Someone For Everyone (A work in progress by Carlene Love Flores)

Today I’d like to share from one of my current works in progress. I feel something very special from this project. Let me know what you think in the comments. Thank you for reading this excerpt.

Someone For Everyone by Carlene Love Flores

               “Recycling is important, people. Remember that.”

               Chatter filled the air around us. It felt just like a New Year’s Eve party, the way we had the place decorated, every element represented, food seemingly on endless platters. I especially loved the candles, lit and floating in glass dishes of sea water. Sherry’s matcha stuffed grape leaves sat in my stomach as I searched for a glass of milk. I appreciated her unique efforts and smiled her way, trying not to burp too many times in a row.

               But it wasn’t a party, not really.  

               We were here to learn the identities of our next group of soulmates. It never failed that some left this gathering joyful, some left it bewildered, others amused. And sometimes, you left broken hearted. There was a reason I prayed relentlessly in the days leading up to Recycling Day. Hard as I tried, I could not imagine what it must be like to discover a soulmate and then be tasked with the second part of our duties, should that next part lead to sorrow. Somehow, I’d managed to escape that happening.

               This wasn’t just a heavenly reveal party, it was real work. Once you had your charge, you then set about determining when, where and how you would meet, amongst a slew of other things. I hope I don’t have to explain it because there are a million different scenarios and possibilities. Sometimes things went great in this process.

               Sometimes, it was just too much. Just too much.

               I’m sure you’ve got a ton of questions at this point.

               Why us? 

               Who are we to be doing this?

               Where is God in all of this?

               Is this a joke?

               I assure you it’s no joke and we ask ourselves the same things. There may never be an answer that satisfies your very valid questions. What I do know is that we take this very seriously. No one here has lived less than a hundred lives to this point, a few have stopped counting. We’re the very definition of old souls. That doesn’t make us perfect by any means. What it gives us is something to go on when we’re put in extraordinary circumstances. 

               Jared stands next to me, his arms crossed over his chest. He lets out a small burp and we grin knowingly at each other.

               “You know, last year I got a cat.”

               “Just a cat?” I ask him.

               “Yup. Cool dude. He lives with my mom now. He’s gonna have a great life.”

               I know Jared’s mom and he’s right. That cat is probably up to his ears in toys, condos, salmon pate and window views. I can’t help but think that Jared and I are wondering the same thing right now though.

               “Yeah, I had it pretty easy last year.” He takes a breath in through one side of his mouth, exaggerating his one dimple and creasing the corner of his blue eye. “What if…”

               I stop him because I sense he should take a second to reframe whatever he was thinking.

               What if’s pack a lot of punch with our sort. We have to be careful.

               “What if you have another great year and it’s everything you imagined it would be? What if you get a future president or the kid who’s gonna grow up and rid the world of disease?” I offer this rosy set of options because things like this feel safe.

               “I love you, Bebe,” he says and pulls me into a brotherly hug. “I hope this year is good to you too.”

               My relentless insistence on positivity is legendary and I believe it’s why I have yet to experience one of the tough experiences I’ve mentioned in the past. I hope to keep my streak going.

               Jared and I huddle together as slowly but surely, the rest of us start bringing it in closer to what we call the jumbo-tron. Really, it’s just a portal type thing, a big fluid window. Nothing any of us are in danger of falling through like you see in the movies. There is a cool glow to its energy field, and we all watch it like a tv screen.

               I pull out a secret stash of spice drops from my pocket and sneak one into Jared’s hand.

               He pops it into his mouth the same time that I do, and then we give each other’s hands a squeeze before letting go.

               “Maybe we’ll get lucky this year.”

               “Don’t jinx it.” I give him a poke in the side and then add, “But, I hope so too.”

               I’m serious about not jinxing ourselves. So much so that I won’t dare allow myself another thought on the subject of that four-letter word.

               After about 30 minutes, the crowd thinned out. Jared and I are in the last third of people to step up to the swirling square and see our new soulmates. I must say, people have been handling themselves especially well tonight. No shrieking or what-the-f bombs. No fainting.

               Of the two of us, I go first. Jared’s finger traces a heart on my back which I try my best to ignore.

* * * *

               “Well that was interesting,” Jared says to me having found me outback on the balcony. Without the chance to see me yet, he has no way of gauging how things went when it was my turn. Once you see your lot, you then proceed out of the main room. The preferred practice is to then go off to a quiet spot and gather yourself for at least an hour, but Jared and I always find each other. Always have, since seven years ago when we first met. Soulmate things, you know.

               I have to admit, I’m not ready to divulge what went on during my turn.

               “Hey you, how did it go?” I ask him. I always make it a point to ask and not just assume because of our special connection.

               “Well, no cats this year. I’m kind of bummed.” I shot him a look. “Just kidding. Um, so I ended up with four hundred new soulmates.”

               “Holy,” was all I let my mouth say.

               “Yeah.”

               I didn’t have the heart nor the guts to tell him that I only received one new soulmate this time around.

               The way he was looking at me though, he probably knew. Even the details I really didn’t want to share.

               “Hmm,” he whispered quietly. “It’s okay, when you want to talk, I’m here. And if not, I’ll just bore you with my hundreds of stories that are undoubtedly on their way.”

               “I love you, Jared.”

               “I know,” he said and then ruffled my hair like I wasn’t the older of the two of us.

               “You don’t have to respond to this thought, but you do know we aren’t obligated in any way. You can always claim absolute free will for whoever it is. You know that, right?” he says, his words perfectly him.

               “I know.”

               My stomach was not well. I had decisions to make. But first, I wanted to get a better look at him. Not at Jared. At him. My new soulmate.

****

I’ll end the excerpt here. I hope it was enough to give you a taste of what I’m working on these days. I love writing about soulmates. One thing I feel like sharing as I write this now is that there will always be lots of ideas out there that aim to explain or define things for us. But when it comes to soulmates, I encourage you to go with whatever feels best to you. One of my favorite sayings is:

“It only needs to make sense to you.”

I wish I knew who to quote but suffice it to say, I use that one quite a bit.

As we make our way through the month of December, I hope you are all doing well. I send you good vibes, good energy, peace, love, bravery, strength. What else? What does everyone need? Feel free to drop that in the comments below too. I’ll say a prayer for you.

Always love,

Carlene