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Preface: There’s a saying that soulmates know when they’ve found each other, that they bring color to their partner’s life. But then what happens when one leaves before the other?
Thud. Thud. Thud
The sound of his heart, accompanied by the soft patter of rain, was all he could hear, what he was supposed to hear. Yet they seemed mute compared to the heart wrenching noise that played through his phone speakers just a second earlier. He screamed, calling for his name, only to be met with the dial tone. His heart beating faster, he moved into action. His feet beat against the ground, trying to catch up to the erratic rhythm his heart pounded.
He hoped, prayed, wished. Hoped that nothing had happened. Prayed for his safety. Wished that he was there with him . They had been through too much together, too much for their time to be cut short. His heart thumped louder in his ears, almost as if it were calling out for help, be it from a god, or from him. As the scenery changed around him, his eyes revealed that his heart’s plea was being ignored, that there was no god that day.
Blue was the first thing that he noticed slipping. The previously stormy blue sky became a dull gray as the horde of umbrellas lost their palette before his very eyes. The view they wished to see from the peak, now forever hidden behind clouds
This was the beginning of the end.
This he knew in his mind, yet his heart was unwilling.
Green followed soon after, the park around him turning a dead grey as it lost its vibrancy, seemingly mocking his race against time and foretelling that his fate.
The signs were appearing, yet his heart was unwilling.
Yellow, orange, indigo, violet. The colors began to quickly slip away from his gaze, the decorated street now losing its welcoming nature, now seeming like a walk down death row. Gone were the warm lights, the bright storefronts, now replaced with a mocking grey, casting more shades of black across his vision.
The herald of death was fast approaching, yet his heart was unwilling.
Nothing around him stood out anymore—nothing but the color red, igniting a small spark of hope in his heart. Red like the blood in his heart, like the blood that flowed in his body, that kept that him alive. If he could still see that, then all was not lost. He only needed to get help, only needed to save him .
There was a chance to go against fate, and his heart was willing.
But, as the hopeful thought flash through his mind, his world was plunged into darkness, the street filled with nothing but tones of grey, black, and white... the tones of death. His eyes swept across the area, desperately trying to catch that last glimmer of hope.
But the time had come, and his heart was unwilling.
He no longer cared who was around, no longer cared where he was. All he knew, all he felt, was the pain that had gripped his heart, torn his soul asunder. His body crumpled, his mind not feeling the outside pain of falling as it struggled to accept the unyielding truth before his eyes. He had lost him . Had lost his partner in life. Had lost what made his life colorful. All that was left was an incomplete man, a fractured being. There was no Ye Xiu without a Su Muqiu. Only a pale husk of what could have been.
The colors were gone, and his heart was unwilling.
Afterword: The loss of a soulmate is said to have an irreparable effect on the other’s soul. Each survivor loses a different aspect of their life when the loss occurs. Some lose their taste, some their smell, a lucky few their emotions. But the most common, and the most disheartening, is the loss of color, with red being the last to disappear. Perhaps this color represents the lifeblood of the deceased, their last attempt to connect with their respective mate, but regardless of the reason, once this color vanishes, the survivor is well and truly alone in the world.