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“Matt! Matt, do you believe in soulmate? What is it to you?”
Matt was a little surprised at that question. It wasn't the kind of question he had expected to receive at an event like that, where people paraded elegantly on the red carpet, answered questions from journalists, posed for pictures showing off sparkling clothes and more or less sincere smiles.
If he had been asked that question ten years ago, he probably wouldn't have known what to answer and yet now he knew exactly what a soulmate was. Or rather who she was, in his case. He could have described it using a single word. One word that enclosed his whole world: Alex.
“ What's a soulmate? It's a...well, it's like a best friend, but more.
It's the one person in the world who knows you better than anyone else.
It's someone who makes you a better person.
Actually they don't make you a better person, you do that yourself...
because they inspire you.
A soulmate is someone who you can carry with you forever.
It's the one person who knew you and accepted you...
Believed in you before anyone else did or when no one else would.
And no matter what happens, you will always love them.
Nothing can ever change that.”
People spent their lives dreaming of finding the soulmate, but what they often ignored was that finding the soulmate did not necessarily lead to a happy ending. Life was not a fairy tale and situations, decisions made could take you down other paths. Because even if two people loved each other, they were not necessarily meant to be together.
And Matt knew this all too well. Sometimes he thought about the sliding doors in his life, about what would have happened if he had acted differently.
If he had fought harder.
If he had asked her not to get married.
But he had made his choices and so had she.
Matt had learned to accept it. He knew she was happy, maybe not completely, but happy enough. And it was the same for him.
One day he would meet a woman who would make him happy enough, with whom he would start a family. He would even love her possibly, but Alex would always be there. Nothing would change that truth.
Yet in the months or years even when he did not see her, he did not think of her so often. It was as if he didn't need to, as if she was such a constant presence that he didn't even notice her anymore.
Until an occasion like that evening arrived and there she was, as beautiful as ever.
The fact that they had not seen each other for a year was irrelevant, because the moment their eyes met, it was as if only a minute had passed. They looked at each other for a long time, as if nothing else in the room was more important. It was like that every time they saw each other again. Just one look and she knew he still loved her and he knew she still loved him.
Matt didn't take a step closer, as if the situation was too hypnotic and beautiful to be real.
So, what could he do?
He smiled at her and greeted her with a wave of his hand. A gesture so banal that at first it seemed almost wasted, but then, realising how desired that brief nod of greeting had been in his heart, he couldn't help thinking that it was fine.
He looked around for a moment, trying to find the air he began to feel lacking in his chest.
If he had more time, he might think of something to say to her, but there wasn't enough time: in fact, he could already feel it running out and he couldn't waste a single second.
So, he tried to think as quickly as possible about what to do, so as not to waste the few moments he had with her.
He thought about the opportunity he had been given to see her again and the fact that he would probably not have another one anytime soon. Who knows how much time would pass until the next time.
As he thought about it, however, he felt his arm touched and she was there beside him. Her simple touch made him burn.
Just before he could say anything, she took his hand and dragged him out. He didn't know where they were going and he didn't care.
Once away from everyone, Matt lightly stroked her palm as if to ask permission. She said nothing, but in an instant, she was in his arms.
He held her as tightly as he could and it was like being in heaven as she reciprocated the squeeze on his body by burying her head in his neck.
They could have stayed like that forever without even needing to speak because that embrace said everything.
He knew that she loved him and she knew that he loved her.
And Matt did not care that they would soon have to separate, that she would have to go back to her husband, that they would not see or speak to each other for who knows how long.
In that moment, just for that brief moment, she was his and he couldn't help but smile, sliding his fingers through her hair.
Then, just as everything had begun, the enchantment ended.
Each went back to their own life, waiting to see their soulmate again, even if they know they would never be together.