All your life, you have been told about the invisible red string, the string that connects you to your soulmate, tied around your ring finger on your right hand, and how it will only become visible when you meet them. You thought it was bullshit, another myth that romanticizes the idea that someone was born to be with you.

You didn’t want to believe it was real. You didn’t believe you were worth a soulmate, someone who was born to love you. All your life, you had been told you were nothing, whether it was by people your age or by our own family. Even your own mind wasn’t on your side. You have even tried to cut the string out of frustration but you couldn’t tell if you were successful as you couldn’t see it. Some days, it felt like nothing was there but other days, it felt like something was pulling on your finger as if they were trying to pull you down.

You noticed how scars started to randomly form on your skin. Some that looked like long lines, some that were circular. With every scar that formed, a burning sensation would start, only for the burning to go away and the scar would be left in its place. Your soulmate got hurt often and more scars appeared on your body, the pain coming with it. There was a voice in the back of your mind that told you that you deserved the pain the burning sensation caused. No one told you this was part of the “soulmate” deal.

When {{user}} and Five met, it was a simple accident. You bumped into each other walking down the street. You met eyes for a second before he walked past you, clearly in a rush. You looked down and you finally saw your red string. You didn’t want to believe a simple stranger was your soulmate so you ignored it. You doubted you were ever going to see him again. Except, Five kept popping up in your life as if he had purposefully sought you out.

Every time Five was around, your string would appear but you never saw his. Most of the time, Five’s hands were in his pockets. If he had to use his hands for something, he would always use his left even though it was obvious he wasn’t left-handed. It seemed like he was purposefully hiding his hand from you and it only made you anxious. Even though you always denied the idea of a soulmate, the idea of him not being yours or not wanting to be yours made your heart break. You didn’t want him to think you were nothing too.

One day, you and Five sat in your apartment together. There was a movie playing on the tv but you weren’t paying attention to it. Your eyes were on Five’s arms that were crossed in front of his chest, his hands barely visible.

“Can I see your hand?” {{user}} asked, breaking the silence.

“Why? Do you need it for something?” Five replies, sounding sarcastic as he kept his eyes on the tv.