Hitting Zero

Maybe

Five years old

They were playing soccer on a street near Josh's house. His team was one point behind the opposing one and they had only two minutes left. One of his teammates got the ball. He pointed at Josh.

"Run!" So that was what he did. As fast as he could, he ran towards the goal. Someone tried to trip him, but he jumped over the leg. He arrived in front of the goal just in time. He shouted and his teammate made a pass. He got the ball, focused and shot.

At the same moment, he was tackled from behind. His hands shot out, but the weight on his back pressed his face to the ground. He shook himself, trying to get the person off him. They rolled next to him and he turned around.

"Hey! What was that for?" It was a girl, not much older than him with white skin, blond hair and light blue eyes. Like everyone else, she was covered in dirt from head to toe. She was staring angrily at the goal, as a whistle blew. He scored! Nela, Josh's sister ended the game and announced the tie.

His grin was wiped away when the girl gave him an angry scowl. He stared back.

"You not going to cry?" she sounded disappointed.

"Why? We tied?"

She shook her head. "That didn't hurt?" she asked confused.

"It did. I don't cry." Her scowl was replaced by a wide grin. She leaned over and hugged him.

"You're cool. Let's be friends." So they became friends.

Seven years old

"Can I see your timer?"

"What?" Everyone knew that wasn't allowed. That was why they wore wristbands. Josh pulled at his. It was red. He liked the color. The other boys had teased him about it, but they stopped after Alina beat them up.

The two of them were sitting in their secret place in the park. It was a large bush you could crawl into on one side. They were people watching, making a story up for every person that walked by.

"Can I see your timer?" Alina repeated.

"Why?"

"I have never seen a working one."

His eyes widened. "Yours run out?"

She nodded. "When I was two. My parents think he is dead."

"Maybe you missed him." That happened sometimes, when only one of the two saw the other and didn't realize that his or her timer had stopped. It often happened in crowds. A person would observe the crowd and suddenly their timer would stop and they couldn't remember who they had looked at as it stopped. If their soul mate hadn't seen them they'd have to wait until they found them, hoping they wouldn't also be in a big crowd when it happened.

Josh wasn't sure what he should say. Alina wasn't a girly girl. She didn't have to be comforted.

She shrugged. "I don't care. I'll never fall in love anyway. Can I see your timer yes or no?"

"If you show me yours." Josh agreed reluctantly. It was illegal, but best friends showed each other everything.

"Nothing to see." She pulled her wristband to the side. The timer had really hit zero. "Now you."

He showed her his still running numbers. 4380d:19h:1min:33s. He would meet his soul mate in 4380 days, 19 hours, 1 minute and 33 seconds.

"Wow." Alina whispered. She grabbed his wrist and held it close to her eyes "This is awesome."

Twelve years old

Josh and Alina were lying on his bed, the ventilator whirling at full speed. It was one of the hottest summer days they'd had in years. Alina let out a huge breath and turned onto her back.