Have you ever wondered where your soulmate is at this very moment? Were you ever worried you would never find them? Well, luckily for me, I was never worried about that. Everyone here has a golden string attached to them, and the other end is attached to their soulmate. Once you find your soulmate, the string disappears. It’s up to you to keep your soulmate close after that. You can’t see other people’s strings. Only your own and the person it leads to. My parents tell me that their string disappeared after they met, which is nice. Most people never find their soulmate. My dad traveled across the world just to find my mom. He believed he would never be complete without his soulmate. I stand by that logic as well. I’m 17 now and in my senior year of high school. I haven’t found my soulmate yet, but I know I will. My string looks miles and miles and miles long, but someday I will reach the end. I know it.

“Guy Abawi”? The teacher calls unenthusiastically.

I match his mood with a small hand raise as I stare at the doodle someone made on my desk. It’s a small stickman riding a poorly drawn horse. Or a pony. Or a dog? I don’t know. But it looks like a 3rd grader did it.

My best friend since 2nd grade, Liliana, isn't here today. This is my least favorite class and the only class we happen to have together, so this day is already starting off bad. Mr. Fabian drones on about physics and stuff I pay no attention to. I'm barely scraping by in this class as it is, but I can't focus. I keep thinking about just leaving after the bell rings and going home for the weekend. I pull out my phone, shielding it from the teacher's view by hiding it under my desk. I open my text messages and click on Liliana's contact. 

"Where are you?" I hit send and waited anxiously for a reply. 

Almost like she was waiting for me to message her, and she texts me back right away. 

"Doctor's office. Might've broken my leg. Sry."

I sigh and put my phone back into my backpack. What the hell was she doing that caused her to break her leg? She's the most careful person I know, but also the most dainty. I sit in silence for the remainder of class, refusing to do notes or worksheets. I don't care if my teacher calls my parents. They don't care about my schoolwork. All they care about is me getting at least a D, which is what I'm doing. Usually, most kids' parents are strict about their school work, but my parents believe that being able to live on my own and take care of myself is more important than knowing how to find the area under a curve. The bell rings and I hoist my backpack over my shoulder. I walk out of class, avoiding eye contact with Mr. Fabian. Physics is my last class of the day, so I head outside and go to my car. Once I'm inside, I pull out my phone and call Liliana. She picks up after a couple of rings. 

"Hey, Guy. So my leg isn't broken, just fractured. But I can't walk on it for a few days."

"Will you be able to come to school Monday?" I ask worriedly. 

Liliana swallows audibly. "I think so. Today's Friday so Saturday, Sunday… yeah, I think that's a few days."

"Good, because Fabian's class was so boring without you."

Liliana laughs. "It's boring even with me. Nothing can make physics interesting."

"True." I pause for a second. "Any luck with your string?"

She sighs. "No. It's shorter but I still haven't found him. I feel it tugging sometimes but when I follow it, it's like it gets long again. I feel like the universe is messing with me."

"You'll find him. I know it. This means he's close. Maybe he knows you're coming and runs because he's scared."

"Yeah, maybe. Well, I'll talk to you later. My mom is calling me downstairs."

"Bye, Lil." I hang up the phone and sigh. I would be lying if I said I wasn't jealous of her. Her soulmate is getting closer and closer while mine seems like she's states away. It's very rare to find your soulmate, but it can happen. My parents are a prime example of that. I shake away my worries and start my car, driving to my house. 

I was awoken the next morning by the feeling of tugging on my waist. I sat up, looking down at my string. It was going tight, then slack, tight, slack. It kept repeating this pattern. That means… I quickly got out of bed and got dressed faster than I have before. It was 8 am and bright outside, so I quickly ran out the door and looked around. Few people were walking along the sidewalk, and more cars were driving on the street. I looked at my string and saw it was going across the street, way less tight than usual. I waited for the cars to pass before running across the street. I ran between the houses and kept running for a few minutes. I eventually made it to a house with the garage open and a moving van in the driveway. It was a pretty pale blue house, just the perfect size for a small family. A girl with long light brown hair grabbed a box from the van and started walking to the front door. I looked at her waist and saw a glowing golden string attached to her. My breath hitched and I put my hands over my mouth as I gasped. I was apparently close enough for the girl to hear me because she turned around and made direct eye contact with me. Her eyes wandered down to my waist, and they widened in shock. She placed the box on the ground and stood there frozen. We stood about 10 feet away from each other, just staring. I took a step forward, and like my step triggered something in her, she ran towards me. As soon as she was right in front of me, the string slowly faded away. The girl stood in front of me, smiling.

“Hi,” she said. Her voice was sweet like honey.

“Hi,” I replied. I was speechless at this point.

“I’m Amanda,” she said breathlessly. She sounded in awe.

“I’m Guy.”

She was smiling so wide I was surprised her mouth didn’t fall off.

It’s been two weeks since I met Amanda. We exchanged numbers, but for now, we’re just friends. We might be soulmates, but we’re still strangers. I called Liliana immediately after I got home from meeting Amanda. I couldn’t tell if she was happy or disappointed because she couldn’t find her soulmate. 

Amanda seems nice. She likes a lot of the same things I do, which is a plus. She came over to my house last week and we watched the first three Star Wars movies. We’re both huge Star Wars fans. I couldn’t help but notice her face the entire time we were watching. The bridge of her nose and cheeks was dotted with light brown freckles, which complimented her fair skin. She has honey-brown hair, close to being a dirty blonde. It was long, stopping in the middle of her back. And her nose was so petite. She had these long lashes with hazel eyes. I myself had boring brown eyes, and I admired her beauty. I couldn’t believe this girl was my soulmate. Plain boring me with shaggy black hair and tan skin with dull brown eyes got paired with a gorgeous girl. I wonder who Liliana’s soulmate is. She has long fluffy blonde hair and deep blue eyes. She doesn’t have freckles, though. Those are always a plus. Still, her soulmate will be lucky.

I dreamed about that night until I got woken up by my phone ringing. I groaned and checked the time. 4 AM. I then looked at the Caller ID and saw it was Liliana. She never called me this early, so I immediately picked up.

“Lil? Is something wrong?”

I then heard a loud sniffle. Was she crying?

“Woah, what’s going on? Why are you crying?”
“I’ve been lying to you. About my soulmate.” She sounded distraught.

I sat up in bed and brushed the hair out of my eyes. 

“Wait, what do you mean? Did you meet him already?”

She gulped loudly. “No… I’m never gonna meet him.”

“Hey, don’t say that. I’m sure you will someday-”

“My string went black, Guy!”

My heart skipped a beat. “That means…”

“It means he’s dead and I’m never going to meet him. I’m never going to find love.”

“Lil, when did this happen?”

“Remember how I told you I hurt my leg?”

I said nothing. I just stared at the wall in front of me.

“Well, I didn’t. I didn’t come to school that day because, in the morning, I found my string. All black and decayed. And then it faded away. And then you called me about Amanda and I haven’t stopped thinking about my string since. I want to have a soulmate but I never will. You’ll be happy with Amanda and I’ll be all alone.”

“Don’t say that. I won’t leave you alone.”

“But you’ll be married and have a family. I’m gonna die without ever finding love.”
I sigh. “Your parents aren’t soulmates but they’re still happily married. Sure, they fight sometimes, but what couple doesn’t?”

“Couples that are soulmates,” she says quietly.

I look at my door and listen for any noises. After a quick beat, I talk again.

“Meet me at Careview park in 10 minutes.”
“What-?”

“Just do it.”

I hang up and get dressed in a short sleeve T-Shirt and put on my sneakers. I then tip-toed out of my house so I don’t wake up my parents. After I get out of my front door and close it, I sprint down the sidewalk. Careview is a 15 minute walk from my house, but Liliana lives much closer. I didn’t want to make her wait long so I gave myself less time to get there. After about 8 minutes of running, I was sweating bullets and breathing so heavily it felt like my lungs might collapse. But I needed to be there for her.

I rounded the corner and saw Liliana sitting on a swing, barely moving. Her blonde hair covered her face as she looked down while white-knuckling the chain holding up the swing. I made my presence known by walking heavily toward her. She looked up at me with teary eyes. She looked fairly pretty for someone who had just been crying. She had on a light blue hoodie and white shorts with her signature black flats. I could tell she was distraught.

I tried catching my breath as I got closer to her. I knew how sweaty I was but as soon as I was close to her I pulled her into a hug. A breath escaped her lips, but she hugged me back. I knelt down and squeezed her tight.

“I’ll never leave you alone, Lil. No matter what happens. Even if I get married and have bratty kids who take up too much of my time. I will always make room for you. You’re the most special thing to me. And that’ll never change.”

She held me tight and sobbed.

"I don't want to be alone. I wanna get married and have bratty kids like you."

"You won't be alone. I'll invite you over every Saturday night for dinner. My kids will pull out your chair and Amanda will crack jokes with you all night. My daughter will braid your hair while you chat about how school is going. You're a part of my family and that'll never change."

Liliana's breath hitched as more tears came. "Do you promise?"

"Of course," I assured her. I lifted my head up and kissed her forehead. 

"I will never break it."

I've never thought of Liliana as anything more than a friend. I believe a guy and a girl can be friends without falling in love. But in 8th grade, I was proven wrong. 

Liliana asked me to meet her at Careview Park after school. I, of course, agreed. I waited for her by the slide and when she showed up, she confessed her love to me. I, being the naive boy I was and still am, rejected her. I believed I couldn't be with anybody but my soulmate. I destroyed her heart that day. But we went back to normal and pretended nothing happened. We haven't spoken about it since. I didn't want to ruin our friendship over some silly crush. I thought she would find her soulmate and we'd both be happy with different people. I never thought he'd die. I thought the worst that could happen is she never meets him. But now I feel even worse because we could have been something if I wasn't so stubborn. If I just let fate decide, I could be with Liliana. I wouldn't have to suppress that night until it became a foggy dream. I know she still feels the same way. She never tried too hard to find her soulmate. But now she's distraught because I found Amanda. There's no hope for her and me. And the truth is; I want to be with Amanda. Liliana and I had our chance, but it passed. I didn't lie when I said I would always be there for her, but I also want to be there for Amanda. My true love. I just hope Liliana understands and backs off before my feelings get too out of hand. But now I can't help but notice how her blue eyes shine when she's in sunlight. Her hair glows under the rays and her cheeks get flushed whenever it's too hot out. I notice her walk and how she sways ever so slightly like she's ditzy even though she's the smartest person I know. She doesn't put on a persona with me. She is herself and never pretends she's not. She's perfect for me… but my heart belongs to another. Well, whenever that decides to happen. 

I’ve been spending a lot of time with Amanda lately. I haven’t actively been trying to distance myself from Liliana, but it’s just kind of happened. It’s been 3 weeks since that night at the park, and Amanda and I have started dating. It’s not really serious yet, just some casual dates here and there. I have spoken to Liliana. She seems to be doing better. She doesn’t cry as much anymore. I’m glad that Amanda isn’t jealous of her. But to be fair, she doesn’t know how I feel. Even I don’t know how I feel. I know I really like Amanda, that’s for sure. She’s so sweet. We went to a candy store last week and she gave me half of her cotton candy even though she paid for it. A few days ago she took my hand while we were walking down the street and squeezed it. She makes it clear she’s with me even though I’m way out of her league. She likes to sit on the couch with me and watch old shows our parents used to watch. I hold her close as I ignore Liliana’s calls. I feel bad, of course, but I need to explore this with Amanda. She’s homeschooled so I never get to see her in class. But I always meet her after school lets out, usually going on a walk or playing games in my bedroom. I can’t believe this girl was chosen as my soulmate. Liliana and I still have physics together, so I don’t ignore her completely.