SOULMATE OF ROSES

By

Angie

7/12/2021

Soulmates. You share your best and worst with them. But what happens when that love is...faulty?

Seeping down her arm, it was unknown to who done this to her and her husband. The middle of a rose bud stuck in her arm, the petals melting down on the grass. "That's what they get for not letting us be together, Holly." The wind of his breath evaporated her tears—his plastic gloves burning in the fire—the gun on the ground next to him. "Shhh...it'll be over, Holly..."

Holly Ash clicked the enter button on her computer. With the simple press of a button on her worn-down MacBook, her husband would reveal himself with an email. All she had to do was fill out a preference questionnaire for the desired partner. The man received through the kittycatlover19@gmail email she made on her dad's computer at 12, would resemble her future lover. And most importantly, they would thrive together. Their nights would be filled with soft goodnight kisses and back massages.

But when she typed her email in, missing ten million keys due to the electricity in her hands, she swore to herself that this anxiety better be worth it. High pitched ringing attacked her ear from family's tinnitus problem.

Holly pushed the mouse into her black mousepad, clicking on the email. Shutting her eyes tight, she counted to three to look at the results.

The words on the screen whispered 'Aha! This is what you get!' down her ear. But she was a loyal citizen! She paid taxes, volunteered for the community. And she never violated the law. Never. Ever.

Dear Holly Ash,

Your request for a partner has been DENIED. We wish you the best of luck in the rest of your life. Execution Date: 7/25

They must have had the wrong Holly Ash.

Screams, cries, and 'Oh my god, I'm so happy for you!' erupted outside of her bedroom window. She could not be the only person who got denied. There had to be a mistake. Holly drafted a letter of concern to 'lifetimepartner@gmail'.

As she roamed the streets outside, the local Starbucks waited a street away. Crowds of 'perfect partners' filled corners. Holly's posture slumped, her hands finding a new home in the small pockets of her jeans. A caterpillar slugged beside her, flowers budding into roses, and Granny Smith apples growing on trees. The beautiful scenery of summer was a violation to Holly's demeanor.

Her white air forces crushed the caterpillar in half. The wet and silk rose petals crumpled together at the bottom of her shoe, sticking to the caterpillar remains. The granny smith apple on the tree split in half along the tree bark from her throw.

In the back of her mind, she knew the consequences of not being selected a partner. Death. Because everyone knew what that denial email meant—you weren't capable of love.

"Hi! Welcome to Starbucks, what would you like?" a man said. Holly bet he lived on a magical cloud with his own partner. "...Would you like something or...?"

Holly put her hands back into their little home. "A mocha frappuccino."

"We have a new lover's pink cappuccino drink. It's a hit. Only one—"

"Cut the bullshit! I came here for a Frappuccino, is that too much to ask for?! Do you see me with my lover? No! So, why'd you ask me for one?"

"$5.86," he said.

Holly took her Frappuccino to a small table in the back. Her green straw winced in pain as her teeth bit down on it, not letting go.

As soon as she was getting ready to leave, the clapping of thunder stormed on the grass. A flash of lightening stroked a flower bud, leaving it hunched and black.

Lightning shook the shop, making her cup fall over. She noticed a string of words on the cup sticker.

I know your secret. Work with me if you want to know more. Time is ticking, Holly Ash. ...82143.

How did he know her name? What did those numbers represent? She kept getting glances from the barista. He poured milk into cups while smirking at Holly.

All afternoon and into the evening, she could not bring herself to leaving the coffee shop. To her, the note was a decision between life or death. Once she stepped out that door, the government would be looking to kill her. No one in society could roam around the streets without a government chosen partner—especially as an adult.

"Hey," the man said. A mug sat on the table with a heart in the middle of it.

"I don't know what secret you're talking about."

"No, you do." He took a few sips of the coffee, folding his hands on the table. "82143."

"I don't know what that fucking means!"

"You do, Holl." She swallowed the thick, dry stone taking a nap in her throat. No one called her Holl. No one called her that but him. "You know what we did on August 21, 2043. The best day of our teenage lives."

The man in front of her was her ex-boyfriend, Teddy, the man that helped kill her parents on 8/21/43. Teddy moved to Europe a few days after. His hair color changed—even his accent. As she examined Teddy, Holly couldn't stop seeing the events of 8/21/43-- the bullet wound in her parent's arm—how she compared it to a rose.

Her ears filled with those five words Teddy whispered in her ear the day before their deaths, what if we killed them? he said. What if we killed them? It'd be like...freedom.

"If you come with me now, we can survive." he said.

"What do you mean?"

"I miss you. And if we run away together, isn't that what we both want? To be free of this controlling country? Isn't that what we always wanted?"

More roses had fallen over from the punch of rain and lightning. She looked back at her ex. Holly didn't have much of a choice.

They got in Teddy's Honda, driving to the airport. Teddy placed his right hand on Holly's thigh. As time went on, he squeezed his hand tighter around her leg.

"Ted," she said. "You're hurting my leg, stop."

He did nothing but push his hand deeper in her leg. "So, you really thought you were just going to find a lover using a bullshit exam? You really were going to forget about me?"

"No—I don't—no."

"Then why'd you apply for one?" he glared at Holly.

"It didn't—I just—I needed a partner before the summer deadline. Was I supposed to just get killed by the government?"

"Hm..." He sped up the car, passing the right lane to the airport.

"Ted the airport is right there—what are you doing?" her breath shortened, his grip, tighter.

"Just relax. Taking another route."

Holly's breathing ignored Teddys commands. Her brain and limbs did too. She reached for the unlock button on the door—but they were taken off.

"Teddy...whyd you take out the unlock buttons?" Her face flipped to him, watching his lips turn to a smirk. "Teddy...Teddy let me go!" She trembled sobs. "Ted! You're scaring me--"

"Shhh, shhh, stop screaming, babe. They fell off when the car got repaired."

"I want to go back... take me--"

"Stop lying to yourself—you know you want to spend eternity with me."

"I don't-- I don't. I'm emailing life partner and asking for another request." She took her phone out. Teddy took it out her hand, throwing it out the exposed window.

"Babe, stop and think. All those years without me made you forget. I'm your partner, no one else," he said, smiling. His calm manner made her stomach do cartwheels. She teared up, banging on the door. "Don't cry like that...it makes me sad."

He made a turn to an unknown road. "What's going on?"

"Babe-- I sent the denied email. Hacked into life partner's mail. Your given partner wasn't good enough for you. No one will ever be as good to you like I am," he released his hands off the steering wheel, his foot pumping on the gas faster.

"Teddy, stop! Why is your hands off the steering wheel? Why are you doing this to me? Teddy!"

"We're going to spend eternity together." He held Holly's head in his hands, kissing tears off her cheek. "Just you and me—in the afterlife. I did so much for us. I killed your parents so we can be together...I risked my life for you. Nothing is going to separate us again." He held her sobbing face in his chest, the car heading straight in the direction of a building. "Shhh...I'm right here...I love you." Holly's mouth covered in red metal, glass poking every inch of her skin. She clenched to his white turtleneck, shaking. "Shh...it'll be over.... it'll be over..." he said.

Thud. Crash....It'll be over.... 

Word Count

1500/1500