Another You, Another Me

Prologue

Stories say that the first time a destined pair meet, it leaves an imprint on each of their souls, marking them for eternity.

This mark will never fade even after death and reincarnation, making these two souls yearn for each other in every cycle of life they'll ever live.

Some myths speak of the tale of the red thread of fate - an invisible strand that connects those who are destined to meet, regardless of time, place, or circumstance. This thread may stretch, or tangle, but it will never break.

The concept of a soul mate has already been proven centuries ago, and though not everyone is lucky enough to meet theirs in one lifetime, no one denies its existance. There are many who claim that in the exact moment they meet their soul mates, they get fragments of memories of their past lives, but never enough to tell them anything significant.

Arthit Rojnapat is an anomaly to everything that the world knows and acknowledges about soul mates.

He is 19 years old, and has already lived a hundred lifetimes. Or at least that's what it feels like, with all the memories from his past lives jumbled up in his mind.

From fishing in the Tigris river of ancient Mesopotamia to acting in the grand Théâtre du Vaudeville in Paris, he's experienced it all.

In all those lives he believes he's lived, two things remain constant - he meets his soul mate before he turns 20, and the moment they fall in love, one of them dies within the year, always.

When he was a very young boy, he would often wake up in bed screaming from the nightmares of having died a hundred different times. His parents first thought that he was just suffering from an overactive imagination. However, as the years passed and all the memories become even clearer, they begin to believe their son's stories of past lives.

They take him to a witch doctor in the mountains who immediately knew what was wrong with the young boy.

His soul is cursed, and though the details remain unclear, the shaman was sure that it is connected to his soul mate. For what else in the Universe can leave such a deep mark in his soul, as to survive death and reincarnation?

Young as he was, he knew when to keep his mouth shut. So when the memories of how exactly he died in all those lifetimes finally became clear in his mind, he didn't inform his parents.

He didn't tell them that meeting his soul mate is the thing that triggers the curse.

He also doesn't tell them that the first one to fall in love is also the first one to die, leaving the other to wander through life as an empty shell, before following its pair to the afterlife shortly afterwards.

Growing up, he tried to live as normal a life as possible, despite always being on the lookout for that familiar face, ready to run far away after a glimpse. This caused him to appear quite aloof to most people, though there are a few who manage to look past his tough exterior and befriend the lonely soul hiding within.

Yet aside from his parents, he's never told anyone else, even the very best of his friends, about the memories.

He is now in his junior year at University, and aside from the difficult workload of his course, he also has to worry about his impending date with doom, as he is turning twenty in eight months.

Standing in front of his mirror, he pushes these thoughts at the back of his head. He has more important matters to focus on, especially today of all days.

It is the first day of SOTUS for the Faculty of Engineering, and as the head hazer of the year, he can't afford to lose control.

Destiny, and everything else, can wait.