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Ever wonder what it feels like to be soulless in a world where soulmates exist?
Officer KD6-3.7 never had to wonder that; it was his reality. Everyone knew that replicants, man-made as they were, did not have a soul. How could one ever conceivably have a soulmate when one lacks that which is integral to the very core of the concept?
A soul.
The knowledge that K is a soulless being never stopped him from wishing that he had a soulmate. Who wouldn’t? The idea that somewhere out there is a person who is cosmically bound to you, meant for you, made for you… How could he not want that?
It was that thought—the desire for his perfect match—that kept him company as he felt his life draining away on the snow-covered steps. He didn’t think about his life or wonder what would happen when his consciousness left and his body failed.
“Oh my god!”
He only thought about how nice it would have been if he had a soulmate.
“Hello?”
The snow was falling so softly, cradling K as his eyes drifted closed.
“Oh god… Please don’t be dead, please don’t be dead.”
K felt something deep within him fall away; if he were human, he would have guessed that it was his soul. It obviously wasn’t. K didn’t have a soul; of course, he wasn’t human. He wasn’t born. How silly.
Then, like a bolt of lightning, K slammed back into his body with a force that jolted him. He gasped, and his eyes flew wide open.
“Oh, thank god,” a voice sobbed.
K fought for breath, his heart beating wildly in his chest.
Everything hurt.
Everything except for his wrist. There was a gentle yet overwhelming warmth, not one of pain but rather of comfort. He’d never felt such a thing before.
“Can you hear me?” the voice spoke again.
K blinked in response, unable to do anything else.
The warmth on his wrist shifted slightly. “Hey, hey,” the voice murmured. It was a kind voice, filled with care and emotion. “Stay with me, alright? I patched up your wound, but you need to stay awake.”
He managed to hum in response as he worked to bring his breathing under control.
Suddenly, a warmth just like that on his wrist grew on his cheek, and his head was gently turned to the side.
Oh.
It was a hand. Someone was touching him; how odd.
K blinked rapidly as a blurry shape appeared in his sight. It was vaguely person-shaped, so K assumed it was whoever was touching him so softly, sharing the warmth of their soul with him.
Soul?
No, that couldn’t be right.
He didn’t get to muse over that train of thought any longer because suddenly, the blur snapped into focus and K’s breath was taken away.
The most beautiful man he had ever seen was there before him; hair a mess, glasses askew, and worry painted plainly on his face. He was stunning.
“There you are,” the man whispered. “I need you to stay awake, okay?”
K blinked once more. “Are you an angel?” he rasped. The man gasped, flinching back with wide eyes. “No, you can’t be,” K continued, letting his eyes slip shut once more. “Heaven is for people with souls.”
“No, no,” the stranger said, voice urgent. “I need you to stay with me. Open your eyes.”
He didn’t want to—not that he didn’t want to look at the angelic man again, but rather that his eyes felt so heavy that it was more comfortable to keep them closed. The gentle warmth of the man’s hand returned to his face, and K hummed in pleasure. He could distantly feel a sense of panic, but that was washed out by the comfort of the stranger’s touch.
“Come on,” the man continued, brushing a thumb over the delicate skin under K’s eye. “Open your eyes for me.”
The man sounded so desperate and scared; K’s heart hurt for him. If opening his eyes would bring comfort to the stranger, then he would do that for him. It took more effort than he would have liked, but he opened his eyes and watched as the man smiled shakily with relief.
“There you are.”
“Who are you?” K whispered.
“Grace. Ryland. Well, technically Dr. Ryland Grace, but most people call me Grace or Dr. Grace. But then again, I wouldn’t mind you calling me Ryland if you wanted, since we’re soulmates and all that.”
“Ryland,” K murmured with a smile, and then his smile dropped as all of Ryland’s words registered. “Wh—what do you mean? We’re not soulmates.”
Ryland’s face twisted with confusion. “Yes, we are.”
K scrunched his face and shook his head as much as he could—which wasn’t very much—in Ryland’s hand. “We can’t be.”
“I’m not sure why you say that, but we are. You said my words, and I can feel your emotions while we touch…”
“Huh?”
“Listen—what’s your name?”
“KD6-3.7,” K replied. He felt a spike of shock that he distantly noted wasn’t his own emotion. Curious. “I go by K.”
Ryland didn’t reply for a while; he just stared at K with an expression of shock that mirrored the feeling that K distantly felt. “You’re a replicant.” It wasn’t a question. “That’s why you think we can’t be soulmates?”
K huffed. “Yes. Replicants don’t have souls.”
“Oh…” Ryland moved closer. “Every living thing has a soul,” he whispered softly, brushing his thumb over K’s skin again. “Replicants live; they breathe, think, and feel; and they can die. Replicants have souls, K.”
Shaking his head, K squeezed his eyes shut to fight off the wave of tearful emotion he felt. “Why?”
“I’m so sorry,” Ryland murmured. “I wish replicants were treated better; none of you deserve this.”
K let out a small sound that was far too close to a whimper for his liking. “I have a soul?”
“Yes,” Ryland breathed.
“I have a soulmate?” He opened his eyes to look at Ryland once more. Beautiful, angelic Ryland Grace.
Ryland smiled softly, his blue eyes watery. “Yes.”
“That’s nice,” K said. “I always wanted that.”
“Oh! Well, I hope I won’t be a disappointment then,” Ryland chuckled awkwardly.
K could sense the worry that Ryland felt and needed to assuage him of that. “You couldn’t be. You were meant for me.”
He watched, pleased, as Ryland faltered and then blushed furiously. “Oh…” Ryland cleared his throat and looked off to the side. “Anyway, is there anywhere I can take you to get you properly fixed up?”
“Ah… no,” K replied. “I am wanted by the law, I believe.”
Ryland scoffed. “Who isn’t?” When he turned back and saw K’s look of confusion—or perhaps he felt it—he continued, “Oh, I’m not! I just meant that my brothers—you know what? That’s not important right now. I’ll just bring you to my safe house.”
K raised an eyebrow at that. “Your safe house.”
“Yes.”
“That you have because you aren’t wanted by the law?”
Ryland spluttered. “My brother gave it to me!”
“Right…”
“He did!”
K smirked. “I’m sure.”
Ryland huffed and rolled his eyes. “Whatever. Let’s get you up, and we’ll go, yeah?”
“Alright,” K agreed.
He was excited and hopeful; for the first time in his life, he felt like there was more to him than just the job he was made for. He had a soulmate. Maybe things would be alright for him after all.