Love Forever
For a few decades now, romantic relationships have been governed by magical symbols which would appear on one's body once they had reached a certain age. The tattoo-resembling symbols would, after meeting one's soulmate, become permanently etched on one's skin that nothing could erase them. The appearance of these symbols was so rare at first, that people often did not even notice them until they had met their destined mate and the symbol's effects were activated, awaking love, passion, desire, and other similar emotions in them. Awhile after the appearance these mysterious symbols, humans began looking forward to gaining their symbols, then bearing them on their skin like the most valuable gem they had and showing them off to whomever they hoped was their destined lover.
Luckily, there was no way of cheating or forging marks. Even if one happened to artificially create a symbol resembling to that of another person, no one would believe them – the symbol only ever activated once you came in contact with your true soulmate.
Of course, there were those fate did not award with any symbol, or soulmate for that matter. These kind of people either stayed single for the rest of their lives, or married another non-marked person. As unfortunate as this was, the soulmate symbol simply did not allow for non-soulmates to unite, and scientists had yet to discover why. The majority of relationships formed on the basis of symbols were successful and lived on till both parties died.
############
Michael 'Mike' Lawson grew up in a single-parent household and his mother never talked about his father. There were no family pictures, no memorabilia, not a single thing that would remind Mike what his father looked like or who he was. From an early age, he made peace with his father being a taboo topic so he never mentioned or asked about him in front of his mother. At night though, or whenever he was alone, his thoughts seemed to wander to that man he never got to meet and the life he could have had, had his father been around.
Jackie was a kind although, sometimes, troubled young woman whose symbol appeared way too early and whose marriage dissolved as quickly as it was signed. Left alone with her toddler son, she couldn't help the bitterness and resentment that captured her heart the minute her husband told her he was leaving her and their child. As much as she loved him, she loved herself and her son more, so she did the only thing she deemed right – she erased him from their lives, making sure not a trace was left of him. Her heart broke every time her little boy enquired about his dad, but the wound was still fresh no matter how many weeks, months, years passed and she could not make herself speak about him, good or bad. Aware she was hurting Mike by staying silent regarding his father, Jackie thought it would hurt him all the more to know the reason her husband turned his back on them.
#################
Mike had seen his mother's soulmate symbol plenty of times – a rose with falling petals – but she always seemed to want to hide it as if she were ashamed of it, something unheard of by Mike.
All his friends' parents wore their symbols with pride that Mike envied them and their families. He wanted to have a dad, he wanted to have parents who weren't ashamed of their soulmate symbols; he wanted a happy family just like the ones his friends had.
When he grows up and his symbol appears, Mike promised himself, he would have all the happiness and the most wonderful family one can have, and he would not leave his wife or their children for nothing in this world.
#############
Mike is thirty-one years old when his mark activates.
Padres just played against Dodgers and lost epically, so he's not in the best of moods to speak to the press, but it all falls under his duty as a ballplayer and the new team captain. He manages to change quickly, though not to shower; who cares anyway. He's got more important things on his mind than showering and making himself look pretty for a bunch of reporters who will write whatever they want anyway, regardless of what he says.
Al is already sitting at the table in front of three rows of seats for the press, looking agitated and deflated. Mike sympathises with him. There won't be many chances now of making it to the playoffs if they don't up their game.
The room is filled with chatter and camera flashes which Mike hates but since that too falls under his new set of duties, he has no other choice than to endure them. He swiftly scans the crowd noting a few familiar faces. Good, he thinks, he'll be able to spin the story his way should the need arise.
Ever since he became a ballplayer and came into the limelight, Mike had to learn how to talk to the press, what to say and how to say it, how to aptly deflect the questions and still stay on their good side, and more recently, how to protect his teammates even when the team played like shit and the entire game was a giant clusterfuck.
As he takes a seat next to Al and lets out a long breath, getting ready for the onslaught of questions, Mike feels a light tingling on his left shoulder blade. It feels almost like a tickle at first, until the muscle starts to spasm. It hardly hurts him - he's already used to these random muscle spasms due to overexertion, especially after each game. His jaw clenches and he closes his eyes for just a second, 'till it passes. It doesn't; it feels like someone has a grip on this damn muscle and is not letting go, instead tightening it more and more. Mike rolls his shoulder, grimacing when the grip starts to loosen. The pain slowly ebbs and he feels like he can finally face the music.
It is only after he raises his head and he does another scan of the crowd which appears to have grown since the last five minutes, that he notices a young woman clenching her shoulder, on the exact same side he felt that tingling just moments ago. The woman, unlike him, seems to be far less used to pain – she is practically bent over, looking like she's trying to chase away whatever's wrong with her by viciously massaging her shoulder blade. The lines of her face harden – Mike realises she trying to hold a scream inside. He hears someone ask a question and Al answering, but he's more focused on her. As he debates whether or not he should get up and call for help, the woman suddenly stills – her hands falls from her shoulder and she lets out a loud sigh that none but him seem to hear for no one reacts.
When she shakes her head and straightens in the chair, Mike feels relieved even though he can't understand why. Someone calls out his name and Mike is pulled back to reality, and a room full of people glaring at him, waiting for an answer to a question he didn't hear because he was too busy looking at that woman. He asks the reporter to repeat the question, sensing Al eyes on him – the man always knew when something's up with him.
For the duration of the press conference, he deliberately ignores looking in her direction. He focuses on what is being told and asked, knowing how important it is to put up this facade – confident, charming, witty – in order to save the team's face, fully aware his words might be twisted and interpreted at their convenience.
The ends of this dreadful event is in sight, giving Mike just enough of valour to casually turn his head to his left. Just a glimpse is enough, he thinks, just to make sure she's ok now.
They make eye contact and Mike feels like he's going to faint because there's this feeling deep inside of him letting him know his soulmate symbol was finally activated and he is staring at his soulmate. It takes him a few moments to gather his wits. The woman, sitting in the first row, is now looking attentively at him, smiling openly and Mike fights the urge to get up and walk up to her to ask her about the symbol, if she feels the same as he...
#################
Half an hour later, the press conference wrapped, Mike heads towards the redhead with confidence he absolutely does not feel. When he's standing in front of her he can see she's nervous too by the way she tucks a strand of her hair behind her ear. As he extends his hand to her and their fingers come in contact, a wave of dizziness washes over Mike but he fights and instead smiles brightly at the woman who's sporting the same wide smile.
"Hi. I'm Mike."
"Rachel" the woman replies, excitement radiating off her.
"Did you feel-" he starts but she's too eager to reply to let him finish his utterance.
"Yes! I never thought you'd be my soulmate. Guess it was worth it moving all the way from Chicago."
Before they know it, they're in Mike's apartment, the world and everything around them forgotten.
#################
What he feels for her is exactly what he's been hearing his friends experienced when they found their soulmates. Wild lust, passion, love, every and any feeling one can think of and so much more. She excites him, makes his body vibrate with anticipation at the mere thought of her; there's elation in his walk, an undercurrent of pure bliss that arises within him in her proximity.
Mike can't get enough of this. Which is why he wastes no time in asking for her hand in marriage – he wants it all with her, he wants these feelings to last forever. When he looks into Rachel's eyes, the symbol stings just slightly, enough to remind him they belong together. That she's the one for him, that he's the one for her. There not a trace of doubt in his mind.
He's mere days away from having what he has been dreaming of since he was a little boy – a family, someone whom he will love with all his being.
He can't wait.
#################
Mike and Rachel get married just a month after they've first met, wild in love and all.
When he flies his mom over to meet Rachel, they hit it off immediately and Mike hopes he's made up for his father's mistakes.
The night before the wedding, Jackie insists they have a talk, sounding unusually serious.
They settle on the chairs next to the pool, the night too beautiful to spend it inside. Rachel's gone to her friend's wanting to keep with tradition. Mike misses her; they have been spending every minute they could together ever since they met.
Jackie clears her throat and sighs deeply before starting off her monologue.
"My dear Michael... I cannot begin to tell you how much you mean to me, son. You know my life wasn't easy and when I met your father, I thought I would finally find some peace."
Mike frowns slightly, as if already knowing where his mother's going with this,"Mom-"
"Don't interrupt me, Michael" Jackie shushes him then continues, "Now, I know I was unfair to you, not tellin' you about your dad and me, why we're not together. You know, we were great together, really great. But life happens and... I could do nothing about it."
Her voice breaks here and Mike wishes he didn't ask her, but the words are out if his mouth before he even realises.
"You never did tell me why he left us..." it's a statement and question wrapped in one; even a plea, if Jackie were paying any attention to the way her son's eyes rest on her, begging her to give him the answer he's been wanting his whole life.
She just shakes her head, steadfastly avoiding even mentioning her ex-husbands name.
"And I won't do it now either. I can't. It hurts too much still. All I wanted to say was... Rachel is a good woman. She's will be a great wife to you, a great mother to your children," the way she says this leaves no doubt she believes in this with all her heart.
It is only when she takes Mike's hands in hers and leans closer, uttering her next thought that Mike detects hesitation, uncertainty in her words, "and you are going to be a good husband, won't you Michael? Support her, love her, be honest with her. And most of all, cherish the bond you have. That symbol you share is the most sacred sign of your love. Don't ever do anything to jeopardise it."
"Mom-"
"Promise me, Michael!" She exclaims as she clutches his shoulders, a mad look in her eyes pleading with him, "I couldn't bare you forsaking everything I taught you, everything we know about the soulmate symbols-"
Mike embraces her, holding tightly and whispering in her ear words of assurance, "OK, OK, mom, please stop crying. I love Rachel. I will never leave her."
There is a fierce determination in his voice, his face, "the symbols united us and I'm grateful every day to have her in my life, now and forever."
Jackie breathes a sigh of relief, grinning from ear to ear, at peace finally,"oh, to hear you say that."
END OF PART 1