In this world you are born with a clock that ticks down until the time you meet your soul mate.
Part one || Part two || Part Three || Part four || Part five || Part six (final)
He talked big. He always went on about how his soul mate was the luckiest person alive. He had no doubt that they’d positively love him. He always said he couldn’t wait for their meeting to come.
But it was all an act. He wasn’t ready to meet them. He didn’t want the moment to come, for several reasons. One, he was aware his appearance was shocking. Red eyes, silver hair, and a smirk always placed in his face didn’t make him look any less intimidating. Two, he knew his personality was overwhelming. He wasn’t afraid to be loud, or joke around in public. Fate was to bring these two together, but that didn’t guarantee his significant other would approve of him. He didn’t want the other person to hate him.
At the age of 18, was the first time he came close to meeting his destined partner. He was waiting to get on a train to work. The day was cold, he was bundled up a warm coat and scarf. He started to feel a slight irritation on his arm exactly where his clock was placed.
Curious, he pulled up his sleeve to see his arm. He froze. The clock was down to 5 minutes. He couldn’t believe his eyes. This morning his clock still had months left to count down from. How could the time have changed so quickly?
He kept the sleeve of his coat raised so he could see the clock. He stayed sitting on the bench to try and catch his breath. The moment that most people dreamed of was coming.
‘Come on, Gilbert. You can do this. You’re just going to meet someone…. The person he was fated to be with for life.’
His breath hitched again. He needed to relax. He slowly started to take deep breathes. He closed his eyes and listened to the sounds around him to distract himself.
He listened to the sounds of the crowded station. Dozens of conversations surrounded him, though he couldn’t make out a single word. He could hear the sound of shoes knocking against the cement floor. There had to be around a hundred people. On top of it all, the sound of a train arriving at the station.
His eyes shot open and he looked at the clock.
1 minutes and 28 seconds.
‘Could they be on that train?’ he wondered.
The doors of the vehicle opened people began stepping out.
He wasn’t ready, not yet. Gilbert grabbed his backpack, jumped up from the bench, and fled the station. Work was the last thing on his mind as he reached a small convenience store a mile away.
He was breathing heavy after running in such thick clothing. His face flushed easily so he was sure his skin was pink.
He spared a glance at his clock. The time was back up to two weeks. He took a sigh of relief. That was enough time for now.
Back then the clock had said he had two more weeks, but he was still able to avoid meeting his significant other.
The next time he almost met them he was 21. As cliche as it was, Gilbert was a college student working in a coffee shop.
It was part time, on campus, and fit his schedule. His friends laughed at him for working there, but he only embraced his job. He wore his apron proudly and said this job was awesome like him.
The day was pleasant. He was halfway through work, he hadn’t had any problem customers, and he had received a good amount of tips.
He thought the day couldn’t get any better, until he felt his arm twitch, making him drop the hot chocolate he was making.
He looked down and cursed at the mess. Before picking up the spilled drink he checked his arm. With the sleeves of his white shirt already rolled up it was easy to see the clock.
Elizabeta came out from the back room a second later. “Gilbert, what happened?” She tsked after seeing the mess.
“Hey are you alright?” she asked, but the man made no move.
“Gilbert?” She called once again moving closer.
He flinched a second later and caused her to jump. “Sorry.”
He only stared at the floor. ‘Not this again’, he thought. He didn’t want them to meet now. He knew it was selfish to put it off again, but he wasn’t ready.
When he raised his head he saw that Elizabeta had gone to get towels. He grabbed them from her so he could start cleaning.
“Hey, Liz. I’m going to go sit in the back for a few minutes,” he spoke quickly. He picked up the spilled drink quickly and took the towels with him.
“Are you sure? What’s wrong, are you not feeling well?”
“No, it’s not that.” He needed to get to the back quickly, there was only 40 seconds left.
“You should go home if you’re not okay.”
“It’s fine, I’m not sick.” He said louder than he intended to. “I just need to sit in the back for a few minutes, do me this favor. Call me out when the customers are gone.” When she nodded, he went to the back and closed the door. He had no intention of coming out until the time on his clock went back up.
He sat for what he believed was the longest time, though it was only 20 minutes. Liz hadn’t called him out yet, so he assumed there were still people in there. If the other was in there, he wanted them to leave.
Then a knock came. Elizabeta opened the door slowly, “Gilbert? No one is here now.”
He looked down at his clock and saw the time move to one month. He released a large breath that he had been holding and stood.
“Thanks,” he answered and walked out to the front before she could ask questions.
He started cleaning up the counter when she came out from the back. She opened her mouth to comment, but he spoke before she could.
“Who just came in here?” he asked calmly. He tried to seem detached, but he was anxiously waiting for her to describe the person who came in.
“Well, there was three people.” He grimaced. Now he wouldn’t know for sure who his soul mate was. “There were three men, two of them were blond, one with black hair. The two blonds were about your height and the other about half a foot shorter than them.”
He didn’t want to ask the names, since he wouldn’t know who was who. He didn’t ask anymore questions after that, and his coworker didn’t press him.
He looked out the window in the middle of his work and bit his lip. ‘I’m sorry’
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