spiritual dating company

The Spiritual Dating Company building was about to close early, it's Saturday. The door swing wide and exit Mike from the glass door. He's wearing a black Slipknot t-shirt which now smell of incense, and now putting his jacket back on top of it. He rub his eyes few times, and few times, and another few times. While doing that he keep looking down at his chest. Nothing. He's not going home without getting a refund. 

"Fucking liar. How can I fall for that"

He lift his head up, and he could see it for the first time. Where could all this flamboyance be hidden before this? The street had less than ten people, but it is everywhere in the air. Madam Fu had never mentioned about seeing others. He stares at the people around him, fascinated and wondering if he had secretly been given drugs.

"That would be 50 bucks" his eyes are still itchy from the smoke that Madam Fu blew at his face.

50 bucks for seeing fancy strings that would bring you to your soulmate? Hell yeah. Mikey now got more than what he paid for. The strings is a freaking show by itself. It floats in the air like it was suspended in an invisible liquid, giving out a faint red glow. The weightless bundle started from the chest of the owner and then floats like the tail of a goldfish into the air and to anywhere the person they are connected to might be. Mike afraid that he might end up chasing those strings when he's drunk.

He then turns his head to the couple who just walked pass him while holding hands, and he shake his head as the two strings are floating separately from both the guy and the girl into the air and somewhere beyond the streets, absolutely disconnected. Those smiles would be wiped away if they could see it too. He stop himself from chasing them down, telling them about Madam Fu, because he got to find the other end of his strings. Its not attached to anyone in this street. He swears his strings looks better than everyone's.

__________________________________________________________________________________________________________

The trip took him 3 hours. Its hard to be on the bus as the road makes his navigation confusing, so he decided to walk all the way to his destined soul. He can't wait to meet her, but what is he going to tell the girl? Is it even a girl? What if he's secretly gay? What if its a black guy waiting for him at the other end?

He feels like turning back, but if its a cute girl his 50 bucks would be wasted if he does. From the houses he could see strings floating through the walls, angled to various direction. The faint glow blend with the spilling sunset never fail to stop him for few seconds and stare, then he realise that he is in front of a house, where his strings suspended pass through the front door.

"Can I help you boy?"

He put down his newspaper, and walk towards Mike. His strings is the shortest he had seen today, it floats just above his house, a red piece of seaweed in a glass tank without any glow, without anyone on the other end. He shifted his eyes back to him, it would be so weird to be caught gazing at the empty sky. He had this street thugs look in his face, but he's white, so that's a relief for Mikey.

"Christine! Is this a friend of yours?"

He's glad its not Precious, or Tyrone. He could see the strings retracted back to his chest, as footsteps closing in to the front door. He's about to fall on the ground as his heart begin to send less oxygen to his brain. This is really his soulmate. Nothing can prove otherwise.

The doors open to a shadowy figure. It was larger that he expected, even larger than him. Suddenly it all came back to him. His school years, the bus, the concert. The lost years of his teenage life. It was Christine. Its Fat Christine. She's even wearing the same exact Slipknot t-shirt which renders his feet limp and he falls kneeling at the ground, the strings now glowing brightly in the ending sunset. Both father and daughter trying to figure out what's happening in front of them, as the weird guy is now shifting into fetal position in their driveway. He remembered the time when he flipped a trash can at Christine when they played Duality 3 years ago, and now he want his 50 bucks back.

"Mike is that you?" his cry gets more violent.

"Fuck you Madam Fuuuuuuu"

He chased red string on his way home that night.