Flashing lights. Cheesy, romantic music. And a pretty girl with brown hair and petite stature.

"I'm Alice," she says, sticking out her hand. "And it seems like we're soulmates."

Frank didn't like going to the supermarket — it was noisy, crowded, and the smell was terrible. But his mum forced him to run to Tesco weekly for groceries, and his mum was old and tired, and Frank couldn't say no to her.

He pushed a cart into the dairy aisle and that's when it happened.

Frank did a double-take as beams of colorful, flashing lights danced around him and loud, cheesy music played from the store's speakers. "What the —"

And then his cart rammed into another with a clang. The impact caused him to stumble and let out an undignified squeal.

As he stood, he saw a woman on the ground, also having been jarred by the collision, and he skirts around the carts to help her up. But the woman doesn't take his hand. She gets up by herself and dusts off her jeans.

"I'm Alice," she says, sticking out her hand. "And it seems like we're soulmates."

"I'm Frank, and soul—what?"

"There's a legend," she says, "or more like a myth — this happens to people who are soulmates."

"What — this happens to —" Frank realizes something, the pieces clicking together. "Wait. I think I've read about this somewhere."

"My mum mentioned it to me once," she says wistfully. "But it hasn't happened in a very long time — not until now."

Franks nods numbly. A quick scan around them reveals gawking faces. "Seems like we're drawing a lot of attention, so maybe we should talk about this somewhere else?"

"Sure," she says, smiling warmly. "After we're both done shopping, why don't we go to that cute little cat cafe around the corner — unless you can't — ?"

"No, no, that sounds purrfect," he says, grinning, and Alice laughs.

323 words

Sci-Fi September, Day 2 - When Soulmates meet for the first time music starts playing and a big light show happens all around them. That hasn't happened in over a hundred years and people are starting to think Soulmates are just a myth. Then it happens to you one day at the supermarket.

Auction - 23-4: FrankAlice