2
It didn't make any sense, Sua thought, as she stared at the rippling sea in front of her. She picked a small rock and threw it at the water, watching the circles forming by the force of it.
Ever since her visit to the flower shop, she couldn't get her mind together. There was something about that place, something that was almost haunting. She had to physically stop herself from going there when she decided to take a morning walk. It was hard, as if her feet were begging to step towards the city center.
After trying to get herself as far as she could from the flower shop, she ended up at the beach. A place she used to visit a lot when she was a little girl. Her sister liked to have picnics there, and she always took Sua with her. The fond memories filling her mind made her smile softly.
She sighed, running her cold fingers through the sand and drawing meaningless shapes. It was times like this where she let her mind wander. As always, she started thinking about her soulmate. Would they be sad if they knew she had only six days left? Or would they be relieved, since they wouldn't be dying at the age of twenty-five. Fate was cruel, for only forcing one part of a soul to find the other. One part was always weaker, unable to exist without the other while the other was given a second chance to live.
She wondered what her soulmate’s reaction would be when they got the white mark on their wrist. Would they mourn her, or would they try to find someone else to spend their life with? Sua knew plenty of people with dead soulmates. Some had partners, loving relationships even. Though you could always see in their eyes that their situation was never the happiest they could ever be. Sua’s own parents were a couple with dead soulmates, she grew up seeing that look in their eyes.
A cold wind striking her face made Sua shiver, forcing her mind to stop roaming around the subject. There was nothing she could do about it anyways, not much she could change.
She took one last glance at the sea, standing up to go somewhere warmer. Gripping the sleeves of her coat tightly to shield her hands from the cold, she started to follow the same path she came to the beach. She was walking slowly, sometimes looking around to see the changes around the town till something— no, someone bumped into her and made her fall. She hissed, feeling the stinging pain at her knees.
“Oh my god, I’m so sorry!” was the only thing she could hear before someone crouched beside her, checking her knees.
Sua lifted her head to tell the person that she was okay, she didn't need help and she could take care of it on her own, only to meet with the now familiar eyes of the florist from yesterday.
“Oh, it's you.” She said, forgetting the pain in her knees for a second. The other woman seemed frozen, her big green eyes staring at her like she was amazed by the sight of her. One side of her glasses were tilted too high, and Sua suddenly felt the strange urge to reach out and fix it. Before she could even raise her hand though, the woman averted her eyes, her troubled expression finding its place on her face again.
Feeling uncomfortable from the heavy gaze directed at her, Sua tried to get up.
She almost fell again before a pair of hands found their place around her waist, supporting her.
“Please be careful!” The woman exclaimed, her grip on her waist getting firmer. “You shouldn't walk like this, we need to check your wounds first. I’ll take you to sit at that bench nearby, okay?” She pointed across the way.
Feeling breathless from the touch, Sua could only nod. Her face was burning from embarrassment.
She watched as the florist inspected her knees, her long winter socks ripped from the force of the fall making it hard to do so. The woman turned her head to Sua, looking at her like she wanted to ask something. She opened and closed her mouth, silently debating before finally deciding to talk.
“I would like to tend your wounds but I don't have any medical supplies here to use. Would it be alright if I take you to my house? Please don't get it wrong, it's just, it's only a five minute walk distance from here. I would take you to the flower shop but it's too far and I can't possibly ask you to walk there with me. And, of course, you don't have to get in too, you can just sit in the garden while I take what we need from the house. Or, well I can just go take them and come back here. Right, that makes more sense. I’m so sorry fo—”
Overwhelmed from the fast panic-talk, Sua grabbed one of the rapidly moving hands of the florist.
“I’ll come with you.”
—
“My name is Mizi, sorry for not introducing myself earlier. I run a flower shop in the town center, as you know by now.” The florist said, using a wet cotton pad to clean Sua’s wound.
Sua shook her head, watching the movements of the other’s hand. “I’m Sua. It's alright, we didn't really have the best interactions to think about introducing ourselves.”
The words made Mizi smile sheepishly. “It's my fault.” She stopped cleaning the wound, dropping the now dirty cotton pad to take the ointment. “I forgot that I was supposed to deliver a bouquet today, so I left my bicycle at home and had to run. Didn't notice you on the way.” She said, applying a small amount of ointment on her skin, rubbing it gently.
Sua stared at her in surprise. “You ran all the way from the town centre?” She would be dead if she tried that herself, not having to wait for six more days.
Chuckling at her reaction, Mizi reached for the bandages. “I used to do sports.” She then grabbed her thigh to place her leg in a natural position, causing Sua’s cheeks to warm. “Are you new here? It's a small town, and I don't remember seeing you around.” She said, wrapping the bandage around her knee gently.
“My parents live here.” Sua answered. “Actually, I grew up here. I only left for college, and barely visited after that.” She clarified, not knowing why she gave unnecessary information. Something about the florist made it so easy to talk with her. It was strange.
Mizi hummed, securing the bandage and moving to do the same for her other knee. “Makes sense that I didn't know you then, I moved here only two years ago. It must be fate bringing us together.” She said, smiling to herself.
Sua froze in her place, staring at Mizi in silence. The other woman continued treating her wound happily, as if she didn't say something she wasn't supposed to say to a person she just met.
Noticing the lack of an answer, Mizi raised her head to look at her, only now seeing her reaction. Sua could watch her expression slowly changing as she realised the implications of what she said. “Uh, I mean, It's really… fortunate that we met. You are, well, very nice. A very nice person!” She babbled, trying to extricate herself. “Well, what's the reason for your visit now?” She asked, trying to change the subject.
Sua smiled. “I’m turning twenty-five soon.”
Mizi’s hands stopped moving.
“Oh.” She blinked. “Are you.. Will you..” She tried to ask, but the words seemed to be stuck at her throat. “I’m sorry.” She settled for, her gaze not leaving Sua’s knee.
“Don't be. I'm Ready.” Sua lied, hoping to make the other feel better.
Mizi’s brows furrowed. “What do you mean by that?” She asked with a petty tone in her voice, almost like Sua’s statement personally offended her. She finished wrapping the bandage around her knee and raised her head to look at Sua.
Sua couldn't meet her eyes.
“I was just, kind of expecting it.” She attempted to explain. “Never tried to find my soulmate anyways.”
Her answer seemed to upset Mizi even more. “I don't know what your reasoning is, but you should try to.”
Sua chuckled. “It's a little too late for that. I have six days left.” She tried to get up, but a hand on her arm stopped her.
“We will find your soulmate in six days then.”