SoulMates

Chapter 6

Nathanael took a deep breathe and focused on his concept. Soulmates. Closing his eyes, he began to imagine what his soulmate would truly be like. What did he want his soulmate to be like? He began to list the women in his life that he cared about and what characteristics they possessed, making them likable in his eyes.

First, Alix. This chick had been a huge pain in the butt ever since he met her back in elementary school. She always seemed to be dragging him into trouble when all he wanted to do was sit and draw. Although, no matter how annoying she got, she was like a sister to him. She was always looking at problems from a different perspective and was also the one responsible for exposing him to different things, making him grow through experience. Nathanael could recall a time when Alix had talked him into sneaking up to the roof top of a restricted building to watch the sunset. His nerves were on edge the entire way up as he both questioned and cursed Alix for convincing him that it was a good idea. The girl snickered and simply stated "Shut up man, you still love me." to which the boy could only grumble under his breath.

When they had reached the top and looked across what seemed to be the whole of Paris, the boy turn to his friend and scowled "You dragged me up here to look at buildings?"

The girl rolled her eyes, placed a pair of sunglasses on him and turn his face to the left. Nathanael watched as the city night lights turned on and the sun began to tuck itself into the horizon. The color of the sky changing from baby blue, to golden yellow, to a beautiful orange that later faded into violet before finally transitioning into the dark night sky. This was why Alix had brought him up there, to watch the beautiful show that nature had to offer every day while many of the oblivious citizens below remained unaware.

Alix was the one to expose him to a new, but sometimes dangerous, world and taught him that sometimes you have to take some chances in life to get to the real treasure.

Next, Rose. This girl is the embodiment of the word optimism. She's cheerfully helpful and always looks on the bright side of things. Nathanael can only recall a few times when he had seen the girl be other than happy in all the years that he had known her. She wouldn't hesitate to help a person in need or turn a tense situation into one of laughs. Nathanael remembered the time when a particular old geezer who absolutely hated kids had fallen and Rose, despite everything, stopped what she had been doing to help him up. Although he protested, Rose eventually was able to help him up to his feet and left with a "Have a good day sir" and a smile. When they had asked her why she did that her reply was, "I'm sure there's a reason why, but as a human being, I can't just sit by and watch another struggle. Even if I know how negatively they feel about me, it's just not in me to ignore them."

Later on, it was found out that he resided in one of the senior centers that Rose actively volunteers at and she had manage to get to know him better. She had found out that his children had abandoned him at the senior center after the death of his wife, leading to the bitter resentment he had for kids in general. His thought process was that after kids were done with your time and love, they'll leave you to become someone else's headache to take care of. Not long after, they all became good friend with the man and even visit him from time to time for a little chat.

Rose was the one to teach him that all things have goodness in them, you just have to find it.

Then, Juleka. The girl that had him shaking in fear at first glance. It was the start of middle school when he had first seen Juleka, she was in his homeroom that first year. She had dark straight hair with straight cut bangs that covered some of her eyes, that paired with her pale skin and dark clothes was enough for the boy NOPE at the idea of interacting with her. It wasn't until the next year when Rose had formally introduced her to both him and Alix that Nathanael got to know who Juleka really was. Although the girl looked scary and did listen to rock and metal along with having an interest in horror and gore, she was actually a sweetheart. She was kind, helpful, and patient. When Nathanael felt the need to give up on one of his drawings, she would always be the one to comfort him and give him advice on how to healthfully handle frustration and failure. Whenever he was stressed, she would always be there with tea and cookies as well as a listening ear and open heart.