Okay, so for English today we were writing a magical realism story because we're reading Bless Me, Ultima (which I suggest you read because it's freaking awesome) and I remembered this post from Tumblr I saw a while back, and I got inspired by it. I'm having trouble with the link, so I'll explain the post later. So thank you .com for the inspiration!
My mother always told me never to leave the house without my necklace. "It's no ordinary necklace, you see," she would always say as she brushed my hair before putting the necklace on me. "This necklace is special. This is only one half of the necklace. The other half belongs to the person who you are meant to spend the rest of your life with. The other half, my handsome Dean, belongs to your soul mate."
It had been years since my mother had said this to me, but everyday I remembered to put it on underneath my shirt for safe-keeping. Many people did not believe in the magic of necklaces. Others believed that there couldn't possibly be someone out there for them. Many chose to ignore them. Not me. I had promised my mother that I would try, when so many others had given up.
Many tried to win me over. Many tried, but all of them failed. I could feel my necklace grow colder and colder with every advance, every crack in my heart that my soulmate was nowhere near me.
Until one day is wasn't.
I was visiting my younger brother and his husband when I felt it: a warmth against my heart. My necklace. I look down to see it glowing through my shirt slightly. I look around the plaza. We had met in a plaza near their house in Verona, the old houses bleeding in with the bright blue sky. I see a man across the courtyard looking down at his chest, shock written clearly across his handsome face. He had messy ebony hair, chiseled features, and high cheekbones. When he lifted his head, I felt my breath catch in my throat. He had the most beautiful blue eyes, the color of the ocean during high noon. He does not notice me, but I cannot look away from him.
He's my soulmate. He has to be. But he turns and runs away from the square, and I want to get up and follow him, but I cannot simply abandon my brother. He would never let me hear the end of it.
A week had passed since I had spotted my soulmate. I didn't bother with trying anymore. I had found my soulmate. But why had he run away? Was he afraid to find his soulmate? I couldn't believe that. My mother told me that finding your soulmate was the greatest gift that was given to you during your time on this earth and after. It was believed that when you died, if you had found your soulmate, the two of you would be together for all eternity, in life, and in death. Humans are alone from the time of their birth until the day they die. But to have someone with you afterwards, instead of nothingness...
I shiver. No. I wouldn't give up. Not when I was so close. I continued walking into the downtown district. One of the benefits of living in a town like Campbell, California is that it's big enough to not be considered to be a small town, but intimate in a way San Fransisco could never be. I smile as I pass the recycled bookstore that my brother and his husband had met that day a few years ago. Sam had just broken up with his girlfriend (not his soulmate) earlier that week when he had met Gabriel (his actual soulmate) while trying to find The Perks of Being A Wallflower after his best friend Jess had told him that it was one of the best books ever written. Sam had nearly had a heart attack when he felt his own amulet glow in response to the stranger. Or that's what he had told me later when I had walked into our shared apartment to find the two soulmates cuddling on the couch later that day.
I smile at the memory as a fresh gust of wind whips around me, pulling my journal from my grasp. Oh, no. I never left home without my journal, just in case I had an idea while I was away from my computer. While being a high-school English teacher was my main profession, I had been writing since I was a child, having written my first novel all before I had turned seventeen. My mind snaps back to the present when my journal fall at the feet of a stranger. We both bend down to pick it up first, and when our eyes connect, I am shocked to find the same azure eyes that I had noticed over a month ago.
My soulmate. He was here. He was in my hometown. But how...
"I believe this belongs to you, sir," he says, his voice sending shivers down my spine. It was deep, yet soothing. I grab for the notebook, and when our fingers press together ever-so-slightly, I feel electricity wind through my arm. My pendant pulses underneath my heavy coat, making said object obsolete in the face of the warmth radiating from the locket.
We both stand at the same time. "Thank you," I say as I hug the notebook to my chest. "I don't know what I would do without..." I trail off as his intense sapphires stare straight at me. I clear my throat and extend my hand in greeting. "Dean," I say in greeting. He eyes my hand for a moment, looking at the appendage as if it were going to burn him. I feel the heat of my necklace begin to fade as my fear grows. He is my soulmate, I know he is, but why would he refuse to...
My thoughts halt as he takes my hand in his own. "Castiel," he says. He releases my hand almost immediately. He looks awkward. He shouldn't be awkward, unless...
"And you're welcome, by the way. It's no problem," he says. "Now if you'll excuse me..."
He doesn't have his pendent. He doesn't know we're soulmates. "Wait," I say, grasping his upper arm. He flinches at my touch, and a stab of hurt goes through me before I quelch it. If I cannot have him as my soulmate, then I will have him as my best friend. I know I will never be able to have another now that I have found him, but I would rather have him in my life than not at all. I let go of his arm, noting how uncomfortable he is with touch. It would make things difficult, but not impossible. "If you don't mind my asking, what's the rush?"
Castiel purses his lips. "I need to get out of the cold. So..."
"I know a great coffee shop around the corner." He stares at me as if I had grown another head. "I was actually heading there now. If you wouldn't mind, I'd like some company."
He keeps gaping at me before he sighs. "Dean," he says, and it's then I notice he had an accent. It's barely noticeable, but since I'm very attuned to him at the moment, I can hear the distinct Russian underneath the very American enunciation. "You don't know me. For all you know, I could be an axe murderer."
I smirk at him. "Friendships happen when you take a leap of faith in someone. I'm putting my faith in you. Now I suggest you do the same for me."
Castiel snorts. "Very well."
As we head to the coffee shop, I can't help but smile. Castiel needs his soulmate, but it's very obvious he doesn't want one. I don't mind. The greatest of love stories are not only your own, but they also happen with time. If time is what he needs, then he can have all the time this world has to offer.
Five years. It had been five years today since I had first met Castiel after seeing him for the first time in the city of the tragic lovers Romeo and Juliet. Five years of a strong friendship forged, and me falling deeper than I could have ever imagined. After finding Castiel I had stopped wearing my necklace. I didn't need it anymore. I had not only my soulmate, but a warmth that I had only felt when I had worn the necklace when around Castiel. I had realized that it wasn't the necklace that produced the warmth; it was Castiel himself. Whenever he looked at me, whenever he laughed, or smiled, or the million other things that made him him never failed to warm not only my heart, but my soul.
We were sitting on the couch in his house watching Saving Mr. Banks. "Tell me something I don't know about you," I say randomly. It was the first thing I had said to him all those years ago when we had gone to the coffee shop. He hadn't answered, so I had told him about the time I did the Charleston in the Middle of downtown in a rainbow wig because I had lost a bet with my friend Jo. He had done a spit take, which was worth the embarrassment of telling that story. He had laughed very hard for the next few minutes, the amulet glowing.
Castiel purses his lips in contemplation. When a few minutes pass before he talks. "You go first."
I think for a moment before I decide to tell him about us being soulmates. We had had an amazing friendship, and I knew he wouldn't want to see me after I told him. I sigh deeply before I speak the truth. "I was visiting my brother and his husband in Verona when I saw you the first time. Before I saw you, I felt my chest heat up. My necklace was glowing, because of you. And when I saw you again, I couldn't tell you. I had the feeling you would've run away in the other direction; and I was right about that. You don't believe in soulmates... I was selfish. I wanted anything you could give me, even though I knew it would hurt me to see you with another. I'm sorry for lying to you, for being selfish. I understand if you don't ever want to see me again. I'm just gonna go..."
I get up to leave, but before I make it to the door, I hear Cas shout "Wait!" I turn around and surprise at how close he is. He crowds me against the door, looming over me. He had a good inch or two on me, not enough to be dominating, but enough to make me pause. "Were you in love with me when you first saw me?" he asks, voice very serious.
I shrug. "A little. But after I got to know you, I found out it was much more than just being destined to be together. Just because we were destined didn't mean I was in love with you. At least, I wasn't yet." Cas stared at me, so I continue. "I love the way you laugh when I say something funny. The way you smile when something makes you happy, the way you look at me like I'm the most important person you've ever met. I love your eyes... And that's just the physical features. I love that you're kind, intelligent, funny. You always put others before yourself. When I'm sad you find someway to make me feel better." I take a deep breath before I say the line that will surely end our friendship, locking eyes with Cas. "I love you."
Castiel just stares at me. I look away, unable to look him in the eye. "Dean, look at me." I continue to look away. "Dean." Cas grabs my chin and pulls me into a kiss. My eyes are wide in shock, but slip close when Cas pulls away and whispers "Te amo meus Dean." I repeat the words back to him, and he smiles into our kiss. I feel our souls connect, bind an unbreakable knot that even death could not break.
"Always?" I think to him. I'm too occupied that I nearly miss the reply, but when I do I let joy wash over my entire being.
"Always."