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Like most of the other girls, Galinda received a Soulmate Notebook from her momsie and popsicle on her 16th birthday. It was a magical notebook. You touched it to unlock the magic seal and mark it as your own. Then, once a year, you could write any description on each page, and the notebook would give you the answer as Yes or No to reveal how your soulmate was.
In Oz, owning a Soulmate Notebook was the biggest desire for any girl. Just as people love to follow a secret map to find a huge treasure, that magic notebook was the guide that helped them explore their soulmate.
So, right after the sweet sixteen birthday party was over, Galinda rushed to her princess bedroom with the gift in her hand.
She sat at her desk, put the notebook on the desk, and slowly put her palm on its cover. The notebook beamed with pink light. It was unsealed.
Galinda happily opened the first page and held her pink glitter pen.
Now, an innocent 16-year-old Galinda knew that her soulmate would be perfect. Perfect and handsome, and maybe could ride a horse too. How wonderful he was! Galinda knew she didn't have to worry about his looks. What she was really worried about was:
"Tall?"
Galinda wrote the word on the first page carefully. The pink ink on the page was just as bright as the dress she was wearing. Then she gently put the pen back on the desk and watched, thrilled, as the black ink slowly appeared on the page.
"Not just taller than me, my dear Soulmate Notebook. I'm 4 feet 11. Anyone is taller than me. I wanna know if he is really tall. Tall and handsome and perfect. Oh~"
Galinda sighed happily. She looked out the window, her eyes lost in the middle of a pink and dreamy cloud. She once again imagined her prince. Tall, handsome, sweet, perfect.
After the dreaming seconds passed by, she looked down at the page again. Under her pink word, there was a scribbled "Yes". She happily jumped up and down.
"Yes! YES! He would be so perfect. Just like me!"
But that piece of information was only enough to keep Glinda happy for three short days. And she had to wait a whole year to ask the next question. So, since the fourth day after her sixteenth birthday, she had started to consider what she should ask next.
Good-kisser? Good dancer? Strong? Smart? Talented?
Every day, Galinda would spend a few hours wondering about it.
-
After asking all of her friends, Galinda realized that most of their first words were "prince".
Of course, all of them got a negative answer. But Galinda believed that she could have everything. Because she had tried so hard to be the most perfect girl in Oz, so it was only fair that her soulmate would be just as perfect.
"Prince is it. I will ask if he is a prince."
She decided it would be her next question.
So, on the morning of her seventeenth birthday, when the first ray of sunshine shone through the window into her bedroom, Galinda immediately woke up and rushed to her desk.
The notebook on the desk beamed with the pink light. She touched it, and it was unsealed once again. She opened the first page and smiled at her word last year. Tall.
She turned to the next page, held her pink glitter pen, and her face grew thoughtful.
She suddenly didn’t want to ask whether he was a prince anymore. All of her friends got a no, which made her concerned. As much as she knew she deserved a prince for her own, she also understood she had never met any prince.
It would be wasted, she thought.
Toying with her pen for a while, she thought about all the adjectives she could write, but she got nothing.
And she thought about what momsie once told her.
"Remember to find you a rich husband. Then he could give you a fulfilling life."
Galinda bit her lower lip, then wrote carefully on the page.
"Rich?"
She stared at the page, watched the black ink slowly appear into a "No".
Galinda felt so disappointed. She angrily closed the notebook. It was sealed for another year.
She stood up and went to her closet to choose the pinkest, most beautiful dress for her seventeenth birthday party.
For the first time in her life, Galinda couldn’t find any joy in looking at her gorgeous closet.
-
But Galinda quickly got over the piece of information she got on her seventeenth birthday. That night after her birthday party, she burst into tears and told her momsie and popsicle that her soulmate wasn’t a rich man. Her parents comforted her. They said they only had one precious daughter and promised that all of Arduenna Upland’s estates would belong to her eventually. Her momsie even said that she didn't have to marry her soulmate.
Galinda strongly disagreed with the idea of not marrying her soulmate. She promised herself that before she decided to marry anyone, she had to make sure that person was her soulmate. Galinda Arduenna Upland would marry her soulmate, no other option.
But her parents’ promise made her feel much better.
"Don't worry, my prince. We will be rich anyway." Galinda thought to herself.
As her eighteenth birthday was approaching, she started to count down every single day to ask the third question.
Galinda's eighteenth birthday was just a few days before she went to study at Shiz University.
Therefore, she easily decided what she should ask.
Just a few more minutes. Galinda sat at her desk, excitedly waiting for every second to pass by.
Until finally, the notebook beamed with pink light once again. She touched it to unseal it.
Galinda quickly turned to the third page and began to write.
"Study at Shiz together?"
The black ink slowly appeared once again. She felt like it was slower than the previous two times combined. Galinda’s heart pounded faster and faster.
On the page, another "Yes" appeared.
Galinda happily kissed the word.
Finally. She was about to meet her soulmate.
A tall, handsome, smart, talented, perfect prince.
-
Galinda didn't really understand her true feelings when she saw Elphaba for the first time.
The truth was, she wasn't scared of Elphaba's strange skin.
She just didn't understand how that raw imperfection could exist. An unconcealable imperfection, plain for anybody to see.
It made Galinda feel insecure. Because Galinda knew, deep down, she wasn't perfect. But she was taught to be perfect and flawless all her life. That was why she carefully hid her imperfection deep within herself, so no one would know.
All the forbidden feelings.
Elphaba wasn't perfect. But she dared to accept her imperfect self.
It made Galinda scared.
It also attracted Galinda.
Which made Galinda even scarier.
That was why Galinda decided that she loathed Elphaba.
But they quickly became friends. As naturally as a touch of destiny, even though Galinda had tried to resist it.
Now, Galinda’s nineteenth birthday was only a few minutes away.
Galinda lay on her comfortable bed. A smile wouldn’t leave her lips. She was about to celebrate her first birthday with Elphaba. She felt so happy she couldn't even explain why.
“Elphie… Hey, Elphie,” Galinda whispered softly. “Are you still awake?”
Of course, Elphaba was still awake, but she didn’t tell Galinda she was counting down to her birthday too.
"Just one minute until my birthday."
Elphaba knew it, but she still replied flatly.
"Is it?"
"Yes. My nineteenth birthday—the first one I’ve ever spent away from home."
"You must miss home a lot, don't you?"
"A little."
Galinda didn't tell Elphaba how happy she was that Elphaba was beside her for her birthday.
They stopped talking. The tick-tock of the clock was so clear. Elphaba and Galinda counted down in their own heads.
“6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1.”
“Happy birthday, Galinda.”
Galinda quietly wiped her tears. Why was such a simple ‘happy birthday’ enough to make her cry?
She quickly cheered herself up, stood up, sat at her desk, and lit up a candle.
Elphaba sat up in bed and looked at Galinda. She had already gotten used to the fact that her tiny blonde friend always does weird things that she couldn't understand.
Galinda took a small wooden chest out of her drawer and opened it. Inside the chest, pink light shone out. Galinda took out a thin notebook and unsealed it.
Galinda picked up her pink glitter pen with excitement. Elphaba raised an eyebrow.
"What is that? Is it a notebook full of things that you’ve actually learned over 19 years?"
Elphaba teased.
"Silly Elphie. This is the Soulmate Notebook.”
“Soulmate what?”
Galinda put down her pen and looked at Elphaba, surprised.
"You don't have one? But all the girls got one on their sixteenth birthday."
Elphaba shrugged.
"Well, I'm no other girl. You haven't realized it yet?"
Her bitter voice made Galinda’s heart ache. She took the notebook and stepped close to sit next to Elphaba. Elphaba's bed was hard but comfortingly warm.
Galinda pointed at the notebook.
"This is the Soulmate Notebook. Every girl must own one. On each page, you write a description, and the notebook will give you a yes/no answer as to how your soulmate is.
"Oh."
"Look." Galinda slowly opened the notebook. "The first page, where I asked on my sixteenth birthday, says my soulmate is a tall person. The second question I asked on my seventeenth birthday was whether he was rich. He isn’t, but it’s okay because my momsie and popsicle will give me their estates, so I will not live a poor life.
She turned another page, eyes glittering with excitement.
“And this one — the third — I asked if we study at Shiz together. The answer was yes!”
Galinda closed the notebook and hugged it to her chest, beaming.
"I’ve already found my soulmate. I know it for sure."
Elphaba felt a little hope rise inside her. She turned to look at Galinda, who was lost in dreaming thoughts. She was always so beautiful that Elphaba's heart beat so fast she couldn't stop it when she looked at her.
"Did you? And who is it?"
"Fiyero, of course, duh."
Elphaba's heart fell. She should have known that was the only possible answer.
"But your soulmate isn't rich, right? Fiyero is a prince."
"I know! I had wondered too. But I asked him. He is a prince of a small something in Vinkus. Long story short, his family is royal blood, but they have power, not wealth. Still, he is a prince."
Galinda happily went to her desk, opened the notebook, and held her pen.
"I can ask his name directly, but I wanna try another piece of information first. You know, to be sure. Hmm, what can describe him?"
Galinda thought for a solid minute. She realized that Fiyero was just a blurred picture inside her mind. Weird. Galinda looked at Elphaba thoughtfully.
“Hmm…”
Galinda tapped her pen against her cheek.
Elphaba shyly turned away.
"What if you wrote a person's name in it?"
"If that person isn’t your soulmate, that page will tear itself out. But if they are, then a magical thing will happen."
"What magical thing?"
"I don’t know, Elphie. My momsie didn’t, either. I think she couldn’t find her soulmate."
Elphaba didn’t know what to say next. She stroked her long black hair.
"Oh—right, black hair."
"It's a common thing."
But Galinda had already written it on the page. This time, unlike the three times before, the answer ‘Yes’ appeared almost immediately.
Galinda rushed to hold Elphaba’s hands and pulled her to her feet. Galinda jumped up and down with excitement.
"Black hair! Elphie, my soulmate has black hair. Yay! Fiyero must be the one!”
Elphaba just stood there, smiling softly at the happy Galinda.
Galinda let go of Elphaba’s hands and fell onto her comfortable bed.
"Black hair..."
Galinda whispered, closing her eyes with a soft smile.
Elphaba stroked her long black hair again, out of habit.
-
Elphaba was alone in her dorm room. She was packing for a trip she would soon take to Emerald City.
It was almost midnight, but Galinda hadn't come back yet. She said she had to go do something and had been away since 8 p.m. Elphaba looked at the clock with worry.
Should I go find her? Should I go find her?
Elphaba decided that she should and ran to the door. But when she swung the door open, Galinda was standing right outside the room. She held a cake in one hand and a present in the other.
“Elphie!”
Galinda said, more cheerfully than her usual self, and stepped inside. Elphaba closed the door.
"Where have you been?"
"Shh..."
Galinda looked at the clock, her lips opening and closing as she counted silently.
"What are you doing?"
All of a sudden, the small candle on the cake flickered to life. Its warm light shone on Galinda’s face as she looked at Elphaba with the sweetest smile. Her face sparkled—more radiant than all the stars in the sky.
"Happy birthday, Elphie."
Elphaba felt warmth spread through her. A strange feeling that she didn’t realize was happiness until long after.
"Thanks... Thank you."
"Now blow out the candle."
"No way I'm gonna do that."
Galinda just pouted, and Elphaba simply obeyed.
Galinda smiled and gave Elphaba the cake, then pulled her to sit on her bed.
"Eat the cake, Elphie. And open the gift too. I got one for you."
"Wow—one thing at a time, Galinda."
"Quick, eat it now. So I can give you your present, and you can open it."
Elphaba smiled and shook her head. She took a spoonful of cake and brought the spoon to Galinda's mouth.
Galinda gazed at Elphaba and ate it. Elphaba ate a small piece of cake, too, and put it down on the bed.
The small piece of cake melted in her mouth, spreading sweetness all over.
"Time for the present!" Galinda said enthusiastically, handing it to Elphaba.
Elphaba carefully unwrapped it while Galinda sat beside her, waiting for her reaction.
Inside the box lay a notebook, simple yet glowing faintly in the candlelight.
“Soulmate Notebook?”
“Exactly!” Galinda replied with a proud grin
Since she knew Elphaba didn’t have a Soulmate Notebook, Galinda had decided to buy one for her. But she quickly realized that it wasn’t easy to buy one. It wasn’t sold in any store. To buy one, she had to find a sorcerer who could make it and visit their magic place to talk about whom she wanted to give it to for four hours straight. And the price wasn’t cheap either.
But if Galinda Upland wanted something, she always got it.
So she managed to get the notebook as a birthday present for Elphaba.
"Put your hand on it to unseal it. Mark it as yours."
Elphaba sat motionless. Galinda touched her hand. Elphaba's hand shook a little. Her hand was so soft and warm.
Galinda guided Elphaba’s palm to the notebook’s cover. The notebook glowed with green light. It was unsealed.
Elphaba opened it and looked at the blank pages. Galinda handed Elphaba a pen.
Elphaba looked at Galinda for a long while. She only wanted to write one name, but she couldn’t do it now.
So she closed the notebook.
"I don't want to write anything. I'm sure I don't have a soulmate anyway."
“Elphie…”
Elphaba stood up, placed the notebook in her suitcase, and then came back to sit beside Galinda. Galinda was looking at her with sadness in her eyes.
Elphaba brought another spoonful of cake to Galinda's mouth.
"I don't like sweets."
Galinda pouted.
"I baked this cake myself. If you don’t eat every bit of it, we won’t be friends anymore."
Galinda stomped toward her bed. Just a few steps, but she made sure to stamp her foot as loud as possible, so Elphaba knew unmistakably that she was angry.
Always so adorable. Elphaba beamed a rare smile.
Galinda lay on her bed, turning her back to Elphaba.
Elphaba slowly ate the cake.
It was really sweet.
-
Elphaba flew her broom over Crage Hall’s campus. She knew that she was putting herself in so much danger, but today was Glinda's twentieth birthday. She couldn't miss it. Even though she couldn't be right next to Glinda.
She sat on a branch of a large tree near their dorm window, hidden among the leaves. It used to be their room; now, Glinda was alone in it.
Elphaba stared through the window.
The new day had come, but the room was still entirely in darkness. Elphaba sighed, then whispered.
"Happy birthday, my sweet Glinda."
Elphaba took the Soulmate Notebook from inside her cloak.
On the first page, the top line was Elphaba's scribbled writing of the name “Glinda Upland”, and underneath it was a long line: “Glinda Arduenna Upland is your soulmate,” written in the unmistakable, beautiful writing of Glinda.
Each of the other pages was a picture of Glinda. Sometimes, the notebook would add another page, another picture of Glinda. Elphaba felt grateful. Thanks to the notebook, she could still see Glinda every single day.
Although she could only see.
Yet it was enough.
Inside the room, Glinda sat in darkness. She opened her notebook.
Soulmate? There was only one person in Glinda's mind. Why did she feel like that person was so close to her right at that moment?
How could she describe that person?
Stubborn? Bookworm? Green?
But in the end, Glinda made a safe choice.
"Brown eyes?"
The word ‘Yes’ quickly appeared on the page.
Still could be Fiyero, right?
Glinda closed the notebook. Her tears fell uncontrollably.
-
Today was Glinda's thirty birthday, but she got no party, no present, no nothing.
It had been like that for 10 years. The ten birthdays since her twentieth had all been lonely ones. Alone. No one was beside her.
But she was busy preparing a party today. Her engagement party with Fiyero.
That was why she returned to her room late that night.
She was exhausted. Still, she walked to her desk. She opened her drawer, took out the notebook, and slowly turned the pages one by one.
Tall? - Yes
Rich? - No
Study at Shiz together? - Yes
Black hair? - Yes
Brown eyes? - Yes
Thin - Yes
High cheekbone - Yes
Jutting chin - Yes
Man? - No
Beautiful soul - Yes
Will come back? - No
Still care about me? - Yes
Safe? - Yes
Alive?! - Yes
Glinda turned to a blank page.
She had promised herself that she would only marry her soulmate. She had dreamt about a perfect wedding with her soulmate since she was a kid.
This year’s birthday would be her last chance to check.
Even though she had no doubt about the answer, she still wrote Fiyero's name in it.
The page immediately tore itself out. Glinda's lips quivered, and tears fell down uncontrollably.
She held the pen tightly and wrote the name of the person she missed the most on the next page.
The person she loved the most.
Elphaba.
But no ink appeared on the page, no matter how hard she tried. Her tears fell on the page and magically vanished.
Glinda used all her strength to write Elphaba's name over and over again. It felt as if her pen might tear through the thin paper.
The notebook shook, and a burst of pink light pushed Glinda back against the chair. Then it was sealed.
Glinda threw the notebook on the wall. It fell to the ground.
Glinda burst into tears.
“Elphaba, I hate you, I hate you, I hate you!” Glinda screamed, her voice cracking with grief.
Glinda suddenly realized she had never told Elphaba she loved her.
It tore Glinda’s heart to pieces.
-
Glinda held the black point hat. She entered her room, her face emotionless.
It was over.
Everything was over.
No more Madame Morrible. No more The Wizard.
And above all, no more Elphaba either.
Elphaba was dead. Dead.
Glinda swung shut the door, leaned against it, and slid down to the floor. She held Elphaba’s hat so tightly that it hurt. She could smell Elphaba's scent on the hat. Her oil fragrance.
All of a sudden, Glinda saw the notebook on the ground, a thin layer of dust covering it.
She bit her lower lip, set the hat on her bed, and picked up the notebook.
She used all her strength, both physical and magical, to open it.
“Open! Open now!”
Glinda screamed in despair. She screamed until she lost her voice, tears streaming down her face.
The notebook opened slightly, and pink light burst out. Then a strong energy burst out, and it was opened. Glinda ran to her desk and held her pen. Her hand was shaking. She sat on the chair, wiped away her tears, and carefully wrote on a blank page.
She wrote a single word: ‘Elphaba.’
Pink light covered the notebook, and then it magically transformed into a picture book with a pink-and-green cover. On the first page, beneath the name ‘Elphaba’ that Glinda had just written, appeared a new line in Elphaba’s handwriting: ‘Elphaba Thropp is your soulmate.’
Glinda slowly turned page after page. Each of them was a picture—Elphaba’s picture.
In some of them, she was smiling, but mostly she was frowning.
Glinda looked at each with all the love she had, her lips curving into a happy smile that hadn’t touched her face in a long time.
The last picture showed Elphaba kissing Glinda
A bittersweet kiss.
It was their first and last kiss—before she surrendered and melted.
Looking at that picture, Glinda realized Elphaba was crying too.
Glinda gently wiped the tears from Elphaba's face, but she couldn't wipe them from a picture.
She couldn't wipe away the tears on her own face either.