The Red Rose

Atlanta, Georgia

December 28th, 2016

My name is Clementine, I am fifteen-years-old, I have a boyfriend named Louis and we met over a social media app called Tumblr. I'm, I guess, the average, not at all cool, girl. Just a girl, living in Georgia. Thing is, I have a soulmate, and Louis is not my soulmate. Ever since we are born, we are given a soulmate—a red string so be it—tied to our souls one person to another. We are all given an ability to write on ourselves and our soulmate's can see and read what we had written to them. Con side to it all? You have to learn the Germanic runic alphabet to it on top of learning a second language to your school curriculum—if not already speaking a second language. Along with if you even want to meet your soulmate at your current age, as well. If you write an already more day-existing language like English, Arabic, Spanish, you name it...The words tattoos itself right onto you and your universally aligned soulmate. Getting the tattoo removed is nonexistent as the current day abilities don't have enough knowledge to figure out how to even remove this so called "Soulmate Lining". This genetic mutation, special abilities or some shit, however this started...It's never left and I don't think it will anyway in a couple thousands of years. Anyway, me and Louis not being soulmates—it's a problem for us; but we're making it work. When we meet our soulmates, we'll just leave each other. No questions asked. We're not even that attached to each other, anyway.

May 13th, 2017

My parents sit me down after I had grabbed my sketchbook and pencil from my, honestly, very messy bedroom. My father, took off his cap—he always wears his cap—and he sat down on a padded chair. My mother, sat next to him but onto the couch. Both wearing their cheesy matching outfits—green shirts and dark pants. "What's up?" I ask them, raising my eyebrow and tilting my head. I shove my sketchbook and pencil next to me, and payed full attention on them. "Clementine," they both said, my father holding his cap into his big lanky hand, his arms resting on his legs comfortably. "Don't be mad about this." My father said to me. "Okay?..." I mumble, by at this point the least expected thing right now is that I'm getting a dog. Maybe a sibling. If I am, at least I won't be alone anymore if I do have a sibling. "We're just going to say it, okay hun?" I nod slowly, what is the worse that could happen?

"We're moving," They both said in unison. I sat there, pondering, and then it hit me. From my own home, in Atlanta, Georgia, where...all of my memories have been made—to somewhere else where I have no clue where. I got up fast, almost falling over, but at this point I didn't care anymore. "What do you mean, moving?" I fold my arms tightly and whatever showed on my face did not appeal nicely to them. "Clem, West Virginia. That's where we're moving to," My mother explained to me. "Why?!" I raised my voice on accident. Look, Georgia is my home. I have a right to be mad about us all moving to somewhere who knows where. "I have to work over in West Virginia as part of my job, it's only appropriate—" 

"Only appropriate!" I repeat, moving away from the couch and where they sat. I didn't care if I even got grounded after this, or if I even will get my phone back at all. "Clementine A-" I stopped listening to them, I didn't want to hear any of this anytime soon. "If you are both going to West Virginia, then I will stay." I said after moments of silence—so silent you could hear our breaths take hold and out. "It doesn't work like that, sweetie." The father figure of the household said to my idiotic self. Fifteen-year-old's be fifteen-year-old's, right? "I'm going to be eighteen in three years. The least I can do is live on my own." I went over and grabbed my sketchbook, eraser and pencil and booked it to my bedroom upstairs. I reached my untidy room, slammed my door shut and locked it, and threw my belongings elsewhere. I sat on the floor and started to play Sign of the Times by Harry Styles. Probably wouldn't seem like I would be listening to Harry Styles but you know...his music is actually good.