Of Fairytales and Hatred
In this world soulmates were everything. When you were born a name written in invisible gold was on your wrist. The name of the one you were destined to be with. The problem? You could only see it when you faced something life threatening.
Some brave souls headed for adventure. Taking thousands of risks to know the name. Others were too scared. They’d live in a life of fear and get married to people that they weren’t connected to.
Personally, though, I didn’t believe in this bullshit. Soulmates? Invisible gold? It was too perfect to be real. How could a name on your wrist decide who you’d be happiest with? No one I knew had the name. I didn’t either. I planned to keep it that way. Like hell I’d risk my life over a fairytale.
I brushed a chestnut lock behind my ear and looked up. Today my art class was on a field trip to a local park. Our teacher had thought it would be a perfect place to practice our landscapes. Across the street was a crowded mall. My best friend, Charlotte, and a bunch of other kids in my class had decided to get something to eat.
Among them was Ray. He was possibly the most annoying person I had ever met. He was rude, loud, and stuck up. I felt sorry for his soulmate. Even if I didn’t believe in them.
“Hey, Aife, how’s your picture going?” Charlotte asked, successfully bring me out of my daydream. Charlotte, who had been my best friend since the second grade, was stunning. She had dark skin and black hair. Her stormy grey eyes stood out against her complexion. She was slim and always had a smile.
“Pretty good. How about yours?”
“Mine’s going amazing! How about yours, Ray?” she asked. I tried to hide my disdain. Charlotte was always trying to get Ray to warm up. Something about inner beauty.
“Why do you care?” came the snappy reply.
“Because you’re my friend!” Charlotte exclaimed. Suddenly, I got a really bad feeling.
I turned to face Ray, and did not like the smirk on his lips. I glared at him- which only made him smirk wider- and grabbed Charlotte’s hand, dragging her away. What a jerk!
“What do you want to eat?” I asked her as we neared a small cafe. A good thing about Charlotte was that she never questioned my hatred towards Ray. She just smiled at me, and gave me a knowing look. It was strange but better than prodding. Though sometimes I couldn’t help but think she knew something I didn’t.
In the end, I bought a cinnamon latte and she bought a caramel mocha. We also purchased some pumpkin muffins. We made small talk as we enjoyed our treats. Though it didn’t take us long to finish said treats; we were hungry.
As we walked back outside, I spotted some of our classmates at a nearby arcade. I would have wanted to join them but my picture was much more important. Lost in thought, I crossed the street.
I guess you could say that that was probably the stupidest thing I’d done.
I vaguely heard Charlotte screaming my name as a truck headed straight at me. And me? I stood there, paralyzed with fear. Though even if I could move, I wouldn’t have been able to get too far away.
“AIFE!” Charlotte screamed again. A loud thump and a screeching noise- like someone hurriedly stepped on a brake- came as my world went black.
