Someone had me live this way [Cherik]

1. And I cannot get rid of it

Students of all courses hastily and merrily were walking through a university hall. Exams were coming up, and the deadlines were burning brighter than june sun ever did. Still diligent first-years were anxiously searching for their classroom on a schematic map of the floor, while the irresponsible seniors were clearly heading for the exit, loudly planning their graduation party. All of them were so hectic that even the most groom of them had already embraced the warm summer vibes.

Each one of those hectic humans has a red piece of yarn coming out of their palm, which lead to, for them, the most important human on the Earth, a so-called Soulmate. This dear someone is the ultimate person to live a life happily with or (in case something happens) one day die together.
Only those who hold the ends of the Thread are able to see it.

Except for some extremely rare cases, like that of Charles Xavier, who was now sitting in the hall and eating a second apple in one break. This man can see all of the strings of red-coloured yarn flowing through corridors, spreading across the walls, passing through both floor and ceiling, connecting peoples' hands and their fates alike.

Saw all of them except for the one.

Xavier got up from the sofa, had a quick look at the clock – time for another lecture, last one in this year.

Charles was indeed rather young for a professor's title, he visually he could be just too easily mistaken for a senior. After brilliantly presenting his thesis, he on some terms accepted principal's offer to stay in the university and continue on with his research. As a pleasant bonus, he also got to read a semi-mandatory course of lectures on ligology. Well, he's heard that working and teaching in Columbia University is good for portfolio.*

Partly his success, of course, relied on the fact that ligology, a study of Threads, was a rather young science compared to others. The hardest part of discovering such new knowledge was to hide his gift that was just too tightly related to his research field.

***

The last lecture suggested a more of a deliberative approach, so students were sharing their thoughts on the phenomena of Threads and asking questions. Well, students is a rather broad word for all the people in the lecture room, as one of the professor's terms was that lectures should be open and not fit into the common timetable (Saturday evenings were just perfect for that). An automatic pass after visiting a single lecture out of the whole course essentially made in not necessary for the students to come to the rest of them, so in a room full of listeners only a quarter of them would appear to be students in the better days. Generally, the knowledge on the study of Threads for most of them lied somewhere near 'ligo- is latin for 'connect', and the -logy part is also latin for something like 'average school subject you won't ever need in your life'. Charles could not think of blaming students, as he still possessed a memory too vivid of his own student years, but he was still very glad to see people truly interested in the subject coming to listen.

Now that the broad auditorium, drenched in hot summer sunshine, was full of people of all ages and occupations, some of them were whispering to one another, some were giggling, some were listening and taking notes, some were absently looking through the window, yet, as always, everyone had a thread coming out of their palms. They could meet right there, in the handholding of a couple of young Soulmates or the thread could be stretching all the way through the room right into that open window. Then maybe it's to end in the nearest city, maybe on another side of the world. Depends on how lucky you got.

Professor was truly interested in the opinions of his listeners – they could see things he could not: both the problematics of this science and its perspectives. Wasn't often that Charles thought of what would happen if all the Threads would suddenly disappeared in one horrible moment. Or a glorious one, he caught himself thinking.