The Struggles Of Waiting ✔

THREE

1993

Alexander watched as Sarah paced back a forth and tried to keep her hands out of her freshly styled hair. He was thirty-one and she was only thirty, but physically she was older than him. She had started aging again around a year ago, after only seven years. So quick in comparison to others, to him.

Most found their soulmate between the ages of thirty a fifty, some being lucky enough to find them after only a few years. Sarah was one of the lucky ones. She had met Scott a year beforehand, while her and Alexander had gone out for lunch. The clumsy man had tripped and nearly spilled all of his food on the pair of them.

He had apologised profusely and offered to pay for their lunches. Alex being Alex accepted that offer. He may be working at a well-paying technology company, but he was definitely not going to pass on a free lunch. Sarah had somehow been charmed by his awkwardness and had given him her number.

They had figured out they were soulmates, or had assumed at least, when Scott had broken his arm at work. There hadn't been too much damage, but more than enough for the doctors to figure out that the clumsy man had found his soulmate.

Alex had been supportive when Sarah had come to him and told him that she thought Scott was her soulmate. She didn't want to injure herself to find out, she'd been too scared, so instead Alexander had suggested that the pair go through with the Ceremony.

If they were wrong and Scott and Sarah weren't soulmates, the Ceremony would not work. They were expensive, and many people were usually invited, so the idea of getting it wrong in front of so many people had scared Sarah. She'd been so adamant about having the Ceremony, about not wanting to wait to see if she was aging again, that Alexander had helped her arrange it with no questions asked.

She wore a beautiful blue dress that hung loosely to her body. She hadn't wanted some big thing with a train or anything that resembled a ball gown, just a light blue dress that reached her ankles and fitted her well. The blue was traditional, it's origin Alexander no longer remembered. He was sure he had been taught it at school at some point, but he couldn't remember for the life of him.

"Sarah," he started. She stopped in her pacing, staring at him with wide eyes. She'd just finished having her makeup done; all nude colours, brighter makeup never seemed to suit her no matter how hard her tried to make it work. Her hair had been kept down and blue and white flowers had been weaved into it. Alexander had never seen her look more beautiful. "It's going to be fine."

"What if I was wrong?" she replied, clenching her fists repeatedly. "What if he's not my soulmate?"

"Do you think you're wrong? Does he?" Alexander asked, moving to grab at Sarah's hand.

"Well... No," she said. "But we didn't make completely sure when we organised this. We could have easily met someone new at the same time and not realised it. I don't know! I just..."

"You're nervous," he stated, squeezing her hand. "You're going to be fine. You're going to go out there, do whatever it is you do at these things, and you'll be soulmates. You're not wrong. I've seen you two together. Trust me, you're definitely not wrong about this."

"How long?" she asked, taking a deep breath to calm her nerves.

"Fifteen minutes," he answered. "Are you ready?"

"I don't know, I guess so," she said with a sigh. "Sit with me."

Sarah pulled him over to the tiny couch that sat in the room they were getting ready in, resting her head against his shoulder and gripping his hand tightly. They didn't say anything, just say in a comfortable silence. Left alone with his thoughts Alexander's mind drifted to the horrible jealousy he'd been feeling since Sarah and Scott figured out they were soulmates.