The knock on the door surprised me at first, but I was appeased when I identified the voice on the other side to be Sophie’s. I debated whether to let her in or not, but my newfound companion did not seem to mind her intrusion. They explained that no one else could see them, unless they so desired. I told my maid to come in.

“My lady”, she started, “I heard a loud noise. What happened?”

“My father’s painting suddenly fell, Sophie. But there’s nothing to worry about, I already put it back on the wall. If there’s nothing else, you can take your leave”.

“Very well, my lady. Call me if you need anything”.

As Sophie exited the room, I could see Ari’s eyes on her back. It was a difficult expression to read, but I felt they were analysing something. Was there something wrong with Sophie? She looked normal enough to me, so I could not tell.

“Is there something wrong, Guardian Angel-kun?”

“The name is Ari”.

“Oh well…”

We fell into a comfortable silence for some time, and Ari was lost in thought. I also had many things on my mind, and was trying to put everything into perspective. One question, however, had been bothering me ever since I had first woken up in a stranger's body. I let my thoughts out:

“What happened to the real Tsisana? And the real Ari? If we are here, where did they go? To Earth?”

“Hm… They never left, I believe”.

“What do you mean?”

“Imagine it like this… Sena and Tsisana are small parts of a bigger puzzle. When you died, for some reason your soul and hers were attracted to each other. But ultimately, you are just pieces of a bigger soul”.

“But we’re totally different people. Look at this body, Sena never had this many muscles! Tsisana has everything and I…” Ari’s gaze was upon me and I felt ashamed for some reason. I sighed and turned my eyes away from their olive irises, unable to finish what I was saying. In the end, I simply said: “We come from totally different worlds. That doesn’t make any sense”.

“And yet, here we are. My dear… did you not have access to some of Tsisana’s memories from the moment you arrived? Did you not feel you and her were somewhat similar? That’s only possible because you are soulmates”.

“Soulmates? That’s actually a thing?”

“Yes, but it’s not as romantic as you might think. Your soulmates are the other pieces of the puzzle. Together you are a complete soul, but while living you are just a fragment. You could never share Tsisana’s memories, nor inhabit her body, if that wasn’t the case”.

“What happens when all the puzzles are together?”

“I don’t know. I have never seen a complete soul myself”.

“So… everyone else walking around this planet is also a fragment of a soul? And that’s the same on Earth?”

“That’s pretty much it… Do you remember when you were in college and you spent an entire semester studying that old man from Argentina, Borges, was it?”

“Yes, he was my favourite writer”.

“Right… I was there too, and would sometimes read the things you were reading.  Remember that story about the Yellow Emperor and the Dark Poet?”

“I do. That one made an impression on me. There’s a long line of towers, so long you could not notice the difference in colours, but the first was yellow and the last red. Each tower was as wide as the universe”.

“That’s how it went. Think of each tower as a different dimension. You and I lived on Earth, and somehow came to this tower, where our other selves Ari and Tsisana lived. We were assimilated into their bodies”.

“So, do we exist in every tower? What about the world outside the towers? That’s where the Yellow Emperor and the Dark Poet lived”.

“As far as I know, everything that exists in one tower exists in the others. But not always in the same way. Sometimes living people or creatures from a world exist as fictional characters from books or TV shows in another, for example. About the world outside the towers, however… I’m just as clueless as you are. The other spirits thought that was where the complete souls lived, but no one I knew had ever been there, so I’m not sure”.

“Well… I think it is time for some lemon pie. This whole conversation has given me a headache. Care for some tea, Ari?”

“Sure”.

I rang my bell and waited for a maid to come. Although they were most certainly a strange presence, and I was not yet sure I could fully trust them, it felt good to have someone from Earth here with me. At least I was not alone. And they did give off a comforting vibe, so I decided to put my trust in them for the time being.

“It amazes me every time, but you really do eat lemon pie every day don’t you?”

I shrugged. What was wrong with having lemon pie every day? It was delicious.

When Sophie came in again, I noticed Ari’s eyes analysing her every movement, much like a jaguar carefully watching its prey. She brought in a tray with two slices of lemon pie, some Earl Grey tea and milk. I always had my black tea with milk. When I was about to tell her she could leave, however, I noticed Sophie herself had something on her mind.