SEE YOU, SOULMATE [✓]

01:39

Throughout the long heart-to-heart I had with Alatus, I failed to notice ── he wasn't wearing any shoes.

     The silence that embraced the white noise and faded chirpings was splintered by his out-of-pocket words. "At first, you struck me as an annoying person."

     I had to hold back an offended glare. "You're quick to judge."

     "Sorry. I just thought you were loud." His mouth quirked as if he couldn't decide whether to smile or laugh, and even though I was ticked off, I couldn't help but feel the heat rise up to my ears.

     "Am I annoying to you now?"

     "Not at all. I think you are as you describe yourself."

     "Hm?"

     "Full of love."

     I'd been smiling an awful lot today. He was to blame for it, but it wasn't a bad thing at all.

     "Talking to you is like writing in a diary. Therapeutic."

     "I can say the same."

     Our conversation was cut short by the shrilling sound of the bell. I immediately stood up, brushing off the dirt from my jeans. Alatus followed suit.

     I had so much to say, but it'd be of no use anymore. Though, bidding him goodbye like this felt incomplete, somehow. Like this meeting was supposed to be something more than what it was.

     "Ow──"

     A surprised yelp escaped his mouth, and a fresh scratch was traced on his index finger. He likely injured himself because of the numerous sharp-edged pieces of broken cement.

     What baffled me was the familiar tickling. On the same, exact spot as the boy standing right in front of me.

     I looked down to examine it, and there it was──another mark.

     The realisation almost made the earth slip under my feet. I stared up at him, and then back at the wound. There was no doubt. Absolutely none.

     It's him.

     My limbs weighed too much and I felt like I was wading through treacle, thick and gooey, almost rendering me paralysed. Yet I trudged on to reach him. Light-headedness overcame my senses briefly, but I ignored it. Nothing really mattered anymore.

     With buckled knees and a shaky voice, I said his name──but this time, it was drowned in emotions. So many of them.

     "Alatus."

     His head shot up to look at me. He was waiting for me to continue, but I couldn't find my voice. It felt like the blade that caressed my wrist that night was now kissing my tongue, my soul.

     No words were uttered. I gathered the last bits of energy from my body, rolling up the sleeves of my hoodie; but only slightly. Even if he was the one I was destined to love, he wouldn't want to stare at the faded orange slits that started our story, three months ago.

     Trembling, confused, hurt. He stepped towards me, grabbing the arm decorated with gashes and bruises as softly as a person could. Within moments, his eyes were glazing over. Just like mine. Welled-up with tears. With regrets. With apologies. With pain.

     With love.

     "I'm sorry." He whispered, his voice hoarse. "I'm sorry. I'm so sorry."

     I could never be mad at him. He was fighting. He was alive. He was strong, and standing in front of me. The mix of feelings was hard to handle, but there was one thing I could recognise instantly. I loved him. Ever since the first wound, ever since I felt the unending void he was trapped in. Because love would bloom in the most barren lands, if it chose to engulf it.

     My suspicions were confirmed as to why he wasn't wearing any shoes.

     "I'm here."

     He was going to jump today.

-