Eden turned 16 last week.
Not only did that mean she was eligible to vote and get her driver's license, but it also meant the most important thing of all. She had been waiting ever since she was five years old when an Activator was implanted in her neck. It had activated on her 16th, exactly at midnight. Meaning she was old enough to see who has Soul Marks and who doesn't. And one of those people who didn't have Soul Marks on their faces was her soulmate.
She dreamed about receiving her own Soul Mark. Her parents had them. Eden's parents were truly flawless. They never fought, never argued, and they made two perfect children with attractive features. Her older brother, Edgar, proceeded into college with perfect ranks and a perfect fiancée. He became a software engineering manager. His wife was a cardiologist.
Eden's parents knew that their family was perfect. Therefore, Eden knew her soulmate would be perfect.
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Nine months had passed. Eden had started questioning months ago. Her soulmate was very late.
Late was not perfect.
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"Eden. Eden, please answer me."
Eden ate her lunch silently. Her appetite decreased with every boy that passed by with a colored Soul Mark on their cheeks.
Andria heaved. "I'm so sorry, Eden."
"What are you sorry for?" Andria flinched as Eden aggressively stabbed her salad with a fork.
"I didn't sit with you at lunch yesterday."
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"Andria, should I save you a spot?"
She turned to Eden, her cheeks glowing. "Actually, I'm going to sit with Romeo. Is that okay?"
Eden blinked, not sure if she heard right. "Are you sure? He can...he can sit with us."
"Oh, Eden. I really want him to introduce me to his friends. But of course, you can sit with us. Maybe one of his charming friends is your soulmate." But Eden shook her head. Andria bounced away. It hurt even more when she saw the violet marks on Andria and Romeo's cheeks.
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"I'm not worried about that, Andria. I'm proud. I'm proud you found Romeo." She took a bite of the salad. "You were eating lunch with the love of your life."
"I'm sure you'll find yours soon."
Eden said nothing to that. She glanced at the next boy that came through the cafeteria door. She recognized him — Kalvin Karlisle, a stubby boy who was always at an arcade. He had a pale orange Soul Mark on his left cheek. The more pale the mark was, the more recent they found their soulmate. His face was flushed and pleased.
"Even Kalvin found a soulmate," Eden muttered, frustrated. "Why can't I find mine?"
Andria placed her hand on her shoulder. "You will," she assured. "You're the most beautiful girl in school anyway."
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During her French period, which was her final class, Eden was far from paying attention. She pretended to be taking notes on the verb avoir when she was really writing down the name of every student in theh class. She separated the names into those who had Soul Marks and those who did not.
Frederick Reeves: Yellow
Karen Bradford: Brown
Eden Fischer: N/A
She was halfway done when the door suddenly squeaked open and someone peeked inside. "Nouvel étudiant?" Madame Carey asked, surprised.
New student. Eden spun her head around. Her classmates did the same.
A boy with naturally red hair wearing a vintage rock t-shirt stepped in. "Hola a todos," he announced in Spanish, making Madame Carey lift her eyebrows.
The class was quiet, then erupted into laughter. But Eden watched his doe-eyed, goofy grin curiously.
He didn't have a Soul Mark.
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"Ciao, class! Remember to practice your verbs." Madame Carey passed a green sheet of paper to Eden as she was packing up her supplies. She folded the paper and slipped it inside the front pocket of her binder. Eden paused for a moment and looked up at her teacher. She had recently known that Madame Carey did not have a Soul Mark, though she was older than most teachers in school.
Madame Carey met her gaze. "Mademoiselle Fischer?" she asked in concern. "Is there something wrong?"
"No, Madame Carey." She zipped up her backpack. "Although, I have a question."
"Quelle est ta question? What's your question?"
"Pardon me for my rudeness, but why don't you have a soulmate? Have you never married?"
The teacher paused. For a moment it looked like she was clenching her papers harder than before. "I did not expect that question from you, Eden," she replied sternly. "But I can see why you asked. You must be worried about finding your soulmate. You still have time, Eden."
"How much time would that be?"
Madame Carey inserted the bundle of papers into a folder on her desk. "Before you turn seventeen, that is. It could be today or tomorrow. Whenever your soulmate finds you or you find them. Now, hurry along. School is over."
Eden thanked her, still unsatisfied. As she slung her backpack over her shoulder and left the classroom, she realized Madame Carey didn't properly answer her first question about her own soulmate.
"Hey, Eden," Andria called from behind.
Eden let her catch up. "Hey, Andria. There was a new student in my class today."
Andria smiled. "I know. Adam, right? He was in my class right before yours. He's very funny. And," she whispered, nudging her arm. "He doesn't have a Soul Mark."
"Did you say his name was Adam?"
"Yeah. Adam Sloane."
Eden chuckled to herself. "What's so funny?" Andria said with a quizzical expression.
"Adam...as in Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden."
"I'm surprised you even thought of that. Maybe it's a sign."
"Maybe so. But I wouldn't know if I haven't even talked to him."
"You're in luck. I saw Adam and Romeo together after lunch. Boys become friends easily, I suppose." Eden agreed to that. It was the first time she was ever grateful for Romeo.
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Adam's hair was gorgeous, even more, when it beamed under the sun. Light, crimson orange waves. Perfect. He stood by the gates with Romeo and a few of his other friends. Romeo didn't acknowledge Adam once. He and his friends loved to talk about girls, specifically Violet, whom they practically worshipped. Romeo chatted with Meara, one of his closest friends.
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"Did you know that Violet broke up with Mark because they weren't soulmates?"
"Harsh. Weren't they dating for like, two years? They had it coming."
"Here's the thing — Mark's brother is her soulmate."
"What? No. No way, you're lying."
"I wish I was. But they have the same mark. You should've seen the look on Mark's face."
"Poor Mark. But they shouldn't have dated in the first place. Not worth it to get your heart broken if they're not the one."
Poor Adam. He shuffled his pockets awkwardly, not knowing what to say or when to say it. Eden took this opportunity to talk to him. "Hey Adam," she blurted.
Adam nodded in her direction. "Hey."
"You're in my French class. I'm Eden."
"Cool. I'm— well, you already know my name." They were silent for a few moments. "You like cheese?"
"What?"
"Never mind," he said, chuckling quietly. "I was gonna come up with something but it's lame."
Eden grinned and adjusted her strawberry blonde hair. "What was the joke?"
He cleared his throat. "I was gonna say, 'Man, I'm so hungry I could be Eden cheese.'"
"What?"
"'Man, I'm so hungry I could be Eden cheese.'"
She blinked. "Eden cheese? As in my name?" She almost broke out in hysterical giggles, but she caught herself. "What is that?"
"You know, Eden? The cheese brand? I told you it was stupid," he admitted.
Eden couldn't help it — she burst into laughter and even snorted. "Okay. That wasn't stupid. That was cheesy. But I could do the same for your name — 'I'm so hungry I could be eating Edam."
"You know, I think that's A-dam good joke," he answered.
"You should've said, 'I think that's A-dam gouda joke.'"
"Look at you, cheese expert."
Eden's face turned into the color of strawberry jam. It was overwhelming how easy it was to talk to him. Her face fell when she realized neither of them had matching Soul Marks yet, but then she quickly remembered some marks were delayed. She would get hers this week. She was sure of it. After all, they were some of the only students in their grade to not have received their Soul Marks yet. The chances seemed pretty high in her favor.
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A few days later, Eden Fischer showed up at school in her mother's mini floral sleeve dress. She had babbled about Adam to her family for hours until her mother finally took her seriously. Her parents didn't like a few things about Adam — his love for rock music, his inability to take things seriously, and how he didn't have any plans for the near future or even college. They didn't think he was good enough for her. They didn't think he was perfect.
How wrong they were. She was his Eve, and he was perfect. And she was going to prove it when they receive their Soul Marks. A smile plastered on her lips as she fiddled with her book bag.
She caught up to Adam by his locker. "Hey, Adam," she said, still smiling.
Adam turned around with his hands in his pockets. "Hey Eden," he replied, beaming. "Nice dress."
Eden's smile froze.
He had a red Soul Mark on his left cheek.
Did it happen? Did she finally have the same Soul Mark? She was about to fling her hand to her face when someone standing behind Adam stepped in front of him.
It was a girl with wavy, cinnamon hair. She had similar freckles to Adam and had pretty dimples. She wore a dark, oversized shirt that shielded her shorts, and her nails were long and painted fern green.
And she had the exact same mark as Adam.
The girl greeted her with a bubbly accent. "Hello."
Eden nearly choked.
"I'm Evelyn-Rose, and yes, they're both my first names. You're Adam's friend, the unmarked one." Adam elbowed her hard, making them both laugh. "Your dress is lovely, by the way."
"The...unmarked one?"
"Well you are unmarked," she said, blushing until her face matched the color of her mark. "I don't know. I'm sorry."
"I mean, save the best for last, am I right?" Adam joked. Evelyn-Rose elbowed him harder.
"Honestly," she began, biting back another giggle. "I can't believe I'm stuck with this guy forever."
Eden, who was filled with shame and disbelief, forced a smile and walked away.
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Eden hid in the bathroom stall for the first two periods.
Of course Adam wasn't meant for her. They were too different. What was she thinking, falling for a boy who loves rock music? Adam was far from intelligent, anyway. Him not having any plans for college should've been the first red flag. He wasn't perfect at all.
But Eden wasn't close to perfect either. She was desperate. Angry. Confused.
What if she ended up like Madame Carey? Madame Carey wasn't married. She had no ring on her finger. She had no soulmate. Eden's parents had already planned her wedding and sewn a wedding dress just for her. They had planned it since she turned double digits. Now, all that hope seemed to fly away.
She was now officially the only girl in her grade to not have a Soul Mark.
Eden could already imagine her wedding dress tossed into her fireplace. Burned. Disintegrated. She felt a feeling of hatred for everyone. Adam. Romeo. Evelyn-Rose. Andria. Why couldn't she find the love that they had found?
Tears stung her eyes. She let them fall on the tiles in shame. She deserved it.
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12 years later
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Eden was twenty-eight years old.
By then, she had attended Andria and Romeo's wedding as a bridesmaid. She never heard from Adam or Evelyn-Rose since they had graduated. A friend had told her they had traveled overseas. Her brother, Edgar, still looked as he did twelve years ago. She received a letter from him with photographs of him and his wife on a mountain. It's been several years since she actually called him.
By then, Eden had done everything on her bucket list. Travel on an airplane to Alaska. Adopt a kitten. Go to a Japanese buffet.
Meet your soulmate.
She had done it. She had met her soulmate.
In fact, she had more than one.
"Morning, Eden," the person at the front desk greeted.
"Good morning, Rita."
She creaked the door open. The commotion inside the room roared. Sounds of animals clawing at the cages screeched in her ears. Eden greeted every one of them, and finally stopped at Maple, a rescue dog with beautiful, doe eyes. "Hey, Maple. You're finally going home today," whispered Eden. "With me. And Jeremiah." Jeremiah, her boyfriend, also didn't have a Soul Mark.
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She believed everyone had a soulmate.
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And she didn't need a Soul Mark to prove it.
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