My Little Bird

Prologue

May 8th, 2015

The apartment was filled with the pitter-patter of tiny feet against the cold laminate flooring, harmonizing with accompanying giggles.

My husband laying in the middle of the infinitesimal living room, lifting our little girl above his head, looked over at me, shot me a large, cheeky grin and winked. At this irreplaceable point in time, life was perfect. My two little girls ran about our tiny apartment, embracing their childhood. My husband strewn across the living room floor, smiling away.

I look on at the content scene from the kitchen, perched up on a bar stool, my chin in my hand and my elbow on the counter. The corners of my mouth turn up slightly, giving him a minute smile in return. Alli, my childhood cat, hops up on the counter, nudging herself against my arm, desperate for me to comfort her. My free hand reaches up and slides slowly down the length of her arched back. Alli emits a purr of satisfaction, running her sand paper tongue over my wrist, encouraging me to pet her once more.

My eyes connect with the mark on my wrist, reading over the words for the billionth time. They've been there my whole life but I rarely pay attention to it. Everyone has one. No one knows how or why they're there really, but it's a fact of life; everyone is born with a phrase on their left wrist.

"My Little Bird"

Those are the words that riddle my wrist.

These meaningless words are my Soulmate's last words. Everyone has the tragic foreshadowing mark of the eternal tattoo of their Soulmate's final utterance. Even more tragic than knowing these simple words, are the ones born without this mark; "The Loners".

Nowadays, people rarely take this information to heart. The Loners get married off with The Paired or other Loners as much as The Paired get married off to The Paired.

My husband's left wrist is blank. He's a Loner but that didn't stop us from falling in love.

Half a decade ago, we tied the knot and shortly after that, I gave birth to our first child, Addilyn. A year after Addilyn was born, we tired again. Nine months after that, Emerson, joined our little family. Ever since then, I've been a part time stay at home mom, taking care of our little girls in the mornings when Asher's working as a public high school English teacher. He comes home late afternoons and that's when I go to my evening job as an art teacher at the community center. Therefore, weekends are the only real time we have to spend together as a family.

So here we sit, on a lazy, rainy Sunday afternoon.

Alli's constant nudges snap me out of my thoughts and I look down at the two little girls sitting on Asher's stomach, looking out the large window that leads to the balcony. They talk to each other in meaningless mumbles, laughing away. Addilyn's eyes widen and her tiny legs take off, running to her room as she squeals about her stuffed animal, not remembering where she had put it. Emerson runs after her, her 'running' being more of a rushed waddle, her tinier legs less developed than Addilyn's.

Asher chuckles and peers over at me lovingly. His head turns toward the window, watching intently as the storm begins to lighten up. The music playing from the phone doc becomes more audible as the loud crashing of rain slowly comes to a halt. A vibrant blue bird flies onto the balcony and grips onto the white railing, a faint rainbow forming in the distance. It was quite picturesque to be honest, my husband laying peacefully on the floor, looking out the window at a scintillating blue bird as it rests on a pristine while railing, the wet, green world behind it as a colorful rainbow marks the end of a huge storm.

A soft, pleased hum resonates off Asher's lips. I can't see his face but I know his bright blue eyes are closed, his pale pink lips slightly ajar, and his messy dark brown curls falling out of their styled, gelled up-do, resting wistfully on his creased forehead as a million thoughts run through his mind.

"Elliott." He calls softly.

I furrow my eyebrows and nod,

"Mhm?" I question.

"I love you."

His words are quiet but they hold an immense amount of emotion. I close my eyes and let those three little words sink in, letting them act as comfort. I never got tired of hearing that. I knew that despite this stupid Soulmate system, I was loved, no matter if I had married who was predestined to be my Soulmate or not. Asher loves me and I love him. That's all that matters.

"I love you too, Asher." I whisper breathlessly in contentment.

My eyes open and I meet Asher's piercing blue eyes, his gaze now on me.

"You're my little bird."

No sooner do the words fall from his lips, do tears rush from my eyes.

Asher's eyes fall shut and I freeze, watching the color drain from his face.