Page 51 of Soulmateless
She steps away towards the bed and sits down.
“Then you better start searching. I bet you'll find nothing but indoctrinatingpuppetsgetting paid to spew lies.”
“We'll see about it.” I walk past her to get my shoes on. Once that's done, I look at her once more as her eyes are directed to the floor.
I'll prove her wrong, and she'll be able to see the truth my way.
I just need evidence.
Chapter 19
Amias
For some fresh air, I figured I would go a few blocks down and saunter through the busiest and most famous street in the city.
Men in suits and women in tight dresses hold hands as they stroll by me. If not that, they are dining outside restaurants with dim lanterns hanging above them. Estrella's star is setting over the horizon, painting the sky in an ombré of scarlet, gold and indigo.
Soulmate Street they call it. They say that you're guaranteed to find your soulmate down here.
I walk past multiple romantic restaurants, catching a whiff of various smells like freshly brewed coffee from a casual coffeehouse, and seared fish and steak from a more sexy candle lit restaurant. Skimming the windows I pass, I notice one with only elderly couples and another with only people my parent's age. There's even one designed with bright abstract art and another with musical instruments hanging from the ceiling.
Fanciful book stores and stages for live music fill in the spaces between restaurants. Chattering groups pass me too, of which I'm sure are singles clubs I tried to join at some point.
Towering over me in the middle of a roundabout, the statue of Grandmother and Grandfather holding hands stands.
Grandfather had died before I was born, but apparently, they had first met in this exact spot when they bumped into each other on the road. Grandfather felt bad that he might have hurt Grandmother, but she was immediately star struck.
Too bad the ending isn't as romantic as people think. They think they just fell in love, then lasted happily until Grandfather died. Not that Grandmother went and changed him from being happily soulmateless, to being her soulmate. Not that his forced love for someone who barely matched him was painful for him. Not that they divorced and Grandfather went to live the last of his years alone in peace.
I head to the nearest lamp post and wait for the protective walls. A little ways down the street, there's a bookshop called Myths and Bliss. The letters are in red neon before the brick wall the shop is made of.
Maybe I can get evidence for Clara there. I can get some insight from the bookkeepers and find some scholarly articles to find her.
The street timer goes down to four flashing zeros and the sparkling protective walls coming up. I cross the street.
As I'm walking, my thoughts wander back to the dreamscreecher debate. I snicker to myself. How Clara could say such things and be so confident that what she says is correct is so bizarre to me. Especially after she got attacked at the mall too.
I know she's passionate because of her experiences but still. It's odd to me.
A shove against my shoulder breaks me from my thoughts. I scrunch my nose when I spot a man walking past me with a smirk. "Piece of shit."
He must be one of those conspiracy theorist weirdos.
“Fuck off freak!” He barks.
My face gets hot. “What did I do?”
“You know what you are, dreamscreecher fucker!”
My body becomes rigid at the accusation. Gross! I’m not a fucking monster fetishist! “I would never be into such a perverted thing!”
“Oh yeah, that's why those dreamscreechers were at the mall, you psycho!”
I jerk back. “Give me an-”
“That's why you're soulmateless, motherfucker! No woman wants a dreamscreecher fetishist! Fucking dictator!”
I clench my fists. The idea that I want to destroy the kingdom through my supposeddesire of dreamscreechers is appalling.
