If Only You Knew

2 - Soul Mate

March 24th 2015 - The University of London, England

Light brown hair, ruffled slightly, just like my own. Deep brown eyes studying his work, writing his latest essay, with one headphone in. He runs a hand through his hair as he puts his head down and leans back.

"What's wrong?" I'm sitting on his bed of the other side of the room, watching him.

"I'm so tired, Medicine is a hard degree," he smiles a little.

"What are you writing about?" I walk over and lean over his shoulder, my hair falling through him and he shivers a little. "Sorry."

"It's fine," he smiles and looks back at his work. "I'm working on the likelihood of genetic mutation in triplets and twins for my microbiology class."

"Sounds interesting, but your professor is incredibly boring," I laugh slightly.

"Well, technically you aren't supposed to sit through my classes, are you?"

"Oh well, no one else can see me, so it doesn't matter if I'm there or not." I laugh and it echoes around his dorm room as he joins in.

"I still think I'm crazy sometimes, talking to a ghost and such," he smiles at me as I walk around to the other side of his dress and lean over to look at him, my long white dress rustling around me.

"It's not your fault I follow you around, is it?" I laugh slightly.

"No, it's not I guess," he meets my eyes and I almost blush. Well, I would if I was alive, but I'm not. So I don't.

I had waited 131 years to meet this boy. 21-year-old Matthew Westfall, the stunning solution to my problem. Scarlette had told me I would become human again through my soul mate, and his sister, a spell caster.

Naturally I had followed his sister, Cassia, for several weeks and determined that she was definitely a spell caster before I has shown myself to Matt, and introduced myself.

I was good at this by now, I'd done it so many times. Thought I'd met my soul mate and integrated into their lives, but I was always wrong. Until now. Matt was definitely the one. He was my soul mate.

I was sure this time.

I'm snapped out of my thoughts when his voice rings around the room. "Hey, you're doing that thing where you phase out and nothing can get through to you."

"Oh, sorry Matt," I look at the ground, running a hand through my hair.

"Thinking about that day?" His expression is so worried.

"Yeah, something like that..." I let my sentence trail off, not knowing what to say.

"As long as you're alright, that's all that matters," he gives a small smile and looks back down at his essay.

I sit there for a while, watching him write as I lean on my hands. The freckles across his nose are fading slightly and I frown.

"I'm going to go for a walk, then I'll come back," I give a quick smile, which he returns, and then leave the room, walking out of his building.

I walk out into the sun. I can't feel it's warmth, but I feel it's presence. I enjoy being in the middle of a crowd but not being seen, everyone simply moving around me, and few went through my arm and shivered, but I just smiled. But I did miss being alive.

I wanted the sun on my skin, to be touched, to physically feel something. To taste, to be able to pick something up. To be appreciated, loved, held, kissed. I was sick of being alone in this little limbo world of mine. It was horrible, the world moving on around me, no one to remember me, no one to miss me. I was completely and utterly alone.

Until I was cured of this.

Once I got Matt to convince Cassia to complete the spell to pull me back. I sat on the grass and stretched out, where no one was going to walk through me. I looked up at the sky, clear for a change, and watched the clouds until the sky began to dim.

Everyone begins to head indoors as I stand and walk towards the edge of campus, onto a small, hidden wooden bridge over a creek. Flowers wind themselves around the sides of the bridge and I lean on it, willing myself to hold on. The sun has almost set and the sky is a mixture of purple and orange above me. I stare at the shallow water running beneath me and focus on that single sound. A wind flies around me and the trees bend underneath the pressure.

"What are you doing out here?" I turn to face him as he walks over next to me and leans on the side of the bridge with me.

"Thinking," I stare back down at the water, my voice quiet.

"About what?" He looks to me for an answer and I shrug. "The spell?"

"Yes, I suppose I'm always thinking about it," I look straight up at the sky.

"Hey," I snap my focus back to him. "I'll get Cassia to do it, just give me some time."

"I know, it's just going to be really strange for me, back to human again."

"You'll be fine, Alice, you always are, through the crazy story if your life that you've told me, you've always survived and you're the strongest person I've ever met."

"But what if it goes wrong, Matt? I don't know what's going to happen. What if I age really fast and die a week later anyway? What if I'm stuck at this age forever? There's just so many complications that could happen, it scares me to death," I give a small smile.

"Stop stressing Alice, I'll be with you the whole time," he smiles and it comforts me to no end.

"I know," I laugh slightly and quietly. "It's kind of crazy how scared I am."

"It's normal, your whole life is going to go back to normal," he laughs slightly with me.

"Except for the fact I'll be in a different century, about 300 miles from my home, my whole family is dead, I'm really 159 years old, and I've technically come back from the dead. Won't be strange at all."

My response makes him laugh as he closes his eyes and smiles, looking down at his clenched hands as he leans on the old, ancient wood of the bridge. The air must be a little chilly because he pulls his faded hoodie around him and looks out at the water.

"I'm getting you back to this world Alice, I promise you."