Flowers, Birth Dates, and Soulmates

Roses for Tina

Tina had been anticipating her soulmate tattoo for years. Ever since Linda told her what it was like to get a soulmate tattoo, she couldn't wait to get her own. Sure, she had dated as teen beforehand, but now she would know who it was for sure- the man she was destined to be with.

She was pretty sure it would be a boy. She had never really been attracted to girls before, so she didn't think there was much of a chance of that happening. Then again, anything was possible.

The day before her 18th birthday was no help to her anxiety. She was still in high school, and pretty much everyone in the Senior class was getting their soulmate tattoos this year. It was a big deal for their class. Tammy even went as far as to keep a chart of all the seniors' birthdays, so everyone knew when someone got their soulmate tattoo.

It could be worse though. Tina's birthday was in the middle of the school year, so a lot of her classmates had already gotten their tattoos.

Jocelyn's birthday was in October, so she was one of the first to learn who her soulmate was. Tammy had been badgering her for weeks about it, but when her birthday rolled around Jocelyn refused to say anything. Unfortunately for Jocelyn, everyone was just itching to know who was the soulmate of one of the most popular girls in school. Eventually, Tammy had enough and snuck a peak under her sleeve in the middle of lunch, shouting out "Darryl, seriously Jocelyn?" to the entire school. It was news to everyone, but especially Darryl, who Jocelyn was waiting to tell until it was closer to his own 18th birthday.

Jocelyn and Darryl were taking things slow, but her friendship with Tammy had been on thin ice since then. Nobody blamed her. Soulmates are a private matter. Tammy had no right to reveal it.

Tina didn't want her soulmate reveal to be anything like that. She told herself that she'd give her soulmate a chance, no matter what name popped up. If she wasn't ashamed of it, no one could use it against her. She'd be out and proud.

She even went as far as to write down all the worst case scenarios that could happen with her soulmate. Him being too young was always a possibility; but Tina tried to convince herself that she handle waiting a few extra years. It was also possible that she did not know the person yet. No matter though- if they were destined to be, they'd find each other. Right?

To make herself feel better, she also wrote down all the best case scenarios. They could be tall. They could have a cute accent. They could have a stunning butt. She really hoped they had a stunning butt. Maybe it'd even be Jimmy Jr. His 18th birthday hadn't happened yet, so it was possible. Time had lessened the intensity of Tina's crush on the boy, but the idea of her soulmate also being her first kiss was definitely a sweet idea. Very romantic, to say the least. And it made Tina smile, so that had to be something.

Either way, Tina has mentally planned everything out, no matter what name appeared on her wrist tonight.

Now her time has come; the night before she turns 18. Tina has turned off her phone, took some nighttime medicine, and was falling asleep at an early 9 tonight. Waiting for those three hours to pass would be true agony for Tina. She needed to sleep the night away, and wake up to her soulmate's name in the morning. Her family all respected her wishes.

Tina eventually succumbed to the medicine and fell asleep as planned. When she woke up the next morning, she didn't feel any different. It took her a minute to process what day it was, and what it's supposed to mean to her. Once it hit her that it was her birthday, she wasted no time in looking at her wrist to learn her soulmate's name. It was written in a small text font, like one you'd see on a typewriter.