SEE YOU, SOULMATE [✓]

12:59

"Hi."

   I waved at him, closing the metal door behind me with a gentle thud. There was a flash of uncertainty in his countenance before he responded.

   "Hi."

   With that, he tore his focus from me. I decided not to push his boundaries any further, because he did not seem that fond of interactions.

   The spot was exactly how it was years ago, just a bit dirtier than before.

   I used to come here in middle school on secret dates with my 'then' partners. To reminisce the feeling of sitting on the ledge, I pushed myself up, unknowingly smiling at the rush of adrenaline.

   "Wait— stop! What are you—" The boy rushed to my side, causing me to tilt my head in confusion.

   "Oh." I mumbled, realising how concerning this action would've appeared to him. "I won't jump."

   Still in a state of shock, his probing gaze caressed my hands, ensuring that they were no longer touching the ledge.

   "You can still fall."

   I slid down on the concrete ground, patting the empty space next to me. It took him a moment to register that it was a gesture for him to sit.

   "Safer down here, isn't it?"

   He heaved out a stressed sigh. "I was scared."

   "I'm sorry."

   It was a sweltering summer day, yet the two of us were sitting with hoodies hugging our skin. It felt nice to have someone who matched me, even if it wasn't deliberate. "Bad day, stranger?"

   There was no response. We both stared absently at the sky until our eyes turned watery by the blinding, yet somehow soft, light.

   "Yes. You?"

   "Escaping P.E."

   "That's a weird reason to try to jump off a ledge for."

   Small peals of laughter bubbled within my chest. "I won't do it. I have too much love to share."

   He raised a brow.

   "Guess we're polar opposites then."

   I awaited an explanation. His words left me hanging  ── as if the beginning of a long tale was cut off abruptly.

   "You have too much love to give." He said, studying his fingers with piercing scrutiny. "I have none."

   "Is this why you're here?"

   "...No. I'm here because people don't like it." A slim streak of green locks tickled his forehead. "They don't like that I can't love them anymore."

   "You still have some of it in there." I said, finding his perplexity cute. His hair looked delicate, brushing just above his shoulders. The style suited him a lot. "You actually have a lot of it. It's the people's fault for not understanding."

   The boy chuckled to himself, shaking his head. "It's not their fault."

   "It actually is, if you think about it. They assume others show love the same way they do — and if they don't, they worry it's not there."

   He quivered for a brief second. "I... well. I don't know. I don't think I show it in any way. They all say love grows when you share it, but every... every ounce of it was drained out of me when I did so."

   An empty vessel? I brooded over his words.

   "That's bullshit. I mean, half of it is. Love does grow when you share it, but only with the right people." Now, the sunshine was starting to feel pleasantly warm than uncomfortable. "If they won't reciprocate it, my guy, how will you refill the heart that spends its affection one-sidedly?"

   "It's too late, then. I don't believe in this stuff."

   "Just because you don't believe in it doesn't mean that it's not true. You probably haven't even realised the small bits of joy you break down into smithereens of fondness."

   "And what are those smithereens of fondness?"

   "They differ for everyone. My friend showed up with a scratch on her knee, excited and cheerful. 'It's my soulmate's!', she said. My father who claims to not have any feelings finds himself standing in front of the family portrait during midnights, grazing his fingers over my late mother's face.

   "And here you are, drowned in buckets of sweat." I smiled. "Because you're towering over me, shielding me from the scorching sunlight. Probably even without notice."

—