When someone is born, a small phrase is formed with them: a description of that person's soulmate.
Some people find their soulmate early in life, while others have to search until they're elderly. Your parents didn't want that for you; they were the lucky population of soulmates that found each other early in life. Your grandparents kept their heads on a swivel, constantly trying to find someone that matched their child's poem. They met with other parents to compare babies and phrases, slowly forming a community-wide database to search from. Your parents did the same for you, but had no luck.
Even so, people would compliment you about how beautiful your soulmate sounded. How wonderful you'd look together and how your soulmate would appear soon. As time passed, the description written on you had become quite popular in your town, especially since it was the same one from Snow White.
"Lips red as a rose, hair black as ebony, and skin white as snow."
The town you spent your life growing up in had made it its mission to find your soulmate. Everyone knew what was written on you, everyone was looking for your soulmate, everyone had hope, except you. All the years of constant pressure and nagging about your soulmate left you… disinterested? Not to say you didn't want to find them. You just kinda… sorta… stopped looking.
As you reached young adulthood, everyone seemingly only had soulmates on their mind. It became a pastime for most members of the community, like a more advanced version of people watching. Townsfolk kept a list of phrases in their head and watched to see if anyone fit the bill. No one was safe from other people's eyes. Tourists had it the worst, though. If anyone new came through your town, it was like they were a secret celebrity. All eyes were on them, but no one approached until they were sure that a soulmate had been spotted.
Honestly, while you respected the grind, it just wasn't your cup of tea. Soulmate watching wasn't really a social activity, just a passive quirk most people in your community developed. There wasn't anyone to talk to about your troubles since most people also had the mindset that finding a soulmate would fix that. You disagreed strongly with this, deciding to turn to nature instead. Thankfully, the forest held your woes better than any "soulmate" could.
The town had built a "lover's trail" in the woods, but before that, they had carved out a lovely little side trail. It went unnamed and honestly quite neglected. Still, you walked the path almost every week. It wasn't very long, only about an hour walk to get to the end of it. The fresh air of the forest provided comfort as you strolled through the start of the trail. The trees seemed to tower over the path, providing a nice shade from the midday sun. It truly was a wonderful day for a walk. Nice cool breezes, low humidity, and warm rays of sun to bask in. A perfect escape from your everyday life. The town could feel so stuffy and dull, but whenever you went for a walk, it felt like the woods were airing out your soul. It was nice. You were also lucky to live in a town with very few hunters. It meant the wildlife was a lot more openly active. It was quite common to hear birds calling for their mate, a herd of deer bounding through the woods, and the whistling of wind through the trees.
But now that you think about it, you don't hear any of those sounds. Only silence surrounded you, unnatural silence, dead silence. Memories of stories townsfolk told flooded your head. Stories of danger, of something or someone stalking the woods. No one in the town had gone missing, but some came back changed, more paranoid. Most people avoided the conversation, switching to soulmate talk. A wonderful distraction from the stories, from the woods. Dammit, maybe you should've just taken up soulmate watching. You reached the end of the trail anyway, so now you could just turn around and head back. As you spun around to sprint back to the beginning of the trail, you noticed the woods had shifted.
Not only that, it had become dusk, the forest getting darker with each passing second. You started this stroll at 12 pm. It's summer. There is no possible way for it to be dark right now. You made sure to never be near the woods at night; maybe it was subconscious, but you knew something was wrong about them. Its beauty called to you like a siren; its song a hook reeling in its newest victim. The hair on your arms stood up as your skin rose with goosebumps. An invisible threat circled you. No noises were made, no changes in smell, and no shifting shadows, but you knew it was there. The forest that was a comfort now caged you with a predator. The paradise you loved became your prison. Lost and confused, the only option was to choose a direction and run.
Just as you were about to book it through the trees, a branch snapped behind you, and solid weight hit your back, sending you tumbling to the ground. You flailed, kicking and hitting whatever had fallen on top of you.
"Hey! OW, fuckin- ow- stop it! Here, god dammit, just- ow- turn around!"
A rough voice came from behind you. Usually being tackled by a strange man would be terrifying, but his presence was strangely calming. He felt familiar, like you'd know from birth, maybe before. Strong arms flipped you over on your back. A white hoodie stained with bits of blood hung above you. Staring up at the stranger, you spotted his long hair, black as ebony. Your eyes trailed upwards and reached his neck, the skin scarred but still as white as snow. Gathering the courage, you tried to meet the man's eyes, but something else caught your attention. His lips, red as a rose. The red stretched beyond his lips, though, lining the scars that carved a smile in his face.
You met his eyes. The look on his face was serious, like he was studying you. He steadied himself on one arm and pulled back the sleeve, reading the description on it. His eyes traveled your form once more before his cut smile widened. You knew what he was smiling about because you were smiling about the same thing. You had just met your soulmate. He stood up and offered you a hand. After you collected yourself, your soulmate led you back to the treeline.
The walk back was both awkward and endearing. Both of you shared facts about who you were, what you liked, etc. You just wanted to get to know each other. You realized that the townfolk were right about your soulmate. Your soulmate was beautiful, at least you thought so. His scars complemented his face as well as his piercings. You two did look wonderful together. You didn't walk hand in hand just yet, but the playful bump he gave you was just as good. The woods also seemed to relax after he showed up. It was no longer dark, and you could faintly hear the sounds of the forest returning. As you reached the treeline, he handed you a piece of paper and waved you off. You left the trail with two new things. Your soulmate's number and his name, "Jeff."
