stood on a part of concrete on the grass with a bench in front of it. Curious, I stepped closer. The boy had wild, curly hair that reached to his shoulders and a scared expression on his face. He was only wearing some sort of ripped trousers and his torso was uncovered. If I saw it right, there even were some scratches on his skin. Maybe it should symbolise something important in the city? I inspected the tiny board with information next to it.
Untitled. Rumoured to be here since the opening of the park. A city-myth tells that the parents of this boy were cursed by a wizard to have a child that turns to stone on his twenty-second birthday and will only be freed by his true soulmate
I wondered how many girls or boys have touched it, hoping to see if it was true. Of course, it couldn't be because magic didn't exist.
Though, the statue was pretty detailed. Why didn't the artist get credit for it? He almost looked like he could fall down on the floor any minute. His facial expression was so well made that I could almost feel his fear and had the urge to hug him.
I took a few photos of the boy and his information board before putting on my jacket. The first drops of rain were falling down, one directly on my nose.
Damn, these scratches must have cost the artist so many nerves and was so much work. I gently followed one of them with my finger. In one moment, I was wondering, why it suddenly felt this warm under my fingertips because the stone should have been colder and in the next, the very boy was falling in my direction.
While my brain was in shock about where the fuck this boy was coming from, my hands luckily worked properly and managed to catch him from falling.
For a second, we only stared at each other disbelievingly at what just happened. I could see the now empty place behind him. Oh fuck.
"Did that just happen?" I wondered out loud into the uncomfortable silence, still holding onto his naked arm. As soon as I noticed this, I let it fall like I just burned myself.
By now, it was pouring and the poor boy began to shiver. But at my question, he nodded, looking around in fear. "Who are you?"
This was a little crazy. Well, more than just a little. The boy, I still didn't know the name of by the way, had been a statue mere moments ago. But he looked so lost and alone, clamping his arms together to keep some of his body warmth. "I'm Y/N. What's your name?"
"My name is Ray," He introduced himself, offering a small smile.
I returned it. What should I do now? Ah, fuck it, it couldn't get any crazier than it was now. "Should we go to my place to warm you up? You'll catch a cold otherwise."
Ray only nodded and let me guide him to my apartment. The walk was silent, both of us deep in thought. Objectively, I knew that it wasn't the best idea to bring a stranger to my house but something told me that I could trust him. This was probably pretty dumb but hey, what was life without a little risk? And most of the time I could trust my gut.
I opened the door for him. The moment, the temperature of the house hit him, Ray began shivering again. So, I immediately got a towel and handed it to him.
"Th-thank you." He took it and put it around himself.
I was already back on my way to my closet to find some warm clothes that would fit him. Eventually, I found some oversized sweatpants and a big hoodie that should be the right size.
As I walked back in my living room, I saw Ray standing in the corner awkwardly and looking around a bit shy but curious at the same time. I cleared my throat to not startle him. He jumped anyway.
"I brought you some clothes if you'd like to get out of these wet ones," I informed him and displayed the clothes in my hands.
His head perked up and he walked towards me. But something in his movements seemed off.
"Are you hurting?"
Ray shrugged, moving the towel slightly and exposed the scratches I had touched earlier. They were bleeding now. Oh no, they must hurt badly. And he didn't say a word, that poor boy. "Come with me, I'll clean them up in the bathroom."
As I was bandaging his wounds, the only sounds he made were the soft winces he let out when I was too harsh on the injuries and the silence was starting to make me nervous.
"So you are my soulmate?" Ray eventually whispered.
"I was the one who touched you if you meant that."
He nodded and looked down at my hands that were fixating the gauze. "So you are my soulmate."
For the first time, I looked into his eyes. Ray had said these words without a doubt and I couldn't help but believe him. Oh shit, he was my soulmate.
So much to not believing in magic, huh? But the living example of the existence of soulmates and magic was sitting on my bathtub with the first genuine smile on his face since he stumbled into my arms.
I offered Ray my hand to help him get up and into the kitchen to make him something to eat first. He had put on the clothes I gave him by now.
"I guess we are. Do you want to tell me how you got turned into a statue or is that a bit too forward for a first meeting?" I joked to lighten up the mood.
Ray actually laughed quietly. "I think I owe you an explanation for falling on top of you."
"Only if you want to," I promised as I rummaged through my nearly empty fridge only to find an apple. So I handed it to him. (Why was it in the fridge? I don't know.)
"I think there was a little plate saying that I was hexed, right?" Ray started as he got comfortable at my kitchen table. "Well, my parents thought it was a good idea to rob a wizard and instead of cursing them, he decided that they would be more hurt if their only son got the punishment."
"That's awful! So it wasn't even your fault?" I asked and placed a (hopefully) comforting hand on his arm.
Ray only shrugged. "I had enough time to make my peace with it. Tell me about yourself, I want to get to know my soulmate."
So I told him about my life and answered every question he had. Ray was an excellent listener and I could tell that he was one of the kindest souls in the world. It wasn't love at first sight but I felt that I would fall in love with him easily. Well, he was my soulmate so I already felt that bond between us.
"Can I ask about your injuries?" I wanted to know as the conversation ceased for a moment.
Ray shrugged but then he nodded. "My father wanted me to teach how to fight. Well, in order to do that, he threw me into a bar fight with almost no training. And it was around midnight before my birthday so I turned to stone in the middle of the fight. I didn't even know the men that were punching me. They were drunk."
"Ray, that's awful! Did they hurt you anywhere else? And how does your ribs feel? Are they broken?" I wanted to know, now even more concerned for him. While I was talking, I had already gotten up and walked over to him to feel if anything might be broken.
But Ray smiled at me softly, I had the impression that he was thankful for my interest in him and his wellbeing. Almost like he never experienced it before. Oh, the poor boy.
"No, I'm fine. Really," he assured me and nudged me gently to sit back down. Eventually, I let myself calm down again and just listen to him.
We had moved to the living room with the much more comfortable couch at one point and talked until two in the morning, exchanging life stories. For a statue, Ray noticed pretty much and could tell me some hilarious stories he witnessed. Many proposals happened or love confessions were made in front of him and he confirmed how lonely it was to see people finding love with every passing year while he just stood there and had to wait.
Subconsciously, we had eased closer to each other on the new sofa and suddenly our thighs were touching.
"Can I hug you? It's been so long since someone did," Ray begged after the conversation had died for several minutes.
As if I could say no to this request. I smiled softly and opened my arms for him. "Sure"
Ray almost climbed into my lap and wrapped himself around me. At first I thought that it would be kind of awkward to hug a near stranger but instead it gave me the feeling of home. It sounded strange and in away it was but in another way it was perfectly normal so I accepted the nice feeling.
His head was buried in the crook of my neck while he was sitting between my legs that were up on the sofa. Ray was laying on top of me as I had myself up against the headrest so I was still in a sitting position.
He must have felt the same thing because he released a content sigh as soon as we were settled.
"Thank you," Ray said after a few moments of silence.
I giggled and stroked the back of his head and played with his curls softly, encouraged by his words. "No problem. Should we watch some TV?"
"What's that?" Ray furrowed his eyebrows and looked up at me questioningly.
Oh right. Although his language was pretty normal from what he picked up of the people around him, he was from another century.
So I explained it to him as easily as possible and after a few more questions, Ray agreed to figure out what it was. At first, he was a bit hesitant and startled by the sudden sounds but warmed up to it quickly.
The rest of the evening consisted of Ray being adorable and touch starved, asking me questions about media and other stuff. I didn't mind and gladly answered everything I could and cuddled with him. And just by this I could tell how wonderful my life with him as my soulmate would be. It felt perfect.
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Someone force me to do my homework, please