My Soulmate Died

Window to Nowhere

"Kaedehara-Kun!" My teacher called on me, his voice was sharp and stern. "You usually aren't like this. What's gotten into you?"

He was referring to my lack of attention to the board. Earlier I had been fidgeting around with my fingers because of a certain something. It was a rare occurrence for me to find my string attached to my finger, making it hard to focus on anything other than my hand. The only thing I could think of was how strange my string had been acting lately. It would appear at random times once or twice a day, and sometimes it wouldn't appear at all. My string worked in many mysterious ways, making everything about it a pain to try to even figure out.

"Sorry, Yokoyama Sensei," I answered him.

He nodded at me and turned his head around to face the board. He excused me this time because he knew I was a good kid, but next time I should be more careful. I rarely pay attention in class anyways. This time I had just slipped up. Usually, I would be more focused on how my father has been doing since my mother's passing and if he's really okay as he says he is.

A while later, the bell rang and the teacher dismissed us. I walked out of class and noticed my string had disappeared again. I couldn't help feeling sad but quickly brushed it off, not wanting to give myself more questions than I could answer. I began to walk down the path of the less crowded hallways to meet my friend Tomo, each of my steps echoing throughout the silent halls. I finally arrived at the intersection of the hallway where we'd meet regularly, and there was Tomo, walking toward me with haste in his steps. He threw his hand in the air trying to grab my full attention. He was such an idiot, not in a bad way though.

"Kazuha!" He yelled out to me. Tomo was one of the only few people to ever call me by my first name. He's a close friend of mine, maybe my only close friend. I cherish our bond deeply because I know that he does not care for my wealth or my status. He was a friend for who I was, not who I pretended to be. We took our usual route, which intersected into the hallway most populated by students during lunch break and after their last class is dismissed.

Tomo and I chatted about our everyday lives, being careful not to attract any attention. Walking down these school halls was anything but easy, and neither was the crowd that'd form around us. They were loud and obnoxious, unlike the kind of places I enjoy walking around to pass my leisure time. And although we tried, we couldn't escape the tens of people filling in the empty hallway around us as if they were trying to suffocate our personal space. They'd either ask us the typical small talk questions or take it too far by asking us about personal matters in our love lives.

"How's your day been?!"

"Would you like to walk with me?"

Those questions were normal. They weren't new; we've heard it so many times that we've stopped responding to them, acknowledging them even.

"You don't have a girlfriend right? Date me, please??"

And expectantly, there it was, one of the questions I despised most. It didn't matter when or where it was, the only thing this question would bring was a growing tension and the creation of an awkward atmosphere between me and that person - not to mention the other people part of the crowd glaring at us. There were no good sides to it. The only choice I gave myself was to turn them down, and so I did. I didn't know any of these students and neither did I ever care to get to know them. They were the type of students who went for others with popularity so they could get a share of 'fame'.

The girl pushed herself up against me, giving me eyes almost like a lost puppy and holding her hands behind her back. She continued to maintain eye contact, waiting for an answer as if that was going to be any help.

"I'm sorry," I said apologetically, coating my words, with a sugary lie and false sympathy. I bowed my head slightly. "I'm not looking for a relationship." It wasn't all a lie. I was never one to be interested in romantic relationships, not up until my red string appeared. And though I have little faith in finding my soulmate, I don't intend on giving up the idea of meeting them.