One Shot Collections

Soulmate: In Color

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Charlotte didn't know how it was like to see in color. Just like most babies, she was born with an eyesight consisting simply of black and white. Charlotte had first learned about this when she was in her early school years from her parents. According to them, the moment that she would see her soulmate, her black and white world would be changed. Her mother had described it as vivid and bright as if a veil had been lifted.

Some had gotten their colored sight at the tender ages of ten and twelve, and others had found their soulmate at much older ages.

So far, Charlotte was a twenty six year old working woman that still lacked her proper eyesight. Most of her friends had started to see in color by now, but not all of them had found who their soulmates were or chose to be with them.

Sitting in her office, she closed her laptop as she completed the last of her work. Her blue nurse's shirt was hung on the door and she quickly put it on. Another day of work, and although she struggled, Charlotte liked the job.

As she quickly walked through the halls, the girl smiled and replied to greetings from fellow workers and patients. She neared the big window on the second floor and spared the busy outside a glance. Just like any other day, the street below was filled with pedestrians and cyclists. Charlotte let her eyes sweep over the crowd, stopping her walk for a second.

It was maybe within the span of half a second, but it was there. Starting at the middle of her vision, blurs of color started to spread slowly. She stifled a gasp and ran to the window, trying to pinpoint someone on the street outside.

No luck, as everyone was moving quickly and trying to catch your soulmate in a crowd wasn't an easy task. Charlotte sighed in frustration, but slowly moved away from the window after a minute.

Maybe it wasn't time.

• • •

It happened. She was helping a patient, while still slightly unfamiliar to all these new colors.

It started at the edges, almost like a vintage filter. The edges of Charlotte's vision darkened and then returned to normal.

At first she thought it was nothing and passed it off as a coincidence. But then during her lunch break it happened again. This time, it wasn't just the edges.

Her whole vision flashed that dull black and white colorless world. For a split second Charlotte panicked. She knew what it meant if it went black and white again.

With a sigh, Charlotte just tried to ignore it and continue with her work. She couldn't help but think about it.

• • •

She couldn't ignore it this time. The girl was collecting extra wipes besides another nurse. Her vision flashed black and white and then stopped. And then, like a creeping nightmare, the ends of her colored vision started to darken.

Charlotte froze, hand midway between a box of band aids, hanging in the air.

The other nurse looked at her strangely but continued her work.

Slowly her wonderfully complete vision started to fade back, back to black and white. Before she knew it, Charlotte was looking at her workspace in grayscale.

A tear slowly dripped down her face and her hand resumed grabbing the bandaids.

"You okay?" The other nurse glanced at her with a slightly concerned look.

Charlotte just nodded. "I'm fine."

She didn't know him, had never seen him.

"When you see your soulmate for the first time, your vision changes to color. But when your vision turns back, it's a sign that your soulmate has passed away."

She didn't even know his name and he'd disappeared from her life forever.