Soulmates

Chapter 1

I looked down at the black numbers on my wrist and sighed. I was training for cross-country, but no matter how hard I tried, I couldn't get any faster. The countdown on my arm was meant to be used to tell when I was going to meet my soulmate, but I usually just used it as a timer instead. Quite frankly, I hated the idea of being told when I was going to meet my soulmate. I don't like life to be predictable, and having the countdown meant there were no surprises when it came to dating. Besides, I hated everyone in this stupid place. You see, our town was pretty much in the middle of nowhere, and had a population of about 300. No joke. Only about 5 people had ever tried to escape the town, but they had never got far because they had no idea where to go and they never packed enough supplies, so they all ended up coming back. We were literally in the middle of nowhere, and that's why we called it the "Lost Town". I didn't hate it here, but I despised the people (they were all so boring), and the fact that it was so small made me feel confined. It might sound cliché, but I craved adventure. The closest I got to that, however, was jogging around the streets. Sighing again, I opened the door to my house and slipped off my sneakers.

"Back already, Beth?" Mum asked, looking up from her copy of To Kill A Mockingbird. At least this town had a decent bookstore.

"Yeah. I didn't beat my time though," I told her.

"Oh well. You'll get 'em next time," she said, smiling at me and then looking back at her book, her glasses slipping down her nose slightly.

"Hey, mum?"

"Mm?"

"How does the bookstore keep renewing its stocks? And what about the grocery store?" I had asked myself this question a little while back, but had forgotten about it. I only remembered today when I had popped into the supermarket to buy deodorant and they had run out of the stuff I usually used.

"I...I don't know, darling heart," mum looked puzzled. "Why?"

"Because we're literally in the middle of nowhere. How are they getting their supplies?"

"I have no idea," mum said softly, her nose scrunching up in thought. "I'll ask Mark at work. He's good friends with the manager of the grocery store."

"Okay, thank you." I turned and slowly started walking up the stairs. There was a lot about this town we didn't know.

The next morning when I woke up, my countdown read, 00 01 27 03 36. That was 1 month, 27 days, 3 hours and 36 seconds. The weird thing about these numbers was everybody was born with them, and they never stopped ticking. Ever. How did it even work? It was like some kind of scientific breakthrough. They couldn't be scrubbed off, either. Believe me, I had tried. It just made them sting unbelievably painfully. It was like a thousand tiny bees stinging you all at once.

I considered trying again when I was in the shower, but I knew it was no use and would only cause pain.

As I dried my hair, I thought about soulmates. I definitely didn't want one. I didn't want to be tied to someone for the rest of my life, just because a few numbers ingrained in my skin said I had to be. What did it even mean, to have a soulmate? Someone you'll spend the rest of your life with, like a husband or wife, or someone who'll always be there for you, like a best friend? Maybe both. It didn't matter, though. I was determined I would not meet mine.