November soulmates

It was a stormy day in November. The leaves have already fallen, giving the vibe of a 20^th century city. Everything was covered in red and you could hear the leaves rustling beneath the passers-by. Everyone was rushing, as the wind started to become more violent. Among all the black umbrellas, there was a blue one, and under it there was Martha. What was she doing when there was this stormy weather going?

It all started in July. Martha was working and her coworker, Julia, had some great news. She was her best friend since they started working together, which means they were friends for five years.

         “Martha, come quick! I have something to tell you!”, said Julia with an excited voice.

         “Just a second, I have to finish this report”, said Martha, who glanced at her friend because she was curious to find out what was so important that Julia had to say it while they were working.

         Martha finished her report and went to her friend to see what everything was about, only to find her staring at her finger all the time. Julia almost began to cry, but Martha stopped her.

         “Julia, what happened? Why are you crying? Did our boss bother you again?”, asked Martha, not knowing what else to do to help her friend.

         “Martha, I… I am engaged!”, screamed Julia in a high-pitched voice. “I can’t believe this happened!”

         “Are you serious?” asked Martha, almost in shock. “Congratulations, dear! Michael really is a lucky man.”

         They both started crying and screaming, but they were stopped by the other coworkers.

         “Hello! People are trying to work here!”, said one of their coworkers who was always mean to them.

         The girls excused themselves and kept it quiet.

         “Yes, I am very serious!” said Julia quietly.

         “How did he propose? If it’s not too personal, of course.”

         “Don’t worry, I really wanted to talk to someone about that! So yesterday I went home after the hard day at work that we had. I was so tired and I wanted to go straight to bed, but there was a smell coming from the kitchen. I went there and there was a cake that was just taken out of the oven and a bottle of wine, with two glasses next to it. I went to the bedroom to ask Michael about it. I knew he was there because whenever I come home from work, I catch him watching TV. But instead of seeing him in bed… our room was filled with rose petals and photos of us from when we were in holidays or from high school, after our first date… I began to cry, and he came out in one knee and asked me to be his wife! I said yes in tears! Then, we ate the cake and drank the wine in order to mark the day we officially decided to be together forever.”

         “Wow, that is such a beautiful story!”, said Martha, trying not to cry. “You are meant to be together, really! You were a couple since you were 17… it was obvious you were soulmates!”

         “Thank you for supporting me. One more thing: we decided to get married in November! You know, with all the leaves falling, creating this beautiful atmosphere. On November 3^rd, to be more precise. And we started dating on that same day, 12 years ago!”

         “Wow, that is truly amazing”, said Martha in a sad voice.

         “What happened? You said you were happy for me.”

         “I am very, very happy for you, Julia, but it’s just that I hoped that I could meet someone like your fiancée. Ever since my ex-boyfriend left me two years ago, I started not to believe in love anymore. Nothing good comes out of it when it’s about me.”

         “Don’t say that, Martha! Look, I will try to help you find someone special. I feel like he’s closer than ever! Just believe in me”, said Julia smiling.

         “Sure then!”, smiled Martha. I hope you will be a good matchmaker! But now we really have to work. We don’t want our boss to yell at us again!”

         Julia and Martha went back to work, trying to finish the other reports they had to for today.

         Three months have passed and Julia’s wedding party came. Martha was happy for her friend, but she was feeling miserable on the inside. She tried everything in the last three months, but nothing seemed to work out. She went to many different places in order to meet people: she joined a lecture club, she often went in clubs and bars, but nothing really seemed to work. She even tried online dating, but she only met weird men! She decided to give up on love and focus more on her career.

         Julia came to Martha. She saw her in the corner, behind a plant, trying not to cry.

         “Martha, what happened? Get up and tell me”, said Julia worried.

         “Look, Julia, it’s so beautiful seeing you as a bride and getting married to your soulmate, but it just made me realize that I will never meet the one and that I should focus more on my career. This is my life path, I can’t change it. I have tried everything, but nothing ever worked. I guess my destiny is to be alone for the rest of my life.”

         “Martha, please don’t say that. I have always thought that Michael would leave me or that he did not want to get married, which meant that we had to be separated and it would have broken my heart, but looks like my life changed a lot since July, and I am positive that yours will change soon, too! Just believe in destiny.”

         The girls smiled, but the bride had to leave. Her parents asked for some family photos again. Martha tried to keep her chin up, but she felt like she couldn’t. Then, her life changed when she saw a certain person.

         She saw a brown-haired man, with blue eyes and a very beautiful smile. Martha could not help but stare. He noticed her and smiled at her, but Martha looked away. She started to blush and ran towards Julia. She just finished taking photos.

         “Julia, I have something to tell you!”, said Martha smiling. Can you please tell me who is that person?”

         She pointed at the person she made eye contact with before.

         “That is Fred, Michael’s brother. He did not really want to come, since he and his brother were fighting a lot, but one week ago they made up and are really good with each other now. I am also good friends with him and… wait, did he say something rude to you?”

         “No, but… I think he is really handsome and we made eye contact. And he smiled at me and I blushed! But it makes no sense, I don’t believe in love anymore! Why does it happen to me?” asked Martha confused.

         “You act like you don’t believe in love, but trust me, you still do! You blushed when he smiled at you, you are blushing right now when we talk about him and we all know that you love to use the word ‘and’ whenever you are fancying someone!”

         “Thanks a lot!” said Martha, starting to laugh. You really know me better than I know myself. But now what do I do? He will never notice me.”

         “Are you sure about that? Maybe looking behind you will help!”

         Martha looked behind her and Fred was there. She turned around to Julia, but she was nowhere to be found.

         Martha and Fred talked for a while, but he told her he had to go, as he was supposed to have a meeting the next morning in another country and he had to wake up early to catch the plane. He said bye to everyone and left.

         On November, two weeks later, Fred and Martha were planning to have their first date the next evening. She was now hanging out with Julia.

         “So, are you excited for tomorrow?”, asked Julia.

         “Well, yes. I am excited and also nervous. And scared. Because I really think something will happen and I will scare him and he will leave me.”

         “Martha, just keep calm! I am sure everything will be alright. Just be yourself.”

         “That’s the point. I am scared of being myself around someone I like. In fact, I don’t know if we will ever be together. I still don’t believe in love and I don’t think I will change my mind any soon.”

         “Martha, just… just stop overthinking so much! You’ll see everything will be fine. Wait until tomorrow and stop thinking about it.”

         At the same time, Fred and Michael were having a conversation about tomorrow’s date. Michaels kept asking about whether he is excited or not, but Fred was hiding something.

         “Michael, I have to tell you something. I don’t think this will work. Like… between me and Martha. And I think I got her hopes too high. At your wedding, I talked to her only because I felt sorry for her. She was talking to Julia about how she will never find love and that she will be forever alone. I was near her and I heard everything! Just ten minutes before I came there next to her, she was hiding behind a tree, crying! That’s pathetic. I don’t think I will actually like our first date. I think I’ll tell her that I’m not interested and that’s it.”

         “Fred, just don’t do this. Don’t break that girl’s heart. She has a wonderful soul. She was just unlucky in love all her life. Just try to go there and have a fun time!”

         Fred nodded, trying to agree with what his brother was saying. The next day, he put on his clothes and went to the coffee shop they were supposed to meet. It was raining hard and the wind was very strong, but he went there and he sat at the table, waiting for Martha.

         She came ten minutes late and saw Fred. Martha sat next to him and tried to fix her hair, but he stopped her, telling her that she is beautiful just the way she looked and he put some strands of her hair behind her ear. They looked at each other in the eyes for a few minutes, then blushed.

         They stayed in the coffee shop for five hours, having a good time and they found out just how similar they were. In fact, they went to the same high school and college, they just did not meet each other yet. They both started to like each other more and looked forward to the next date. And the next one. And the next one.

         Until one day, three years later.

It was late November and they were getting married. Fred could not believe that someone that he felt sorry for turned out to have so many things in common with him. Martha looked at her in the wedding dress. Julia and Michael came to them, having a baby in their arms.

“I told you that you are meant to be!”, said Julia. “And you both did not even think that there would be a second date!”

         “I guess I shouldn’t have said that I felt sorry for you. I am so sorry for that. It’s just that… I really did not think that I could fall in love with you. I am sorry for that”, said Fred, looking upset at his bride.

“And I guess I found love when I was looking for it the least”, said Martha, smiling at her new husband. “And stop telling me you feel sorry, that is in the past!”

They got lost in a kiss and then took a family photo with Michael and Julia. And their baby, of course. Who would have thought on that one day in November that two people were going to meet and discover they were soulmates?