A Bright Blue Hue

People say we got it made

Don’t they know we’re so afraid?

Isolation

We’re afraid to be alone

Everybody got to have a home

Isola-

“Rae! Stop humming that damn song and come down for breakfast!” My mother doesn’t like when I sing what I’m not assigned. I put my ukulele back in her stand and kissed her on her neck. “I’ll see you later, Yoko,” I lovingly said to her as I trekked downstairs to the kitchen. My daily blueberry breakfast muffin is laid before me on a plastic plate as my mom greeted me with a look of disdain. "How do you think you’ll ever attract your One by singing that gloomy tune? It's not even your assigned song!” I rolled my eyes and unwrapped my muffin. Chewing it, I argued with my mouth full to piss her off even more. “I don’t care. I don’t need a soulmate.” “First, don’t talk with your mouth full. And second, don’t say that about your soulmate. We’re put on this earth to find The One through a special song. Doesn’t that excite you?” She dramatically remarked. “I mean, not really. Why should the Universe assign someone to me? Can’t I make my own decisions?” “You’re just like your father. Stubborn. Now hurry up and finish your breakfast. You’re going to be late for school.” I inhaled the last of my muffin and threw out my wrapper on my way out of the kitchen door. “Have a great day at school! Love you! And sing your given song!” I love my mother, but she can be a pain.

One is supposed to find their soulmate in this world by singing your assigned song everywhere you go until you find someone that sings it back. Then once you do, a red hue glows where your heart is in your chest, and bam, you’re bonded for life.

Technically, no one is stopping me from singing anything I want. But my mother thinks that if I don’t sing my assigned song, I’ll never find The One. The truth is, I hummed my tune for over ten years. Now I’m eighteen, about to graduate high school, and I still haven’t found The One when almost everyone in my school has found their One by now. If I’m never gonna find anybody, what’s the point of singing something I don’t wanna sing? I hate my assigned song.

I don’t have many friends at school, but there is Levi. They’re the only other person in my grade that hasn’t found The One. Tall, blonde curly hair, and striking, light blue eyes, they’d be a catch if the Universe was not designed the way it is. Walking over to their locker, I greet them with a soft smile. They always dressed as if they lived in Paris and went to cute little coffee shops in front of the Eiffel Tower. I admire the confidence they carry. “You ready for that chem exam today?” they asked me. My smile faded. “Oh man, I forgot. SoI guess to answer your question, no, I’m not.” They laughed, shut their locker, and we walked to Room 301, where our chemistry class took place. 

After that disaster of an exam, the rest of the school day went by horribly slowly. During lunch, Levi and I planned to meet at the park after school to do homework together. When I arrived home to change clothes before going to the park, my mother asked me the same question she asked me every day. “Did you find your One yet?” And I always answered, “Not today. Maybe tomorrow.” Usually, that’s the end of the interaction, but today my mother stopped me and said, “Listen, sweetie. I know you may feel like giving up, but you shouldn’t. I didn’t meet your father until our sophomore year of college. I love you dearly, and I just want the best for you.” I nodded, “Thanks, Mom.” She kissed me on the forehead before I went upstairs to change out of my school clothes and into something cooler, shorts and a tee-shirt.

The park is about five blocks away from my house, so I decided to take a casual stroll and listen to music on the way to meet Levi. After putting on my headphones, I put on the song that I didn’t get to finish playing this morning on Yoko: Isolation by John Lennon.

When I listen to music I genuinely love, I transport into another world. A world where I can choose who I can love, where it isn’t decided for me by some means of the Universe. Humming that passionately lonely song,

People say we got it made

Don’t they know we’re so afraid?

Isolation

We’re afraid to be alone

Everybody got to have a home

Isola-

Suddenly, I bumped into a girl.

“Oh god, I’m sorry I didn’t mean-” I started to apologize when she interrupted me. “That song! You’re humming my song!” she gasped. “I am?” I was just as shocked as she was. “Yes! But, where’s the glow?” My stomach sank because I knew I was about to disappoint her. “That isn’t my song. I was just listening to it for fun.” Her eyebrows furrowed, and she frowned. My gut instinct was correct. “Oh. Well, sorry about that. I guess I’ll go then.” She began to walk past me when I exclaimed, “No, wait! What’s your name?” She turned back around and said, “Calista. And yours?” “I’m Rae. I’m sorry I’m not your soulmate.” “It’s okay. I just got excited.” Calista was unlike any person I’ve ever seen. Her ebony curly hair fell perfectly onto her shoulders, and her emerald green eyes made me want to melt. Her lightly tanned skin looked soft to the touch, and her curvy body made me stop in my tracks. I wanted to know everything about her. “I don’t think I’ve seen you around here before,” inquiring her about her origins. “I just moved here. After I graduated high school last week, my parents and I packed up everything in New York City and moved here.” “You wanted to come to Long Island?” She giggled when I asked her that. It felt good to make her laugh. “Well, I didn’t, but my mom got a new job, so here we are.” “If you need anyone to show you around Hicksville, let me know. Can I have your Snapchat?” Calista took her phone out of her jean jacket pocket and pulled up Snapchat. I scanned the code and added her, then she added me back. “I’ll see you around then?” I sheepishly asked. “Yeah. I’ll see you.” She walked away in the other direction. I had to tell Levi about this.

“You’ll never guess what just happened to me,” I explained everything to Levi about my interaction with Calista. “No. Way. You have to go on a date with her,” they responded. “Are you kidding? It’s not like we’re soulmates. We don’t share the same song.” “Who cares? Rae, this is the first time I’ve ever seen you giddy over another person. Go get your girl!” “What if she doesn’t want to be with me because our songs don't match?” “Don’t worry about that, just be yourself! She’ll fall for you.” “Levi!” I punched them on the shoulder. 

After the park with Levi, I went up to my room and played an Elton John record. My record player is the only thing that gets me through not finding my One, besides playing Yoko. I glanced over at my phone on my nightstand, and with a surge of confidence, I sent a Snapchat message to Calista asking if she wants to go to the park tomorrow around 3:00. After a grueling hour, she responded with: Sure :)

The following morning I spent an hour picking out my clothes for this date with Calista. Well, whether it was a date is debatable, but either way, I wanted to look good. I put on a red floral button-down shirt with ripped jeans and my Converse. To calm my nerves, I played my ukulele with my shaking fingers, the song that belonged to Calista. How can someone so beautiful possess such a tragic song titled “Isolation?” Everyone who meets her must fall instantly in love with her.

Calista grabbed the attention of the entire park when she walked through the gates to the sitting area where I was waiting for her. Waving to me, she strode over and sat down across from me. A kind smile and warm eyes greeted me, making me lose all common sense and conversational speaking skills. She was wearing a short, green romper with white polka dots and white sandals. My mind went blank. Finally, I mustered up the courage to ask, “How are you?” “I’m good. I walked around the park today, humming ‘Isolation,’ but no matches yet.” “I’m sorry about that. You’ll find them soon.” There was a slight awkwardness in the air, and my hands sweated profusely. After what seemed like a decade, she finally voiced, “Do you wanna sit on this bench?” With a smile that spanned over my face from cheek to cheek, I responded, “I’d love to.”

After some light conversation, Calista seemed pensive. “Is there something on your mind?” I inquired. “Okay, I haven’t been able to get this out of my head. So, why are you singing a song that isn’t your own when you haven’t found The One yet?” Blushing a bit out of embarrassment, I finally admitted something to her that I had never told anyone else, not even Levi. “Honestly, I gave up on trying to find The One a while ago. I want to choose who I love, not have it be decided for me by The Universe. You know what I mean?” Her eyes were wide and she looked down at her lap. “I’ve never heard anyone say that before. I hadn’t even dreamed,” she paused a moment before continuing her thought, “that was possible. So, can I ask something else?” “Go ahead.” “I’ve only listened to my song for my entire life, and honestly, I’m sick of it. Will you show me more music?” I couldn’t believe what I was hearing. This date went so much better than I thought it would. “Um, yeah! And I can introduce you to Yoko Ono.” “You know Yoko Ono?!” “Oh, no, not the person. My ukulele.” “Oh,” she giggled. 

I couldn't be happier.

I brought her back to my house to introduce her to Yoko. Thankfully my mother wasn’t home to interrogate Calista and me about what we were doing. I grabbed her hand and walked her upstairs to my room. She surveyed all my band posters and my record player. “How do you have all this? If my mom found out I was listening to something besides ‘Isolation,’ I’d be dead.” “Every once in a while, my mother will hear me playing on my ukulele and tell me to stop, and she’ll tell me to take down my posters, but she doesn’t actually do anything about it. I think by now she knows she can’t stop me from listening and playing other music”

Calista sat down in front of my record player and shifted through the box of records beside it. She pulled out my “Best of Ella Fitzgerald” album and scanned the song list on the back. Then she turned it around so the front cover faced her. She traced her fingers along Ella Fitzgerald’s face, turned to me, and asked, “Can we listen to this one?” While she was admiring my albums, I sat on my bed, gazing at her curious face. “We can. Are you ready?” “I am.” 

Taking a deep breath, I placed the record on the player and lifted the stylus. Once I placed the stylus down, there were a few gritty noises. Then the first song on the album starts to play,

Blue skies,

Smiling at me,

Nothing but blue skies,

Do I see.

In this instantaneous moment of discovery, both of our hearts glimmered a bright blue hue.