The Art of Letting Go

1. Hello, Stranger

The Art of Letting Go

1. Hello, Stranger

Discovering your soulmate does not take only a minute. If you believe that, you are wrong. That is called physical attraction. The connection that soulmates have takes time to develop, discover and polish. That is what makes it so special.

I remember the first time I saw him, though. How could I forget? The first time I saw him he was wearing a tuxedo, his brown hair was neatly messy and shiny. His brown eyes were looking at me with a bored expression and I could tell that his smile was fake. He was sitting beside his parents. The first time I saw him was in a picture.

I was working at his mother's office as a summer secretary. She was a Pediatrician and I needed the money and the experience. She proudly had a family picture in the middle of her office. That was something I knew he hated although he hadn't told me, although I hadn't met him.

I remember the first time I met him too. He walked inside the office and stood in front of my desk. His hair was dripping wet and his skin looked even more tanned. He had been surfing. I smiled briefly at him before he spoke.

"Is my mother available?" His voice was deep, strong yet melodic. Masculine. He was not just a boy, not just a male, he was a man.

"Yes. If you wish you can pass and see her." I told him and looked back at the papers I was filling. I heard him walk and enter his mother's office. My eyes left the papers as soon as I knew he was not near and I sighed dreamily. He was more handsome in person. I giggled quietly and texted my best friend. She knew that I had a 'thing' for the boy in the photo.

I heard the door open and saw him again. He had a square jaw, a very attractive trait in men, and his face was unshaved. It gave him a dangerous yet adventurous look that glued my eyes to him. His body was athletic yet real. He hadn't an eight-pack neither super muscular arms but he seemed fit and strong. He sighed and stopped in front of me.

"My mother paid me extra to take you out now." He stopped talking and I blinked several times. What did he meant? "Come on. We're getting lunch. My mother actually thinks you need to eat and she offered me extra money if I took you. I'm doing business with her." He walked towards the door and stopped when he opened it. He turned to look at me with a glint of mischief in his eyes. "I approve of cannibalism. if you don't hurry you are going to be my victim."

All I could thought of, as he walked away, was Stranger, you can eat me up right here, right now. But I didn't tell him that. I got up, closed the office and walked to the parking lot. He was standing in front of a Volkswagen with a surfboard on top. I could even put background music and imagine a movie scene with him. He got in the car and I did the same.

"You're vegetarian?" He asked. I frowned and said no. "Perfect. Because I'm craving some juicy, bloody meat."

"You eat raw meat?" I asked while getting my hair in a ponytail. The windows were down and the wind was making my hair hideous. We stopped at a Restaurant Café and he got out.

"I was trying to disgust you. Don't get all scientific on me." He replied while oppening the door for me. I did an inside long sigh at his manners. "How old are you?

"I'm nineteen. You're twentyone, right?" He nodded with forrowed eyebrows. "Your mother told me. She speaks a lot about you. Proud mother!" I told him while seating down.

"She speaks a lot about you too. All the time, I might add. My father told her to adopt you if she loved you so much." He chuckled with his comment and I smiled.

"That's sweet." I said and looked at him. 

"Do you have a name? It's strange that she hasn't mentioned it." He asked while playing with the table salt.

A name? Giving things name was giving them power. I didn't want to give him that power over me. I didn't want to have the power of his name with me. It would make me vulnerable. I looked at him. His eyes were curious. I could see the question in them: 'Why don't you tell me?'. He smiled softly and I understood something. Above all, he was another soul in this planet. He was full of insecurities too. He had fears, goals and dreams. I could trust him. I could trust him as he could trust me.

"My name is Emma. Hello, Stranger." I answered after a few minutes. He laughed a bit.

"Hello, Emma. My name is Gale." He finished with a smile. And that smile was an invitation. He was inviting me to meet him. I smiled back without hesitation now.

And like that we both had the power of the name of each other. I had the power of the stranger, because Gale did mean 'stranger, foreigner'. And he had the universal and entire power that came with the name Emma.