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Hannah was nine years old when she thought to ask about a serious topic. It was something that had been on her mind lately. Lex was at her part time job and Hannah was left alone at home for now. Her mom had gone…somewhere, and Ethan wasn’t going to be able to stop by to look after her for another hour or so. At the moment, she was home alone. Hannah wasn’t scared, though. She was never really alone after all; Webby was always there.
“Hey Webby,” Hannah asked aloud. A moment later a familiar, comforting presence settled around her. It felt like a warm hug. Looking down, Hannah opened her hand to find a familiar white spider scuttling across her palm. She laughed. “That tickles!”
“Sorry,” a friendly voice told her with a touch of humor. “What’s up?”
Hannah turned serious. “What are soulmates? I hear it all the time, but Lex just found out she and Ethan are soulmates. What does that mean?” Lex had been so happy. Ethan had even cried when he picked her up and spun her around in circles. They’d been so happy. It was a good thing, right? But they had seemed so serious after so Hannah had her doubts. She needed answers and Webby always had answers.
“Lexi and Ethan? That’s wonderful,” Webby said joyfully. “Well…soulmates are people who are destined for each other. It doesn't matter what you go through in life, where you go, what you do; you'll always find each other, no matter what.”
Hannah thought about Lexi and Ethan. “So…someone destined to love you?” That explained why they’d been so happy. They’d already been in love; didn’t this mean that things were going to be good now?
The moment of silence that followed felt like a wince. “Not…quite. A lot of the time soulmates will fall in love, but that’s not…always the case. You can have platonic soulmates, ones who care for you but aren’t in love with you. That happens a lot…with family.”
“Does that mean Lexi could be my soulmate?” Hannah asked, excited at the idea. Lex was her favorite person ever. Hannah felt like if she was ever going to have a soulmate it’d have to be Lex. “But…wait. Lex already has Ethan.” And Hannah loved Ethan, too. She knew how much Lex and Ethan cared about each other, she didn’t want to be in the way. Ethan was one of her favorite people, too. Maybe he could also be her soulmate? This seemed a lot more complicated than she’d first thought. Would that mean that Lexi would have to choose? Did someone have to be alone now?
When Hannah started tearing up at the idea Webby was quick with a response. “I don’t know if that will happen, but there are rare cases where a person can have more than one soulmate. Usually when that happens at least one if not more are platonic. Not romantic.”
Hannah mouthed the word ‘platonic’. She wasn’t sure what that meant but if it meant that both she and Lex could be happy then she wasn’t going to question it.
“So, soulmates are the ones who love you the most?” That made sense. If that was the case then maybe Hannah could have Lexi as her soulmate, Ethan too! The little spider in her hand grew still and seemed to shrink in on itself.
“No,” Webby answered quietly. “Soulmates don’t have to love you. They don’t even have to like you, or care for you. Soulmates are just…the most important people in your life. Regardless of how that happens. Your souls are made to fit together, to fill in the gaps each one has. That’s…not always a good thing.”
There was something…off, in Webby’s voice. Something more.
Hannah had to ask. “Webby…do you have a soulmate?” If Lex or Ethan or even Hannah some day had a soulmate, then shouldn't Webby? Or was she different? Maybe Webby could be her soulmate? Was that possible for a human and a god, or spirit or whoever Webby was?
Webby was silent for another moment. “I have five,” she finally said. “My brothers.” Hannah frowned. Her brothers? Webby was always telling her to stay away from her brothers, and that meant not going to certain places on certain days. She knew how her friend felt about her brothers. They were bad. Very bad. Webby always said so. Hannah was sad that her friend had to have such terrible soulmates. Maybe Hannah could help? There had to be some way to save Webby the same way she saved Hannah. It didn't seem fair that Webby had to be stuck with Bad People as her soulmates for forever.
“You can’t change soulmates?” she asked, hopeful for some kind of happy ending for her friend.
Webby laughed at that, though she sounded a little sad. “No, you can’t change soulmates. They’re destined for you, destiny wouldn’t like that,” she said a little teasingly. “…I wouldn’t change them, either.”
“Why not? You said they’re bad.”
Webby the spider tapped her legs a few times and then scuttled up Hannah’s finger to look at her better. “My family is a little…different. My—our existence is a little different, Hannah,” she said. “…can I tell you a story?”
“Sure!” Hannah loved hearing Webby’s stories. Sometimes they were a little sad, or a little scary but she had a way of making them not-sad and not-scary. Webby was an excellent storyteller; she could always tell what Hannah was feeling and say her stories in ways she could understand. Sometimes she used big words, but for the most part Hannah could always understand her stories.
“Once,” Webby began, “a long, long, long time ago—so long I almost don’t even remember it, my brothers and I didn’t exist. Not really. We were a single…entity. One form, that didn’t really have an identity. A personality. We were a Void, The Void. Then, one day, we split. We became ourselves, our own people. We gained personalities, hobbies, goals. When this happened our soul split into six as well. We became the Black and the White.
“We still have our own souls, they’re ours and no one can take them from us. Our souls are whole, complete on their own. The edges, though… they’re torn at the end, burnt, scabbed over. But, our souls remember being together. The edges don’t match up anymore but you can tell where one ended and the other began. I don’t like what they’re doing now, I don’t agree with them…but once, we used to be closer. We used to be like you and Lex.”
Hannah sat and thought about all of this. “Does this mean Lex and I will hate each other?” She started tearing up at the thought.
“No, of course not,” Webby said soothingly. “Neither of you are the type to hurt others just for fun, and neither of you would hurt each other just because you can. You and Lex are nothing like my brothers and I. I’m actually a little jealous, sometimes, from how close you are but I also couldn’t be happier. No one deserves happiness like you two, and I’m so glad you found it with each other.”
Hannah sniffled a little. “And Ethan,” she added. She couldn’t forget Ethan; he was pretty much already family. Especially if he was Lexi’s soulmate.
“And Ethan,” Webby laughed. She did a little dance on top of Hannah’s finger. “Do you have any more questions about soulmates?”
Hannah shook her head. She had a lot to think about but she didn’t think she had any more questions. Well. She did have one last one. “Do you miss your brothers?”
Webby was silent again. She was usually silent when her brothers were brought up. “Sometimes. I miss who they used to be; who I thought they were. Who they pretended to be. I don’t miss who they are now.” That made sense. Her brothers were Bad, and Webby was Good. Of course she wouldn’t like them now.
“Hey Hannah,” Webby began, her voice sounding mischievous. “Want to have a party until Lexi or Ethan come back?”
Hannah laughed. “Yeah! I’ll get my ukulele!” She quickly forgot all about soulmates, or what they could mean for her in the future. Maybe she and Lex would be family-soulmates like Webby and her brothers (except better, happier), maybe they wouldn’t. But for now, she could at least have fun with her friend until her most important people came home.
Later that night, Webby carefully watched over Hannah as she slept. She had the feeling that if she wasn’t extra vigilant her brothers would try to sneak their way into her dreams, and Hannah already had enough nightmares to deal with awake let alone when she was asleep. Webby didn’t typically stand guard like this, but the earlier conversation of soulmates…she had the feeling that her jumbled feelings may have attracted attention she didn’t want. She'd been thrown by the topic and hadn't guarded herself as well as she should have.
What a cozy lit-tle ban-an-a.
Webby closed her eyes, resigned to having a Conversation with her brothers. Well, she had expected this at least.
“There’s nothing for you here,” she murmured, carefully brushing Hannah’s bangs away from her eyes. Hannah muttered something in her sleep and snuggled deeper in her blankets and pillows. Webby felt a surge of affection and protection well up in her at the sight. She didn’t have many (living) friends, her brothers saw to that. The ones she did have she would guard jealously, keeping them safe and protected in her web.
Well that sounds like bullshit.
Tasty. She looks tasty. Sweet? Bitter. Very bitter.
“She’s not yours, and she won’t be yours,” Webby said as firmly and quietly as she could. She spun another layer of protective webbing over Hannah as a precaution. Her brothers sounded amused, teasing rather than malevolent or scheming. She doubted they’d actually try anything tonight but she didn’t want to give them an opportunity either.
You seem extra protective. Did something happen?
“…no. Nothing,” Webby finally settled on.
Sentimentality is beneath you.
You’re so full of openings right now. Are you sure you don’t want a little chitty-chat with your brother-wuthers?
Oh, that sounds like fun! Just like old times, ha ha!
This was going nowhere. Webby sighed and held her hand up, drawing power to herself. “You could try…if you don’t mind getting caught in my web while we chat.”
Hmph. Party pooper.
Tasty. But bitter. Don’t like bitter. Leaving.
Nothing to see here, I guess.
Try to keep your emotions to yourself, then.
Let’s play again sometime, dear sister.
Finally, she was alone. Webby stared down at Hannah, her friend, her prophet. She knew the dangers that were out there, knew first hand what they looked like, what their souls looked like. Hannah knew they were Bad, that Webby was working to try to stop them. But explaining family history…that was messy in the best of circumstances, let alone trying with a child. Hannah had enough to worry about.
Webby could worry about her brothers and their plans instead. She knew them better than she knew anyone or anything else. That was why it was her responsibility to stop them, no matter the cost.
“I’ll do everything I can to keep you and Lexi safe,” she promised in the dark. It was the least she could do.