Body and Soulmates

I took a bit of inspiration from greek mythology, and tried to show/explain the burgeoning relationship between two fated people. I was trying to get the feel for one of my characters with this piece.

“According to Greek Mythology, humans were originally created with four arms, four legs, and a head with two faces. Fearing their power, Zeus split them into two separate beings, condemning them to spend their lives in search of their other halves.”

-Plato’s The Symposium

I think I found her. It could have been a man, but no, it’s her. I can feel it in my bones, right down to the marrow. She looks nothing like what I would have expected. Honestly, I was expecting a man. Maybe a slave or one of the Gods themselves. Not this creature sitting on the ground, clothes tattered and covered in dirt and splotchy stains of who knows what. Sweet Apollo, I was wishing, praying it was a man. What am I going to do with her? This woman who looks like the garbage one throws out, or rather, she looks like a broken toy a child has gotten rid of because it’s chipped, dusty and grimy.

I’m almost wishing I hadn’t stopped, that I’d ignored the tingling and fluttering sensation that burned through my belly. I’d been doing fine, walking past her everyday, ignoring her vile presence. What made today different? Perhaps it’s the rain or the sight of a few teenagers jeering and kicking her while she’s down. Or maybe it’s her eyes. Not once have they acknowledged me, glanced in my direction or looked up from the ground.However, she’s looking at me now, staring at me through her dirty hair. Her eyes don’t convey anger or relief, but nor are they blank. They’re wild, feral and there seems to be a thrill going through her. Like an animal who has cornered their prey, and I have a feeling I’m the prey she’s finally apprehended.

A smile, almost malicious in appearance, spreads across her lips as my feet carry me forward. Gravity pulls me towards my opposite, and I physically cringe while my heart beats faster and sings in happiness and completion. This woman is my physical soulmate, the person I was created with and split in half from, and who I am destined to spend my happy and sad moments with. She’s to be my friend for eternity, and despite my outward reaction, I think I’m looking forward to the torture.

Author's Note

I'd love to know what people thought. I adore constructive criticism.

To provide a bit of background, the quoted piece above from Plato’s The Symposium, greatly influenced this little snippet. I broke it down into physical soulmates, friends, and emotional soulmates, lovers, that would last a lifetime. It sounds weird, and the terminology I use will probably change, but I’m kinda on a roll with this.

Physical soulmates, the way I’m thinking of it, are the people who were physically created together, and they’re only destined to be friends, but emotional soulmates were given part of the same soul and they’re a lot harder to find, such as a lover. I figured that even though the Gods created people in one body and split them in half, that they implanted different souls into the one body as to further keep the proper pairs apart. Thus creating opposite people who attract, but have something in common. After all, who we think is good for us, or who we expect to have as a friend is completely different from what is really true. Just my personal thought.

Er, hopefully that semi-explanation made sense. I’m still trying to work through the loopiness. Hope you liked it.

Reviews

[khalid]

sometimes we feel we love someone with all our hearts that by time we may feel that person is part of us. it would be really nice if that really exists but im sorry to say nobody has ever heard about such a close immortal relationship. if this is really true, i think our world would have become so much better with honesty and sincere feelings, cheating and lying would have disappeared..but since people sink in seas of cheating and dishonesty, since most wonderful relations end in separation after the couple feel they are fed up, i can never imagine such a thing really exists..it is even against religions and the theory of creation..
nice mind provoking writing..
thank you fot it

[Deliylah]

Thank you for your comment. The actual idea I use doesn't go with what I believe, but as a writer, I love things like this. It stimulates my brain and allows me to create fiction like this that would normally never exist in real life. Unfortunately things aren't as clean cut as this, and trust me, these physical and emotional relationships won't be either, but I'm really glad you found it mind provoking.