An Unexpected Mate

Part 1

When Sheila turned 16, the words had appeared on her wrist, in even, printed script. She first saw the curved shape of the letters and imagined her name in that handwriting at the top of a folded love letter; she imagined neatly drawn kisses as her soulmate signed off.

Then her eyes saw past the design and focused on the words.

'I'm afraid not.'

She had stared at them in horror, at first. That horror descended into fear, worry, and overwhelming sadness.

Would she ask him if he wanted to go on a date to the theatre with her and he'd reply with 'I'm afraid not'?

Maybe he was a doctor, and... And she was asking if someone she knew had survived. 'I'm afraid not.'

The words could never be good, she'd decided. For six years she'd tried to imagine situations in which she'd hear those words and immediately feel a sense of elation, ecstasy and euphoria piling on top of her, rendering her speechless but excited to start the next stage of her life.

She couldn't.