Avi Kaplan: A Collection of Short Stories

Soulmates

You were five when he moved in next door. You remembered watching from your living room window as the moving truck pulled into the driveway. An older man and a small boy jumped out of the front and were quickly joined by an older woman, a bigger boy and a bigger girl from the car that had followed the truck.

Your mom had moved beside you, resting a gentle hand on your shoulder and peered out the window. "Oh, the new neighbors are here. Perhaps you'll make some new friends," she said with a smile.

Throughout the day, you watched the large furniture being moved inside the house and listened to the screams of the children as they ran around their new yard. At night, you peered out your window and wondered who occupied the room directly across from yours. The two houses were only a few feet apart and you could see past the curtains as the light across the roof flicked on.

You blinked in surprise when a small head popped under the curtain and stared out at you. It was the smaller boy, his dark, straight hair mussed from the day's activities. He waved at you and flashed a gap-toothed smile. You returned his greeting, waving back.

"I'm Avi. What's your name?" he called softly through the screen, pressing his face as close as he could.

"Hi, Avi," you responded, following with your name.

"I'm you new neighbor," he declared proudly. "Hey, what numbers do you have on your wrist?"

You looked down at the set of four numbers on your wrist, the ones that people whispered about. All your life you'd heard that when the countdown ticked to zero, that was the day you met your soul mate. "Nineteen, fifty-seven, thirteen and six," you replied. "What are yours?"

"Twenty, forty-nine, seven and twelve. Bummer, guess we're not soul mates."

His final statement was one you'd come to hate.

+++

You were both lying on your backs watching the clouds drift by when you asked, "What if I don't like my soul mate?"

Beside you Avi shrugged. "I don't think that's possible," he responded, his voice far off and distracted. "Hey, that cloud looks like a dragon!"

You laughed and shook your head. Out of all the clouds he identified today, at least four of them he thought looked like dragons.

You were both quiet for a moment and then, "You hear that story about the baby born with ninety-seven years on their countdown? Or the one born with all zeros? If that's possible, why is the idea of hating my soul mate impossible?"

Avi turned to you then, propping himself up on one arm. "We're twelve and we both have normal numbers on our wrist. Why are you worried?"

His gaze seemed to burn into you and you resisted the urge to squirm under the intensity of it. Instead, you dropped your gaze and idly began to twist at the blades of grass beneath your fingers. You couldn't tell him why you were worried. Like everyone else, you read about the weird, freak stories of impossible countdown timers, those born with timers set at zero. Those people ended up bitter, depressed and alone. If those mistakes could be made, why couldn't disliking your soul mate be one?

Why couldn't you change your soul mate?

Avi called your name and pulled you from your thoughts. "You okay?"

Yeah, except I think I love you.

"Yeah, I'm fine. Go back to watching the clouds, dragon-boy," you teased, swallowing down your previous thought and trying to ignore the weight of it in your chest.

"Hey, one day someone is going to appreciate that about me," he retorted, falling back onto his back.

Someone will.