CHAPTER 4 – ALEXANDER DAMIEN HEWITT

The moment my eyes landed on his chocolate brown eyes, I was speechless but it felt so right. And then with a swift of movement, we held each other and without thinking, we kissed each other like there’s no tomorrow. Everything felt so easy and for a slight moment – I felt like I was alive.

I felt strange that my heart wasn’t beating like crazy but something was flowing through me like an electricity and that made all my nerve into my body became alive – mo3wa1tgc vdxrfgr56655656re than alive. It’s like multiple of fireworks and happy memories formed into one moment and it was close to perfection.

We both broke away and there, I blushed and put some distance with us. Luna was grinning from ear to ear while Nathan couldn’t help but to smile shyly at us.

“I – I’m sorry,” I heard him said, scratching the back of his head while looking around.

“It’s alright,” I paused. “I’m sorry too. And thank you for saving me earlier,”

“Oh it’s nothing. Just trying to be civil yeah?” he chuckled. “You can call me Damien. Nice to meet you,”

“Oh right! That was you!” Luna smiled at him, “No wonder you look familiar! Did the guardians interrogated you as well?”

He nodded, doesn’t take his eyes off me.

Nathan cleared his throat that made Damien shifted his gaze at Nathan. I blushed as Luna nudged me teasingly yet I couldn’t help but to rolled my eyes.

I couldn't believe that he is my soulmate. And I kissed him! Kissed him! Seriously? Is that like a soulmate thing?

“Some Shrek huh?” Luna nudged me.

I rolled my eyes, “Whatever, he is still Shrek to me,”

"Hmm, I'll give you one week. You're going to fall for him" she teased.

"Yeah right."

As they were talking about the guardians and some soulmate stuff, I couldn’t help but to feel guilty because of what I did. That wasn’t me. And then, I thought of John. John! The only guy that I loved, the only guy that I kissed. What would he think? But it doesn’t matter anymore because I am dead. And if the Soulmate Department is right… That this invisible string that tied me to Damien is right – then someone else is tied to John as well. Surprisingly, it bothers me to think who the soulmate of John is. Is she pretty? Prettier than me? Is she a good person? Better than me? I couldn’t help but to feel insecure for a moment.

I sighed as I looked down and saw that there was a blue paper bag placed neatly by the side door. Damien’s right foot was blocking it but it was too late – I already saw it.

“What you got there?” I asked, motioning my head to the direction of where the paper bag is.

“Well – uh. It’s my gift for you. I got it from the library,” Damien said shyly as he gave it to me. I don’t know but for sure he got heavy British accent there. “I love to read books and I don’t know what you like so I just picked this one up."

I opened it and it was a blue leather book that got beautiful carving of a vines on the side. I brushed the vines and smiled as I read the title.

“Pride and Prejudice. How did you know? It’s one of my favorite books,” I smiled as I opened the book. “Thank you.”

“Alright. Introduction done. I think we are all acquainted. Luna?” Nathan cleared his throat as he motion Luna to go out.

“I think it’s more than just an introduction if you ask me,” I heard Luna said and I couldn’t help but to blushed more.

“Where are you going?” Damien asked, his accent is funny in a way that it makes me amazed.

“We are just going to fill up some form. You’re going to wait for Gerald. So for now, you two can talk and well get to know each other,” Luna grinned. “We’ll be right back,”

The moment she closed the door, silence filled the room and we are both still facing one another. Awkwardly, I smiled and head onto the coach in front of the television.

“There’s a food there by the corner,” I said as I opened the television to ease out some tension or should I say awkwardness between us. Unfortunately, the movie of Paul Newman isn’t available so I switched the television to some news updates regarding with WP. They are still looking for Maximillian Jones who’s been missing for 4 days now.

“What happened to you back there? Do you remember what happened to you before you fell down here in WP?” he asked worriedly while walking to the food table by the corner.

“I don’t really want to talk about it,” I hesitated.

“Well, I’m glad that you are alright. Awfully terrifying there if it was me,” he said as he sat down beside me. “I guess we are soulmates. I’m sorry again for kissing you out of nowhere,”

I scoffed, “Don’t worry about it. If we were alive, I’ll probably slap you because my boyfriend wouldn’t like that,”

He laughed, “Blimey, if we were alive, then you’ll be the first woman who ever slaps me,”

I chuckled, “True. And I think your girlfriend wouldn’t like that,”

“Hmm” he muttered as he placed two glasses of orange juice on the table and some donuts in front of us. “Nah, I don’t have a girlfriend so I’m safe,”

I rolled my eyes, “Yeah right. Like that is actually true, Shrek”

“Shrek huh? Shrek is actually a nice character,” He chuckled, “And why would I lie? Come on Cecilia! I know I’m good looking but you don’t have to judge me!”

“Okay then. How about we asked each other some questions then. Cause to tell you honestly, I am very judgmental especially to some people who kissed some stranger,”

He scoffed and turned to me, “Hey! You kissed me back!”

I blushed, “Well, because you kissed me!”

He all of a sudden brushes my cheeks, “Well, I like it. You look like a kid who got sunburn!”

I pushed him away. “Shut up! I’ll go first, Shrek. How old are you?”

“Ugh, you asked boring questions!” He complained, “I’m 23”

I nodded, “Same”

Then I waited for his question but it looked like he’s waiting for me too. “Well, go ask me anything. We are supposed to ask each other so fire away,”

“Favorite food? I’m guessing donut then?” he asked, looking down at my half eaten donut.

I chuckled, “Well, it depends really. If it’s like a meal – I think its beef soup with vegetables. It’s one of the famous dish in the Philippines,”

“Whoa! You’re a Filipino? No wonder your look is unique – in a good way”

“Yeah well technically I’m half Filipino. My mom is a Filipino while my dad is American. My lola– she loves to cook us with Filipino dish. Sadly we didn’t get a chance to travel to the Philippines,”

“You’re fudging with me!” his excitement turned to confusion. “Fudging.”

I laughed.

“Fudge,”

“You can’t swear here in WP. I know right!”

“Damn it,” he muttered. “Oh! There you go! At least we got one curse!” He shook his head, “Anyway, I know that dish! Nilaga! Nilagang baka!”

“Whoa! How did you know that? Did you travel to the Philippines?”

He looked by the window and smiled sadly, “Well, I fly back and forth from Philippines to Australia,”

“Right, Australia! I thought you’re from London because of you accent,” Now that I think of it, he kind of uses some additional words from time to time that I don’t even know. I guess it’s an Aussie thing.

“Nah but our accent is close.”

“So back and forth from the Philippines! So I’m guessing you already visited the chocolate hills, the boracay beach?” I couldn’t help but to feel excited. I would love to go to the Philippines! But then, now that I come to think of it I can’t go there anymore. That made me sad.

He scoffed, “I wish! But nah, let’s just say there’s this girl who I courted and well –“he shrugged, “It didn’t go well,”

“Aw, dude. I’m sorry” I said.

“That’s okay. I already move on from it. To be honest, it wasn’t easy but at least, I'm wiser. And I did became an actor in Los Angeles after that. You know the movie called, Let's Break Casanova Heart?”

I shook my head.

"Well, I was the lead there and that was my big break until I wasn’t anymore" he chuckled under his breath.

“Great! My soulmate is an actor. Should I prepare myself for something dreadful? I'll bet lot of girls are going to kill me now"

He laughed," Hey, I think you are safe! But there's this one girl who stalked me. I think she was obsessed or something. Seriously, it was so scary,"

"Well, it's part of being an actor" I said. "Maybe she just want your autograph?"

He looked at me in disbelieved, "I already gave her like 10 autographs? And believe me! I don't think that just want she wants! She's always following me like a puppy and at first, it was fun, I get it she's a fan but last time I remembered – it didn’t go well with her either. And she's carrying this black book with her-"

I just stared at him, bored.

"Just listen. She took some hair of mine! It was so weird and then I don't remember the rest."

"Oohhh that is some weird voodoo stuff going on.” I commented, taking sip of the orange juice.

“Yeah.” He looked outside the window for a moment then he turned to me. His brown eyes were scorching and it occurred to me that his eyes color were closer to the color of coffee. “What about your family? What does your family like?”

My facial expression changes that made him pulled back, “Oh. Sorry about that. We don’t have to talk about that part if you want,”

I slightly smiled, “Nope. It’s alright. My family is okay. I miss them. They are more than just a family – my mom and dad are not that strict and my sister and I are pretty close and she loves Taylor Swift.”

“I got two sisters. Diana and Delilah. They are always bickering! Jesus! Delilah, stop wearing my clothes! Diana, what did I say about my vinyl collection?! Total madness, I tell you!”

I laughed the way his voice got all high pitched, copying his sisters. Sometimes Caryl and I argued but we only got one huge fight that we didn’t talk at all but the silent treatment only lasted for 3 days.

“Okay. Next question. How did you die?” I guess talking about that weird topic is normal now here in Wonder Place. “I guess you already know about it?”

His smile vanished as he frowned. “I don’t want to know about that yet,”

“Aren’t you curious about it? Unfortunately I got into a car-”

“No,” he said coldly as he interrupted me, “It already happened. What’s the point of mourning about something you can’t remember?”

I blinked. All of a sudden, his mood changes from bubbly to serious.

“I think you are just in denial,” I said after the moment passed.

He was about to say something when Gerald, the guy that Luna talked to earlier came into our room. He smiled widely as he closed the door.

“Hello, Lovebirds!” he greeted when he sat down in front of us. “I am Leonard, one of the staff here in Soulmate Department! You could say I’m one of the ‘cupids’. Sorry wearing diapers is not allowed in WP,” he chuckled in his own joke. “Do you have questions before we start?”

“Um, yes. Now that we know that we are soulmates. What now?” I asked, looking at Damien at my left side. “Do we have to love each other? Is it a requirement?”

“Excellent question! Well… Love is universal. It could be a love for friendship or companionship but there are times that soul can’t fight over the force of falling in love with their soulmates,”

I blushed as Gerald answered that. I could tell that Damien was awkward in his seat as Gerald as explained this.

“So in short, we don’t have a choice or some will?” I asked, “Well that’s ludicrous,”

Damien gasped, putting his hand on his chest, “Ouch!”

“No offense,” I said, not looking at him.

Leonard thought about it for a second before he responded, “Well, I understand that you are surprise by this and sometimes, the feeling of uncertainty and confusion to the magnetic force makes you uncomfortable but I can assure you having a soulmate is a good thing. You are the perfect fit for each other.”

To be honest, Leonard is good with words, I thought.

“But in your case, that’s going to be easy. Look at you two! You are both good looking souls here.” Leonard gushed. “Anyway, you are aware that you got string that was tied on your pinky right? We are now going to move it on your ring finger as a sign that you already found your soulmate.”

“Will that hurt?” Damien asked.

Leonard shook his head.

“Is this like a marriage thing where we have to commit to each other?” I asked, concerned if that changes anything. “Do we have some rules to follow or what?”

Leonard smiled, “Well, it depends on the two of you. Like what I said, love is universal. The soulmate vow is just a process to officially declare that you are soulmates. There’s no rules however, we prevent soulmates from betraying one another,”

“Soulmate vow?”

All of a sudden, he laid down an old brown scroll where it was stated in a gorgeous penmanship the soulmate vow and our names at the bottom. I noticed that his full name was Alexander Damien Hewitt.

“So this is the soulmate vow. After saying the vows – then it is official” Leonard said.

“Alexander Damien Hewitt. Huh. Not bad, Shrek”

“Cecilia Jane Andrews, Nice name, Fiona”

I rolled my eyes.

“Ohhh.” Leonard chimes, “Already got nicknames! I love it!” he squealed. “So let's start, shall we? Now, you two are going to recite this vow right here. Before that, you need to hold each other’s right wrist, it should be palm to palm – yes like that, Cecilia. And read the phrase out loud,”

We both looked down at the scroll and all of a sudden, it starts to magically glow of gold along with the string in our pinky.

“Now ladies first. Go ahead, Cecilia,”

I gripped his wrist and there, the gold scroll glowing wider and wider that everything was in a shade of gold. For a moment, I didn’t think of anyone not even John. I just followed what he said and read the phrase out loud.

By this vow, our soul will become one

I hereby take Alexander Damien Hewitt

As my soulmate from this day on

Everyday up until our last day.

After I said it, a slight jolt made me focused on my pinky and there I saw the gold string that was on my pinky already transformed into my ring finger like a gold ring.

“Your turn, Damien ,” I heard Leonard said.

By this vow, our soul will become one

I hereby take Cecilia Jane Andrews

As my soulmate from this day on

Everyday up until our last day.

After Damien said the phrase, all of a sudden, Leonard gave us a white pen to sign the scroll. I expected something or anything that changes deep inside my heart or my soul but I only feel nothing but peace. No overthinking or pressure – just a balance of peace and happiness. And then I compared it to my feelings with John and compared it to the feeling I felt whenever Damien was at my side and it was different.

As much as I love John, I couldn’t help but to think of Damien. I know it was only a soulmate thing that tied us and made us inseparable and I know the force is stronger but I don’t think I am ready yet to let go of John yet. It is not fair. Maybe If I can have one last farewell to my family and John then maybe, just maybe I can let go everything I had on Earth and enjoy my time here on WP.

When we were done signing the scroll – the glow from the scroll subsides same with our string that was now in our ring finger, I made up my mind.

The scroll was now closed and sealed by Leonard and there, he congratulated us.

“So congratulations, lovebirds! Sadly you didn't meet when you were still alive but we have a gift for both of you! You can stay in one of our luxury resort of the Eastern Island,” Leonard announced as he laid down the brochures where it shows the resort and some of the floating cabin house in the middle of the ocean. “We highly recommend the island hopping in the East! You can go and hike in one of our islands there you get to know each other!”

“No!”

“Yes!”

I turned to Damien , “No! This ritual is enough. We don’t need some honeymoon escape. Will that be all, Leonard?”

“Yes,”

“Okay, thank you!” I said as I went out of the room to find Luna.

“Cece, wait!”

I immediately stopped. And all of a sudden a flashback of memory flooded right in front of me. John’s face smiling while teasing me with that nickname. But now, it was all gone. John should be my soulmate not this annoying guy.

“Wait up, Cece!”

“Don’t call me that,” I told Damien coldly as he stopped in front of me.

“Why not? Isn’t that like your nickname or something? Or was it Celia, then?” he teased me as he put his hand on his pocket while smiling crookedly at me.

I ignored him and went downstairs to find Luna to assist me in the library. Damien was following me of course. I will not let some honeymoon Eastern Island escape distract me from coming back to Earth. I want to come back to Earth. Even though it is scary process. I want to know more about it. I just hope the Southern Old Library have it all.

"Cecilia!" Luna and Nathan were standing in front of one of the booths by the side of the place. Based on their papers, I'm guessing that this soulmate thing was a success for both of them.

"Luna, I'm going to the library to research about something –“

“You’re not going to the Eastern Island?” Nathan asked, patting the back of Damien.

“No and I don’t want to. Come on, Luna –“

“Cecilia,” Nathan’s calmed voice stopped me from dragging Luna out of the Soulmate Department. “How about you think about it. You’re not going to regret it. Here –“he handed me the brochure of the Eastern Island Resort. “If it helps, we can arrange separate rooms for you and Damien,” he smiled warmly at me.

I sighed as I accepted the brochure and bid goodbye to them. I didn’t looked at Damien’s eyes because if I did I don’t think I can walk away to the door without him. I shook my head. Soulmate thing’s messing my mind. It confuses me really. I have a boyfriend down on Earth who is probably heartbroken because I am now dead and I’m getting all squashed by the soulmate thing and my ability to go back to Earth. Which reminds me.

“Hey Luna,” I tapped her shoulder as we walked our way back to the passageway back to the Southern Old Library. “Is it possible to get some books from the library and take them back to my house?”

“Are you going to do some research about what happened to you earlier?” Luna asked.

“Yeah. Can you help me?”