4956 words - Updated 5/8/24

5874 words - Updated 6/22/24

5952 words - Updated 7/2/24

6031 words - Updated 7/5/24

I don't think it's necessary to do pronunciations for the side characters that appear in this chapter, but if you aren't sure how to pronounce a name just leave a comment, and I will reply when I can.

7/5/24

A/N:  Welcome or welcome back to this story! Happy belated Fourth of July to those American readers out there! I hope it was a safe and happy one!

For those of you that are new to this story let me explain. I've been having both a bit of writer's block, and I realized I wanted to change something regarding this story that would affect the plot changing a bit. I felt it would be easier to just pull everything down and start from scratch.

Right now I have through Chapter 31 updated/written. (Well 31 might still be revamped, and I always do a last minute proofread on the day of posting.) My beta reader is through Chapter 4, so at least for the time reading I am going to keep it to only 1 chapter a week. Please note that some chapters might only have slight tweaks to them, so if you are revisiting this story you might not notice the difference. However, I did change all the chapters in some manner.

I hope you all enjoy the revamped version of this story. If you do please don't forget to leave comments and vote on the chapter.

October 17th

"Come on, Molly." I beg as my vision grows blurry due to the unshed tears forming. I try, once again, to coax her engine into producing a promising hum past the grinding noise that only negates my wishes and encouragement to get her functioning. I pat my hand affectionately against the top of her somewhat chilly dashboard, due to the overcast sky, before pulling my body away from the steering wheel and flipping down the visor to glance at the photograph of my mom when she sees Molly for the first time. The astonishment on her face as Grandpa Stevenson hands her the keys. The corner of one side of my lips pulls up as I remember a time they were discussing Molly. Actually, Mom was mostly teasing Grandpa.

>>

"He bought me the Neon specifically because it had as much personality as a Volkswagen Bug." She smirked over at Grandpa.

"If only I had waited two years. I could have gotten a Volkswagen Bug instead." He grumbled through his irritation with time itself. He purchased the car as a present for mom's sixteenth birthday; he could have just chosen to wait to get a car to celebrate her graduation. However, rather than be annoyed by his own choice, he seemed to be more annoyed with the two car manufacturers instead.

"Even if you waited, you still would have ended up paying for the custom paint job." She smirks affectionately at him again.

"Only because I knew you wanted a pink car. Something like the one Molly Ringwald's character had in that one movie." He grumbled again.

"Hm. She just turned sixteen in 'Sixteen Candles', so she didn't have her own car in that one yet, and Jake had a red Porsche. The only car you see her in, in 'The Breakfast Club' is her dad's, and while I don't remember what kind of car it was I know it wasn't pink. I'm guessing you must be referring to 'Pretty in Pink', and you are right her car is supposed to be pink and is a Volkswagen. It's not a Bug though; it's a Karmann Ghia Coupe. Also, her car was dark raspberry pink. Not Carnation pink." Mom teases him again by pretending to be as contrary as possible.

Grandpa makes an annoyed sound, but there is affection twinkling in his eyes. "You can't just give me credit for paying enough attention during that movie to know you wanted a pink car?"

"You know how much I love Molly. I just like teasing you about her now." Then she turned towards me. "Speaking of Molly when you get old enough to drive, Lily, I plan on giving her to you."

Ten year old me asked, "You named your car? Molly?" I was far more curious about the fact that my mom named her car than excited by the prospect of driving in six years.

She smiles broadly. "Yes, after the actress."

<<

"Sorry Mom." I whisper to the picture. "I guess I haven't been taking very good care of her." Before the tears fully escape I drape the upper half of my body over the steering wheel, and tap the cool dashboard once more. Then, I cross the index and middle finger on my left hand, and say a swift prayer to my mother. I'm hoping the two actions will grant me a miracle, and my well-loved car will finally cooperate with me. Please let the engine turn over this time. It can't break down today of all days! This appointment has been something I have sought for years, even if I only was able to make the appointment months ago. I really don't want to have to reschedule it, and have to ask for another two days off from both of my jobs. It's hard enough to get one day off. I turn the key and dejectedly groan when the engine still doesn't turn over. I have to pinch my lower lip between my teeth so I won't let loose the tears that I have been struggling, and barely able, to keep at bay up until this point.

What makes matters even worse is the fact that I had already been behind schedule when my alarm failed to go off at 6:30 this morning like it was supposed to. In truth, I had probably accidentally shut the blasted thing off since I worked an unplanned double shift yesterday. What was I going to do? Tell Liz that she had to come to work her shift despite the fact that her son, Micah, had a fever? I don't bail on people like that. Not to mention, if she hadn't gotten me to cover her shift she probably would have lost the job at Easton's Eatery, the diner we work at together. Her mom had been doing poorly last month so she had to use most of her sick days to take care of her. If she had called in instead it would more than likely end up leaving her and Micah in an even worse position than they were in now. I couldn't even imagine trying to balance both being a single mom and working such unpredictable and long shifts at the diner.

I take a deep breath before trying to give my 1995 carnation pink Dodge Neon a pep talk. "Please Molly, you can do this!"

I take one last deep breath before once again crossing my fingers and trying the key one last time, but of course all I get in return is the same grinding mechanical noise. That is definitely not the sound of the engine purring happily, nor is it the sound of it turning over at all. I don't know anything about cars and honestly at this point I am starting to worry that in the long run I might be doing more damage to the engine than anything else. I huff in disappointment before I get out and plan a new tactic. I look down at my old scuffed tennis shoes. "Well feet. I guess we are walking." I mutter out loud. Voicing the words gives the idea more conviction, or at least that is what I often mentally assure myself of when I realize I had unintentionally spoken my thoughts out loud.

For a brief moment, I am tempted to abuse my precious vehicle by kicking the tire in frustration. I know however that while it won't hurt the vehicle it also won't make me feel any better either. In fact I would probably feel guilty lashing out at my beloved old chariot that once belonged to my mother. So, instead I touch the door briefly as if to say goodbye before I start the trek to the clinic.

My appointment is set for 8:30, but I was planning on getting there by 7:45 so I would have both at least fifteen minutes to find a parking space in the nearby parking garage, and I could show up at about thirty minutes in case there was any paperwork I unintentionally overlooked from the list of online forms I had to fill out. Truthfully, I was also hoping if I showed up half an hour early that there might be a possibility of getting in earlier than my scheduled time. Instead of waking up at 6:00 with my alarm like I should have, and having an hour and a half to myself to get ready, have a small breakfast, and mentally prepare, I woke up at 7:30. So, I had to make a mad dash to complete the bare minimum of morning hygiene ritual; the important things like brushing my teeth, taming my curls with my fingers and a ponytail holder, putting on deo, before getting dressed. Screw makeup; it would take too long. I managed to get out the door after only fifteen minutes had elapsed during my minimalistic routine. Unfortunately, I tagged on another extra fifteen minutes while fighting with Molly, trying to get her to start for me.

Paired with my bad luck regarding my alarm clock and my vehicle, Mother Nature apparently decided she wasn't going to give me a break and be nice to me either. Due to how important of a day this one was for me I was of course hoping for sunny skies this morning, and the early October weather to be at least mild if not warm; instead it is both gloomy and the heavy wind whipping through the buildings is extraordinarily chilly. Luckily, I checked the weather on an app on my phone last night before bed and made sure to layer accordingly to the weather it forecasted.

The clinic is just under a mile away, and I should have ample time to arrive at least on time for my appointment. I glance back at where Molly is parked, and I can just barely make out the pink blob she seems to be from the distance I've already covered. I smile to myself and mentally pat myself on the back. Yes! Definitely making good time. Of course that's when those gloomy clouds hovering above me suddenly decide to get even more upset than they already looked and start pelting me with frigid, icy cold, rapid droplets of rain. Rain was not part of the weather forecast on my phone. Maybe I should download a different app... I think the one I am using came already installed on my phone. I bet there are more accurate ones out there.

Instead of continuing to blame the application on my phone for giving me false information, I look up at the sky. I openly glare at the gray clouds above me, and without a care for what the pedestrians walking around me might think I shake my fist. "Seriously!?!?!"

A tall man holding a large black umbrella passes me and tries to cover his sudden burst of laughter with a cough. Then he turns back at me and winks. "At least it's not snow, but the forecast did surprisingly predict potential flurries in a day or two."

I close my eyes and growl to myself mentally for a moment or two before letting my mental tirade out loud, my voice coated with my growing agitation with Mother Nature as well as the rest of the misfortune that today has already been bestowed upon me. "Snow flurries I can handle. I can't handle the wet and cold from chilly rain like this." If I were replying to him then my words don't reach their intended mark. He's already another block ahead of me at this point, which can only mean my mental pause ended up being quite a bit longer than I had intended.

I frown, worried that I wallowed in my misfortune for far too long. This time instead of visually seeking out Molly I stand on my tiptoes and look in the other direction trying to see past the crowds and judge how much farther the clinic is at this point. Luckily, I can just barely discern the shape and colors that make up the logo on the sign so I'm guessing I have probably four or five more blocks to go at most.

Before I can get myself to move further my phone rings, so I decide to stop for a moment to check the caller ID and time on the display since I can seek shelter from the rain underneath a nearby restaurant awning. It's 8:15, and if it had been anyone else calling me I would have promptly clicked the red button to deny the call. I can't help but smile as I answer. "Good Morning, Ms. Adeline."

Ms. Adeline Johnson was the most important person in my life right now. I have a couple friends I rank highly also, but Ms. Adeline more or less became a second mother to me after she took me in when I was barely sixteen years old, after my parents died. "I don't know why you feel you have tack on the 'Ms.' before my name. You're an adult now, and no longer living under this roof." She huffs in annoyance. "Of course I would call my first Foster baby on an important day like this."

Six months ago, when I called in to schedule the appointment, Ms. Adeline was the first one I called directly after. We have been in daily contact every day since then, so I wasn't surprised she was calling me now. She knew my habits, and no doubt thought I would be already sitting in the waiting room. "Of course, I appreciate it, but I'm actually running behind."

"Behind? That's not like you." I could almost picture the frown of confusion, on her otherwise normally smiling face.

"Remember, how I got a call yesterday during our last conversation?"

"Oh, yes. So, they did end up asking you to come in to cover Liz's shift?"

"Yeah, and a group of college kids came in toward the end of my shift. They stayed past closing time, and left quite a mess behind. I don't think I was in bed until at least 2:30 this morning."

"So, you slept through my alarm"

"Or it didn't go off. Then Molly decided she wasn't going to start for me." A mournful sigh leaves me. "Now, I'm trying to walk to the clinic, in the rain, with no umbrella." I once again stand on my tip toes while underneath the awning, forgetting I already checked before getting the phone call to see if I can view the sign above the clinic from here. Just barely.

"Oh, then I shouldn't keep you. Just good luck today, and don't forget to call me later."

"You know I won't, and thank you."

"Miss you, Sweet Girl."

"Miss you."

After getting off the phone I look at the digital display of the clock. Somewhat surprised that the call only took two minutes and it was only 8:17. Good, I still have thirteen minutes to get there on time. I don't think it will take me much longer than that if I can see it from here. If it took more than twenty minutes I would go ahead and make a quick call to the clinic to let the receptionist there know I was on my way, however I know I am going to push myself to make it there on time. I hate to be late to anything, and I would be highly upset if for some reason I were too late and had to postpone the appointment.

I might have only had the appointment booked for six months, however I have honestly been waiting for it basically my entire life. My parents pretty much raised me on the new reality as if it were its own patented nonfiction fairy tale.

Instead of starting with once upon a time, the story started on the day I was brought home from the hospital. It was two days after I was born that a DNA research pharmaceutical company by the name of pRoxy had announced their discovery of a medical concoction that could potentially match a person up with their perfect match. With their Soulmate.

Instead of being primarily brought up on traditional fairy tales, at night my parents both quickly realized that my idea of a 'prince' would always be my future potential Soulmate. So, rather than completely focusing on the numerous fictional fairy tales, which admittedly I still also enjoyed, they would read me news articles about Soulmates that happily found each other thanks to the existence of the miracle serum, Amorium.

Unfortunately not all stories ended that happily. I bite my lower lip as I worry over the possibility that I might be one of those rare few females that doesn't have a Soulmate, or perhaps my Soulmate hadn't gotten an injection simply because he didn't want to. It would honestly be my worst nightmare to come to life to not end up having a Soulmate for either of those reasons.

Granted there is also the possibility that I could be one of the few females on the opposite end of the spectrum. I could instead end up having multiple Soulmates.

When I was twelve years old a strange disease started outbreaking widely across the world called veleniose. There was no avoiding the detection of its existence when it was on the news 24/7. The disease was said to attack the bloodstream, basically poisoning the victims' veins. The death count was high everywhere, and almost astronomical in China and North America. For some unknown reason the female victims outnumbered the male victims approximately 10 to 1.

A few years later I was watching the news. I remember two things that were reported. The first topic was regarding the disease, veleniose, and the fact that the numbers of infected cases have drastically decreased to the point that the CDC believed the numbers would be completely diminished within only a matter of months. The second story was about the first female to receive several Soulmate Marks. It was a new phenomenon that no one had expected since it hadn't been documented before. Shortly thereafter though the numbers of such cases began to moderately increase.

Around the same timeframe there was another interview, that I only partially paid attention to, where the news station had interviewed an Evolutionary biologist, a scientist who specializes in the ideology of evolution. He had basically hypothesized that perhaps the number of women who had multiple Soulmates was increasing due to the drastic numbers of women that lost their lives due to the disease.

I remember being so thankful every day during that span of three years that no one I knew had gotten sick, especially not my mother and father.

I was so lost in my thoughts that I didn't realize I had finally made it to the entrance of the clinic. I found myself momentarily frozen. I should have been eager to open that door and get inside. Not just to seek shelter from the icy rain, but also to take that next step toward my probable future.

I'm truly frozen by uncertainty. The mad array of 'what ifs' parade through my head torturing me like a neverending nightmare, only I'm wide awake. I blink when a kind looking middle aged woman appears in front of me just behind the pane of glass. She is wearing purple Winnie the Pooh scrubs, and somehow between seeing my favorite color, the familiar beloved Disney characters, and her kind face I am able to break through the instantaneous fear that had caught me by surprise and basically frozen me solid.

I open the door and immediately she comes to my side guiding me in. "I'm surprised your teeth aren't chattering due to the chilliness of the wind and rain out there." She looks me over for a moment and breathes out a sigh that sounds like one of relief to me. "I bet you are thankful that water just glides off your coat, otherwise you would probably be completely drenched right now."

Her comment leads my mental focus to something other than my concerns for a moment. Instead I'm diverted to focusing on my shopping habits. Whenever I buy clothing I always try to buy articles that are multipurpose, so I can get the most out of them. For example the coat she was just referring to. I'll admit that I didn't know for certain it was water repellant when I bought it, because I had found it at a second hand consignment store. However, I guessed due to the appearance of the material that it could be, and I am forever thankful that I took that gamble. I honestly don't know why anyone ever gave this coat up. I've had it for four years already, and aside from a hole in the sleeve that I put there myself when I once got the fabric caught in my own car door, it's still in great condition.

"Are you our first appointment of the day?" The woman asks. "Lilianne Brodin?"

I'm immediately thankful that she was able to sidetrack my mind away from its wanderings. Getting sidetracked like that eased away some of my worries, and I definitely feel more like myself. I offer her a warm smile before I give her my traditional reply, "Yes, but please call me Lily."

"Let's get you signed in then." She escorts me over to the reception counter as if I might run away. At this point, I am definitely past the initial fear, because now I'm growing excited instead. Well at least I feel more eager than nervous, but I'd be lying if I said the nervousness completely evaporated.

She takes a moment to double check my paperwork, which I filled out online ahead of time. I didn't want anything to end up delaying this process for me. "Oh dear." I look at the woman as she clicks her tongue in what I can only decipher as sympathy when paired with the concerned look in her eyes. I take a moment to glance away from her eyes to read her name tag. I can't keep calling her 'woman in the purple Winnie the Pooh scrubs' in my head after all. Megan. "Dear, I'm sorry that I have to ask you this, but you put down that your parents died in 2013. However, you didn't indicate the cause of death."

I frown. I understand why she needs to know this. If they died due to veleniose then they would need that on record for my file. They didn't die like that though. No, they died when a class EF4 tornado ripped through the center of our hometown. They were visiting Grandma Brodin at the Primary Care facility she lived at, and there hadn't been much warning beforehand. The Tornado Watch only went into effect fifteen minutes after they left, and the funnel cloud first formed and touched down only half a mile away from the facility they were visiting. I would have been with them if I hadn't had to stay home due to a fever. The Primary Care facility in question was leveled by the tornado, many lives were lost, including my parents and paternal grandmother. I never saw the tornado myself because it never reached the outskirts of town where our family home was; it traveled in the opposite direction. I try to be quick and brief when I bring up the tornado to Megan so she can make notes in my file accordingly.

She makes a sympathetic tsk-ing sound, nods her head as she jots that info down, but offers me no more words of compassion. I can't help but be thankful that she didn't say anything else about it. Had she opened her mouth I might have felt the need to start talking about my parents and how wonderful they were. I might have actually burst into tears as I cataloged, in detail, their life story. It's a difficult enough battle to not cry merely thinking about them, let alone talk about them.

There is no one else in the waiting room yet so she goes ahead and escorts me back so she can get my vitals. Once my blood pressure has been checked and my weight and height measured and filled in the appropriate boxes she signals me to go back to the waiting room until the doctor calls me back.

As I sit in the waiting room again my mind goes back to my parents and that night. It was only a few days after my sixteenth birthday, and their birthday present to me, aside from Molly, hadn't been something physically tangible. They had told me that they had already set aside enough money to purchase the serum injection for me when I turned eighteen. Even though in Indiana the age required was twenty-one, they were planning on signing the necessary paperwork to allow me to get the serum injection early. Unfortunately, that fell through due to their deaths. They didn't have life insurance, so the money they had saved went to the bills regarding the funeral. In addition to the lack of funds, I had no other family to sign the necessary documents that my parents had planned to sign. I didn't have another adult in my life who could state with certainty that I was mature enough to handle getting the serum injection at a younger age.

I moved to Chicago shortly after I turned eighteen. I was no longer a ward of the state of Indiana, and while my foster mother had been great, I needed to carve out a path for my own life. I first had to get a nest egg big enough to take care of myself easily without worry, so I worked a decent paid grunt job for a year. It took another four years working two separate jobs, that I preferred over the original, to be able to both continue to support myself and save up enough money for the costly injection.

My ears perk up at the sound of a door clicking open. Another nurse smiles at me, "Lily Brodin?" I notice that she too is wearing purple scrubs; hers have purple ink outlined hibiscus flowers and different versions of the Disney character Stitch all over them. I nod up at her and stand up with a somewhat forced smile when she invites me back in to see the doctor. I push those lingering thoughts of my parents to the back of my mind and focus on the routine questions she goes through with me. Even though Megan already checked my vitals once, this nurse double checks them. I don't know if this is because Megan forgot to record them, or it is just the normal procedure. I'm not concerned about it either way. Once she's done she assures me that the doctor will be with me shortly before leaving me alone in the exam room. I know it's only a few minutes, but it feels like hours pass by before the doctor finally shows up.

Now I have to hear him droll out the whole spiel I already know by heart regarding the serum. "You read the source material on somnium venereum that we suggested? Correct?"

I nod my head. Somnium venereum is a fancy latin name that simply translates to romantic dream. It's basically where the person who received the injection takes a moment to meditate and fixate only on calling out to the heart that is the mate of their own. This can technically happen during any time after the injection, but I know exactly why he is asking me about it now. "Yes. I know not to attempt to channel it until the serum has been within my body for at least two hours." The medicine that stimulates the serum to adhere and read the DNA within the white blood cells doesn't fully infiltrate into the body until approximately that amount of time has passed.

"As long as your Soulmate has also received the injection, you will feel a prick of pain which will signal the location your Soulmate Mark will appear. However, the mark won't become visible until about twenty hours after you feel that initial sting of pain." He explains to me unnecessarily.

A Soulmate Mark can pretty much be anything, but they always somehow relate to the receiver's Soulmate. It could reflect a nickname, a hobby, anything really as long as it is something that makes a personal connection to their Soulmate. When the other side of the bond receives their mark it always appears in the same location as their Soulmate's Mark appeared.

I have to take a deep breath in order to calm myself and keep from getting overly excited by the fact that in about twenty-six hours I should discover what my mark might end up being. These thoughts are likely to cause me to channel somnium venereum too early, and I know that I can't do that due to the two hour wait. I don't know what would happen exactly, that specific information hasn't been shared to the general public. Well, that might be untrue. It's probably been shared in a scientific magazine or such, but I doubt there is anything in layman's terms I could read and understand. I do know that if I channel somnium venereum too early the injection would have to be repeated no earlier than thirty days later, and not only do I not want to wait any longer I also simply don't have the funds to afford another injection. I definitely don't want to have to wait another five years to obtain the funds either.

The trip back to my apartment isn't as bad as the trip there. After all, for the next two hours I don't have anything to do but wait. So, to pass the time, I decided to take a detour and stop by a restaurant that I passed on my way in; I had skipped breakfast after all. I can't help but smirk at myself when I notice the awning as I open the door. It's the same restaurant I stopped by earlier to get out of the rain to take the call from Ms. Adeline.

After I give the waitress my order I find myself gazing out of the window. Across the street is one of the few tattoo parlors that is still operational. Supposedly about five years after the amorium serum was approved for mass production numerous tattoo shops had started going bankrupt. Many people just didn't see the appeal in getting ink to mark their skin, when it would happen naturally after getting their Soulmate Mark. And apparently the body piercing side of the business wasn't enough to keep them afloat financially.

I've always wondered if some people might also worry that their tattoo would end up covering their Soulmate Mark, and if that happened it's possible they wouldn't be able to see the mark underneath the ink. At least I'm assuming it would appear underneath the ink, since the marks appear thanks to something regarding our DNA, that makes me think they appear from the inside out. Tattoos are made on the surface, which sounds like it would work the opposite way to me. Despite the lower number of clientele there are still just enough customers that a number of Chicago tattoo artists were able to band together to open a single location rather than the numerous small ones that once existed.

I sigh when I get home and enter my sham of an apartment. Sometimes I wonder if a cardboard box would have more room than the crappy studio apartment I live in. I can't complain too much though. I settled on this apartment because it was surprisingly safe for the low price of rent. There's a lock on the outside door, as well as a security camera above that door, and several more security cameras in the hallways and the stairwell. I mostly stayed in this location because both my jobs were literally only a couple blocks away from it. The only minus to that was the fact they were located in opposite directions. Luckily, I usually have enough time to come home and take at least an hour long break between my early morning shift at the café and my midday shift at the diner. So, I simply considered my apartment the midway point between the two.

I only drove Molly once in a 'blue moon' when I had a day off from both jobs. Perhaps that's part of the reason she isn't working now. I mentally push my mind away from that topic. It's not time to dwell on things I can't change, and I definitely don't need to blame myself for such things either.

I glance at the clock on the wall above my television. 10:00. I sigh and flop on the couch behind me. I still have another hour until I can channel somnium venereum. Before I know it my remote is in my hand, and I am scanning through my list on Netflix. I have this weird habit, or addiction, of amassing multiple titles in my list that I happened to find interesting due to their descriptions alone, because of this my list is immensely extensive. I've never actually counted the numerous television series and movies I saved because it would probably take at least an hour to do so. Due to my lack of free time I would guess that I have only watched a quarter of my list.

Since I don't want to get myself sucked into the plotline of something new I scroll down to the selection of titles that fall under 'watch it again.' I smile when one of my favorite movies I have seen over and over again is highlighted, Stardust. I should pick up the book by Neil Gaiman sometime and try to read it. Wait, maybe not, I think a customer once told me that surprisingly it is one of the few times where the movie is far better, although I can't recall if she gave me a reason. Perhaps I got busy before I could ask her for more details. I divert my attention back to my television where Tristan is trying to woo Victoria.

Despite my initial intention to not get caught up in the storyline I somehow still end up watching the whole thing. Per normal I frown at the ending. It's not that I dislike the way it ends, but there was an alternate ending on the copy of the movie that my parents had bought for me that I liked a lot better. It takes me a minute or two before I fully realize that the credits are rolling and it's past time for me to be able to channel somnium venereum successfully.

I make sure I am comfortable and focus on the stories my parents made up for me, and the true stories they read to me. I focus on who the prince of my story is, who my Soulmate may be. I channel how much I want to be with him. A few moments later I feel multiple stinging sensations prick across five different areas of my body. The first was the right side of my neck, the second the upper left panel of my chest just below my collarbone, the third high on the outside of my right thigh, the fourth down my spine, and the fifth on the upper part of my left arm near my shoulder.

I gulp back my nervousness. "Holy crap. I have five Soulmates."

Five? Wow... Yeah, eighteen year old me would not have been prepared for the idea of five Soulmates. I of course miss my parents, and wish life had dealt me a different hand. However, I can't help but be somewhat relieved that an eighteen year old me didn't have the opportunity to be freaked out by the idea of having five Soulmates. Five Soulmates! I can't wait to see them all tomorrow morning! I do a quick mental recap of where they are all located. My lips turn slightly downward, not quite a frown, but still portraying my mild concern. I'm going to have to contort my body this way and that while looking in the mirror in order to see the one on my spine.

I pick up my phone to fill in Ms. Adeline on this surprising turn of events, but it goes straight to voicemail. She must have her phone turned off for some reason. Strange.

Since it's only midmorning I decide to dig through my list on Netflix to try to find a television or anime series I can binge to keep my mind occupied. Otherwise I'm going to be a big ball of excitement all day long, and I won't be able to get any sleep tonight. Definitely no caffeine today. If I don't get any sleep though at least I can sleep in. I asked for tomorrow off too.

Note: It's a little after Noon her time when she finally channels somnium venereum which would make it 3am the following day in Korea.

The name Adeline means "kind-hearted person." I used this name for that reason, plus it's really close to my grandmother's birth name, Addie, who was definitely one of the most kind-hearted people I've ever known. To know her was to love her. She's always been my #1 female role model, and I miss her beyond measure. You can find the proof of the meaning to the name Adeline in the link provided in the comments of this paragraph.