Some people are lucky enough to have a mark. A mark that connects you with your soulmate. The person that is your perfect match in every way. Not everyone has a mark. As the generations have spanned people with soulmate marks have become fewer, and fewer. They have become so rare that people with marks often don't tell anyone about them for fear of being singled out and gawked at. Soulmate marks appear in the same place for each couple, and the marks are unique to each couple. To the untrained eye they can look like ordinary tattoos. Marks appear at birth unless one of the pair is older than the other. In cases like that the mark appears for the older of the pair when the younger is born.
Sasha POV:
'I was seven years old when my mark appeared. I didn't quite know what it was at first. I heard about soulmates all of my life, but I didn't think that I would have one since I never had a mark of my own. I remember running to my mom and showing her the mark. It was the Olympic rings with writing in Romanian in it which says 'Inima mea bate alaturi de a ta'. She told me that it was my soulmate mark, and that my soulmate must have just been born. She told me 'Protect this mark with everything that you have Alecu. Don't show it off to everyone, keep it between you and your soulmate. It's something special between the two of you and it should stay that way. You will know when you meet your souldmate.' I have always taken what she said to heart. I haven't shown anyone else my mark, and anyone that has accidentally seen it has just thought that it was a tattoo. If only they knew that it is so much more than that.'
Payson POV:
'I remember all throughout my life my mom telling me how important my mark is. I mean I know that it means I have a soulmate, but it wasn't until I was a little older that I realized just how important it is. That it means that there is someone out there that is made just for me. Someone who will always be there for me, someone who completes my heart in a way that no one else will. I have always dreamed about what he would look like. Would he be tall, or short, brown hair or blonde hair, blue eyes like mine or hazel or brown? I know that looks don't matter, and no matter what he looks like he will be perfect for me. Now that I have started to have feelings for Sasha, I hate myself for it. How can I like him and maybe even love him if I have a soulmate out there waiting for me? What kind of person does that make me? And on top of all that, I know that he would never have feelings for someone like me. I am just an 18-year-old gymnast that is broken in more ways than one.'
Fate may take a long time; however, it always happens at just the right time.
Rocky Mountain Gymnastics Training Center – Boulder, Colorado.
Payson walked into the Rock a little early one Sunday morning. 'A little extra practice time can't hurt. I need all I can get if I am going to win nationals this year.' She thought as she walked into the gym. The first thing she saw was Sasha doing pull ups shirtless from the uneven bars. His sweats slung low on his hips revealing what looks like the Olympic rings with something else inside it. 'Is that a tattoo? 'Cuz it kind of looks like my mark. It could never be a soul mark. Definitely not my mark, though I wish it was. I really like him. He is the only one that understands me, that I can talk to about anything. Well, anything but my feelings for him.'
"Hey Sasha, is that a tattoo?" Payson asked. He looked at her startled at the sound of her voice, dropped down from the bar, and turned to grab his t-shirt.
"No, it's not. It's my mark." He said, pulling his shirt on over his head.
"You have a mark? I….I do too." She confessed nervously. 'Ok, Payson. Don't get your hopes up. It can't be the same mark. But…..what if it is? Well, there's only one way to find out.' With that thought in mind she spoke hopefully "Can I see it?"
"It's not something I share Payson."
"Because of what people would think?"
"No. My mum always told me how special I was to have a soulmate. Someone that would complete me. No matter how may women I was with when I was competing, I never told anyone that I was marked. She would tell me that my mark was something special. Something that I should protect. No matter what was going on in my life, I always kept to that" Sasha admitted somewhat sheepishly.
"I haven't told anyone either. The only people that know are my mom, dad, Becca and now you."
"Alright Payson." He said as he lifted his shirt up so that she could see his mark. She inhaled sharply, walked closer to him her hand outstretched just short of touching him.
"It's….that's…..my mark. You have my mark." She said breathlessly. "I can't believe it." Looking at him wide eyed, tears forming.
"Please Payson. Can I see it? I have to see it." He said desperately. 'Please let it be my mark. I've hated myself for so long for falling in love with her. If we have the same mark, if we are soul mates…It was fate. Fate that I came to coach here, fate that we met.' She nodded her head, pulled her warmup jacket off, and peeled her leo off her shoulders revealing her sports bra, abs and then her mark. Holding her leo in place so that it wouldn't reveal any more skin. He bent down to get a closer look at it. "You have my mark. You're my soul mate." He said tears gathering in his eyes as she pulled her leo back up. He straightened up, looked into her eyes and simply said her name. But to her ears it has never sounded better.
"I always hoped and dreamed it would be you, but I figured it was just wishful thinking. I've had feelings for you for a while. When you pushed me away when I kissed you, I figured that was it."
"Oh, Payson. I pushed you away because I was supposed to, and you were only seventeen at the time. Believe me Payson, pushing you away was the last thing I wanted to do." He confessed. 'I'm not ready to say the 'L' word yet. I don't want to scare her.'
"Sasha, it hurt so much when you pushed me away. It felt like my heart was splitting in two."
"I'm sorry Payson I was trying to do what was right. I was trying to protect you."
"I know, but please don't push me away this time." She said as she leaned in and pressed her lips to his. He moved one hand to cup the back of her hand, and the other on the side of her hip with his thumb pressing into her mark. She placed her hands on his biceps right by his shoulders as he pressed his lips to hers again and deepened the kiss. Payson pulled away from the kiss and pressed lightly on his shoulders.
"I'm sorry Payson, I shouldn't have taken it as far as I did." He apologized to her as he pulled further away from her.
"No, Sasha. You didn't do anything wrong. I really liked it. I was just wondering if you knew what the writing on our marks mean. I have stared at it for hours wondering what it says. When I turned sixteen, I wanted to look it up for myself, but Mom told me that it would be best if I waited until I met my soulmate.
"Yes, I do. It's Romanian. It says 'Inima mea bate alaturi de a ta'" he said, his voice changing lowering and getting huskier as he spoke in his native tongue.
"What does that mean?" she asked looking deeply into his eyes.
"It means 'My heart beats next to yours'"
Instantly upon hearing this Payson's heart started to pound. It pounded so loud she could have sworn that Sasha could hear it over her labored breathing. With her heart in her throat, she spoke 'that's so beautiful Sasha.'
"I want you to know that I am and always will be committed to you Payson. Now that I have found you, I will never let you go." He confessed to her cupping her cheek in his hand. 'As much as I am afraid to tell her that I love her, there is no time like the present.' "Te iubesc la infinit Payson. I love you infinitely."
Payson let out a strangled sob. "I always dreamed about hearing you say that to me. I never thought that I would be here with you. I love you too Sasha, So much." She told him as they came together again, first in a bone crushing hug, and then in a kiss so deep that you couldn't tell where one person started and the other person ended. 'This is our future. Him and me together for the rest of our lives as soulmates. Any doubts that I have ever had have since gone, and for the first time in my life I am truly happy.'