Part 2: Euphora

"I had a dream about that boy..." I couldn't continue my sentence as much as I tried. Jamie stood in awe. It was like, my life was falling into place, or at least that's how it looked judging by the expression on Jamie's face and the tone of my voice. Jamie pushed me onto the bed urging me to tell her more. "When we shook hands just now.. my sorat... I saw it light a bright green and I saw the same colour in his eye when I looked up and-an-and..." I could hardly believe what I was saying and I assumed the same for Jamie. " Wow, Keemi, this is serious. It means he's your soulmate. How did it feel?"

"It felt like my skin was all being gathered together but, in a good way?" Jamie shot me a curious glance. I looked back at her opening my mouth to continue but she managed to speak first. "So the dream and the sorat? He really is your soulmate. What are you going to do, Keemi?"

"What does one do when one finds out that another one is ones soulmate but one hasn't really talked to one prime before and doesn't know if she should be happy or not or if he murders baby goats on the side? These aren't normal problem."

"Done?"

"Done."

"Okay Keemi, we know that your sorat would never pair you with someone who murders baby goats. Or even butterflies-"

"Sometimes butter-"

"I didn't say you could speak, moving on, I know Lars and he's a really nice guy, and hes top of transformation class and multi-communication. So he talks to animals he doesnt murder them."

I calmed down a bit after that conversation but the nerves came back as soon as class started the next day.

I didnt know how to react around Lars because I knew he knew. Everyone knew how the soulmate system worked. It didnt matter, I was too young for a soulmate anyway, even one as beautiful as him. I was probably too much for another person to handle and I couldn't just burden him like that. If he didnt mention it then I wouldnt either.

I walked through the kitchen and behind a couple of dying trees and untrimmed bushes in the garden. A stray leaf fell and landed on my sorat. The leaf glowed blue and trees moved to their respective sides, leaving a beautiful path. I took 2 steps onto the wooden pathway and the trees returned to their original positions. It was a wooden path leading in five directions, one for each theme, I headed down the earth path and the road immediately guided me to Shaheeds territory. It was a spectacular view here. People of our kind called it Euphora and it was the an extraordinary place.

You had to have some form of samusorat blood in you in order to enter Euphora or it would just be a boring backyard. I inherited it from my mother. Every household had a class in Euphora, it could be designed any way the keeper wanted it. Shaheed was our keeper, he chose the theme of earth. The others consist of: sky, water, fire and mystical. Most people went with Earth, I suppose it helped them feel at home. You may think that its all hidden in our backyards but you are gravely mistaken.

The garden was merely a gateway into Euphora, that's right. It's on another realm, one very similar to the planet that you know just without any of the pollution and disturbances, and much larger. People can choose where the gateways are as well. Its kind of funny how people are still not satisfied with a world thats as breath-taking as this. I mean, I kind of understand there were and still are a lot of threats to our kind.

I walked slowly into the room labelled Earth 5683 which was Shaheeds territory. "Keemi, you're early, we discussed that training starts at 09:00 and it's only sunrise." Shaheed said to me while moving around a few things. I nodded in his direction. I spent the first hour acknowledging the territory. It was stunning. The flowers looked as if they were in bloom the entire year and the sky was still a faded red colour which complemented the rose trees in the most aesthetically pleasing way. I walked a couple inches more to see desks lining a stone wall covered in yellow orchards.

I was about to pull an orchard of the tree when- "Keemi right?"

I hate the fact that I recognised that voice. "Yes, yes it is, not that you could forget, now could you Lars?" I didnt know where the newfound confidence came from but I was sure it would end with regret.

"So, Im assuming you saw it too. I was hoping you would bring it up." He looked carefree, I didn't understand it. "I dont know why I brought it up when the plan was to avoid you." Why couldnt I stop myself? "Why are you even at training so early, Shaheed just told me I was early so why are you here?" Why was I not closing my stupid mouth? He leaned in closer to me leaving just an inch between our faces and whispered into my ear with his steamy breath. "You're still holding the yellow orchard, natures truth serum." I could feel my cheeks getting hotter. I looked down at my hand and realised I was in fact still holding the yellow orchard.

He continued talking while I quickly tried to maintain a civilised persona. "I come here early because I like the views and I'm seeing a pretty good one right now. And your previous statement about avoiding me, we're soulmates so please don't." He was right, we were soulmates, and what was I running from? Euphorians had it easy. It was a system where we could avoid the usual heartbreak. A system to avoid a generation of broken people that didn't know how to love so what was I running from?

"I'm not rushing you into anything because we hardly know each other, all Im asking for is time. So we can get to know each other." He did have a way with words and his eyes were comforting. Maybe this wasn't bad. "Then tell me about yourself, and explain a little more about this place while you're at it, before I touch more plants that make me confess my undying love for random people." He chuckled slightly and my heart sunk, that was one hell of a laugh!

"Where do I start? Well I'm 18, I major in transformation and multi-com. My birthday is on the 2nd of August and now we're on an almost need to know basis." His voice was raspy, as if he had just woken up. This man was going to be the death of me. "About this territory, there are 7 assigned students, you, me, Jamie, Bruno and 3 others that we will be meeting later. The yellow orchards are truth flowers. Each daffodil has its own unique medicinal purpose which we are not going to learn, which we have to figure out, and the roses smell like your hearts deepest desire but it can also smell like the thing you hate most, which is unnecessarily confusing. There are only wild animals here but they're all tame enough for us to talk to them, and now you're practically a genius."

He was smart, and I didn't know what to say so I smiled and nodded in his direction.

We talked for a while after that, discussing our childhoods until Jamie and Bruno arrived which led to an awkward situation. Turns out Jamie told Bruno already so that was that. We were just about to tell Jamie and Bruno the orchard story when 3 people walked in simultaneously. I couldn't catch a glimpse of them. Shaheed stood behind them, he looked like he was mentally preparing himself to introduce us all.

I was kind of nervous and intimidated. They were all wearing black cloaks with Red linings, so they had a far more experienced mind. Grey was first class, blue was second. Red was third and then gold were the elites. They walked closer to us. "Children, I would like to introduce you to your 3 new classmates. Our sibling trio: Harsha, Greyson and Carlen Beck." Shaheed's voice echoed through the class as they proceeded to pull off the hoods. They were mostly average but they had really great hair.

Carlen held out his arm to Jamies direction but she didn't move. He brought his arm closer to her and she was pulled out of her trance, there wasn't enough time to ask her what happened before she started screaming in agony. She fell down to her knees and clutched on to her Sorat on her collarbone. I had no idea what was going on, and by the panicked looks I could tell that neither of them did either.