“Happy Birthday to you!”

Today is Amaia’s 18th birthday. Her most loved friends surround her as they sing, the glittering light igniting on top the candles of the cake, and the decorations around the walls made Amaia more nervous than usual. 

Her furrowed brows and wry smile displayed her embarrassment perfectly. The simple gesture of her friends commemorating her day made her smile, yet the original thoughts of worry still lingers in her mind as she moves away from the scene.

When the clock strikes twelve, Amaia will officially be 18 years old. She would now be able to talk to her so-called ‘soul mate’. The connected mind of a soulmate to another as they become one. From her perspective, Amaia had seen passionate lovers turn to broken hearts and mortal enemies to veherent unbreakable bonds. 

Amaia was thinking of another type of soul bond when her thoughts were interrupted by the alarm of her alarm clock indicating the strike of 12 o’clock. Standing up straight from her bed, Amaia tried to speak but stuttered from the pressure and shock. Before she could utter another word, a deep and masculine voice spoke. 

“Happy birthday, love.” He said. 

Despite the utter shock and the skittish tumbling of her nerves, Amaia’s fiery attitude went past those and a scowl formed on her face. She raised a brow, unable to answer properly. She often imagined her soulmate to be quiet and soft, but a flirting bloke? 

“Please do not call me that ever again!” Amaia exclaimed. 

Her soulmate softly chuckled. He found her outburst an entertainment, thought Amaia as she gripped her spoon and bowl of ice cream in hand. 

“You shouldn’t have said that, I’ll call you that from now on then.” He teased. 

Amaia got even more annoyed but decided not to argue further. This is her soulmate, she would be stuck with him until one of them is sick of the other. She could always ignore and sever the soul bond, but she chose not to. Amaia gathered her thoughts and decided to talk to him once more. She shouldn’t have judged him, maybe he’s not that bad. 

“You seem oddly comfortable communicating with me.” Her soulmate remarked with a glint of skepticism in his voice. 

Amaia rolled her eyes, her legs dangling behind her as she took another spoonful of ice cream. 

“It’s not like I didn’t expect this.” She confessed. Amaia came prepared for the soul bond, asking peers for advice and information. Whoever her soulmate may be, she would know what to do. 

“So, aren’t you going to tell me your name? Ask me to meet up? You know, the normal stuff?” She asked. Commonly when soulmates are bonded, they would immediately offer to meet each other and start their journey there. 

Her soulmate went silent for a moment, leaving Amaia confused. 

“First, call me Jay,” He stated.

 Jay. Amaia wondered if that was his real name. It wouldn’t be a surprise if it wasn’t. 

“Second of all, no meet ups.” Jay continued. Amaia was bemused. It’s… unusual, for a soulmate to not want to see each other. She has never seen nor heard about anyone who was disinterested in the soul bond, having a person’s mind and thoughts connected to yours is far from boring. But then again, who was she to judge? 

“We let the universe, fate, or whatever love gods out there bring us both to each other.” Jay added. 

Amaia couldn’t contain the small smile that formed on her lips. How mawkish. She mused with a soft blush tainting her cheeks. “But what if I never meet you? What if we won’t discover each other at all?” 

“That’s impossible… we’re soulmates.” Jay said. 

"No matter what happens, this life or the next, my soul will always find yours.”