Charles and Rosalie. Two names, written in the stars, the time and date of their encounter written on their wrists. A romance meant to be.
However, things weren’t exactly going according to plan. They both didn’t believe in the whole soulmate ordeal and would do anything to prove it was rubbish.
Charles looked at his wrist and noticed there were only two hours left. He had invited his best friend over to watch a few movies so he could bear witness to his genius.
“Let’s order some pizza”, Patrick said, rubbing his belly.
“No. Not yet. Two more hours”
“Oh c’mon. Dirk couldn’t possibly be your soulmate”
“I know I know. But the government will probably send a replacement just this once, delay the delivery by two hours, and make me believe the pizza delivery girl is my soulmate.”
“You do you. You do you, man’. Patrick grabbed the remote and started zapping again.
“Quite weird that there isn’t a single channel up tonight”, he said as he kept pushing the buttons on the remote.
Charles walked over to the window and said “Government must have cut the wires so I go outside” as he peeked out of the curtains, scanning the street for any suspicious activity.
Rosalie’s parents had filed for divorce when she was six. Soulmates couldn’t be real. She was certain of it. And what did fate have to do with love? How can something that is shapeless and flows freely be predetermined? It’s just a ploy from the government to fill the void in the heart of men. So we can be more productive. No more worries about love. You are all set. Your need for love is fulfilled. Now work.
Rosalie opened the door and was met with three men standing on her front porch. One of them was holding a camera and the other a microphone.
“Hello, young lady, are you Rosalie? If so, I have very good news for you! You just won $2 million!” said the man holding the microphone, eagerly awaiting her answer.
“Oh no! Rosalie was the previous owner of this house. She must have forgotten to update her personal details,” she said, looking frightened. “Now if you will excuse me, I have a pie to bake” and she closed the door.
‘What in the world is going on’, she thought, leaning and panting against the door. ‘For the government to go this far, it’s insane.’
Since the TV wouldn’t work, Charles and Patrick decided to play poker.
“Playing poker with just the two of us is kinda…”, said Patrick, mindlessly staring out in front of him. It was obvious he was getting quite tired of hearing Charles’ conspiracy theories.
“You know what. Let’s raise the stakes. If I win, I get nothing. But if you win, you’ll get $20″ Charles said pleadingly.
“You sure are determined about this whole thing. Alright”
Charles was just about to shuffle the cards when a squeaky sound came from under the table.
“Let me take a look,” said Patrick as he bent over on one knee to see what was down there “I can’t see a thing. I need a flashlight. Give me my phone”
Charles grabbed Patrick’s phone from the table and handed it to him. The peeping noise seemed to multiply rapidly and soon it didn’t only come from underneath the table.
“I know” squeaked Charles, retreating as far as he possibly could in his chair.
“There are hundreds of them”, Charles said looking horrified. Where do they all come from?”
“I have no idea. Open the door. Either the mice of we get out”
“Can’t. Can’t.” Stammered Charles. “Can’t let the government win.”
Patrick worked his way over to Charles around the table, who sat like a baby in his chair, rocking back and forth and having a panic attack. Mice scurried across the table and the floor.
“I am going to open a window, Charles, you need some fresh air”
“Don’t” exclaimed Charles, but Patrick had already opened the window.
“See, nothing bad is happening”
“Close the window right now!” But it was too late. Just when Patrick wanted to close the window a flock of birds flew through the window and inside the living room.
Rosalie was reading a book while she waited for the oven to finish preheating. She looked at the clock. In thirty-five minutes the government would fail. She couldn’t possibly meet her ‘soulmate’. After the camera crew had left, she started moving the furniture and looked for wooden beams, nails, steel wire and other things to barricade the house with.
The rain pattered against the windows. She loved that sound. It made her feel peaceful. She wrapped herself in a blanket and continued reading her book. She was turning the pages when she noticed a peculiar smell coming from the kitchen. She shot up from the sofa and hurried toward the kitchen. Smoke was blurring her vision but she could clearly make out that a fire was raging in her kitchen.
She made for the front door she had just barricaded. She jerked, kicked and bashed but the door wouldn’t budge. The flames were closing in.
The entire house was in utter chaos. Mice peeped and birds tweeted and shrieked. Patrick had to cover his ears. He looked at Charles who sat limply in his chair, birds pecking away at his head. First, Charles had gone into shock and then fainted. Charles was terrified of mice. Patrick didn’t have another choice but to call for an ambulance. The ambulance came and carried Charles into the back of the van. There were only 20 minutes left.
Rosalie had managed to get herself out of the house. But not unscratched. Her ankle had caught on fire for a short time and her hands and forearms were covered in blood and cuts from her attempts to unbarricade the door. The neighbor saw her laying flat-out on a grassy patch in her garden and went over to see what was going on. Upon seeing the critical state Rosalie was in, she called for an ambulance.
An ambulance dispatcher called the ambulance who was about to pick up Charles and informed them that there was a girl about four blocks away in need of immediate treatment.
Rosalie could hear the sirens wailing in the distance. The grass was now flashing red and green. The men got out and carried her on a stretcher to the back of the van. She noticed another guy was already in the back, lying unconscious, a man monitoring his heartbeat at his side. She looked at her wrist. The mark had disappeared
The ambulance took them to first aid, and after they had both been checked on, they had to spend a day or two in the same infirmary, their beds next to each other. It wasn’t long before they would come up with the wildest conspiracy theories. And slowly, but surely, they would fall in love.
yousharknotpass
turnnoffyourmind
vaporwave
janainaart
snowghoul
germansingergirl
jacobvanloon
