invisible string

1: green was the colour of the grass

And isn't it just so pretty to think/All along there was some/Invisible string/Tying you to me?

Marinette Dupain-Cheng was six years old and fast asleep in her bed in Paris. With a loud thump, she fell out of bed and was rudely awoken. She was puzzled once she realized what had happened; she hadn't fallen out of bed in ages! She climbed back in and went to sleep. She could figure out what happened later.

Marinette was nine when she went to visit her uncle in Shanghai. She was cooking with him when she jerked towards the door. Sabine caught her before she fell.

"Sweetheart, what happened?"

"I...guess I tripped on something, Maman. You know how clumsy I am."

"Well, be more careful in the kitchen, sweetie. You can get hurt easily in here."

"I will."

~~~

Green was the color of the grass where I used to read at Centennial Park/I used to think I would meet somebody there

Marinette liked to sketch in the park close to her home. She'd discovered a perfect nook between some bushes to get comfy and draw for hours a couple years ago when she was ten. The natural atmosphere often inspired her designs, and the fresh air helped clear her mind from the day's issues, such as Lila's taunting about her lack of soulbond mark. An exclamation brought her out of her design trance, and she looked up to see two girls with a silver string pulling them together.

"Is that you, Monique?" the older one asked incredulously.

"Yes, it's me, Simone," cried the younger girl as they hugged.

Marinette gathered that they were sisters, separated by foster homes when their mother died eight years ago. Their sibling bonds activated when they were close enough to each other.

She ran home to the bakery, where Tom and Sabine were closing up.

"Papa! Maman! I think I have a soulmate!"

"What? That's wonderful, sweetie! How do you know?" Tom said happily.

"I'm not 100% sure yet. Can I go to the library to do some research?"

Sabine nodded. "Of course. Just be back by 7:30; dinner will be ready then."

"Okay! Bye!" She grabbed her backpack to put books in and headed off.

Once at the library, she headed to the Soulbond section to see what information she could find.

There were three main bonds: sibling/familial, platonic, and romantic. Sometimes they changed from one level to another but often remained where they were.

The most common type of soulbonds was identifying marks- the first words they said to each other, a symbol, their name or initials. Other types were compasses pointing in the direction of their soulmate, a timer counting down until they met them, etc. Still others were telepathic- songs, soul music, emotive bonds, and so forth. Less obvious soulbonds had to do with eyes- some would switch bodies temporarily, some couldn't see a colour until they met, or their eyes would change colour. Some, even rarer, were pain and/or wound bonds. When the pair met and connected, a thread the colour of their bond type would join them together.

Marinette still hadn't figured out which bond she thought she had. The closest was the heart, which would fly to their soulmate when they were close enough. There wasn't too much information as only 20% of the population had soulmates.

Marinette sighed in disappointment. Maybe she was just clumsy, and those tugs hadn't meant anything. Maybe Lila was right, she didn't deserve a soulmate like she did.