The bus took less time than I thought. Maybe the universe was conspiring for the two of us to meet as soon as possible. It was a traffic-free day, and it was already near lunchtime. So it was somewhat abnormal that there was no traffic to the city center by that time of the morning.

When I arrived at the pizzeria, I walked in with my heart pounding in my mouth. My breathing was uneven, and every step I took didn't seem to be enough. I was lucky that the place was open, and there were few people inside. I was even luckier because I had it right. My soulmate was there, at the same table and in the same place where I had sat the other day.

My feet magnetically went to him. I didn't need to check that I was right, because he seemed to be waiting for me. His eyes followed every step I took. They followed all the way from the restaurant door to the reserved seat in front of him. We stared at each other, in silence.

He was wearing a dark gray sweatshirt with a funny print. It wasn't the jacket I'd seen earlier, it was like he was wearing a casual, laid-back outfit. Something I didn't understand. Did he live nearby?

"I was waiting for you. But even so, I'm very surprised that you actually came."

His voice was thick, and it took me by surprise. I didn't remember the tone of his voice, nor the smell of the sweet perfume I was smelling right now. I didn't remember the way his eyes were as deep and amazing as hot chocolate in the winter. But the beauty of all details that marked his face, the rosy color of his full mouth, and the way his smile always drooped downwards, were unmistakable.

It was him. I had found him.

"You… what's your name?"

He looked at me hesitantly. He looked a little confused by my question.

“Did you forget that part? Do you really want to remember?"

"I just wanted to confirm, Alex Diaz."

"Oh", he looked at me "So you do remember?"

I declined with a wave.

“It was written here, on this table. That's why I assumed it was you.” 

I pointed to the place where our names were next to each other. He shared a small smile.

“I didn't remember that."

Well, of course not. And that was part of the big problem here: neither of us remembered why we should be mad at each other.

"Why are you here?" I asked, with no intention of an elaborate answer.

He smiled at me and shrugged as if he hadn't thought so much. I knew how he felt because it was a reflection of my thoughts there. Maybe we were both there because of our impulsiveness.

“I felt like I should come here. And so I came. And now I've found you. And I still don't know your name."

"It's Noah Johnson."

"Oh, how loud. It explodes in the mouth."

I frowned at the funny comment.

"How is it possible for a name to explode in your mouth?" 

I never heard something like this before, but Alex smiled at me.

“It means it's nice to say it, Noah Jonhson." He says each syllable like he's tasting it.

"You are weird. That must be why you are my soulmate."

He laughed this time, a low sound like a shy teenager. It was weird because it didn't really suit his personality. But it wasn't as weird as me knowing that information without even remembering who he was.

“Maybe you're right,” he said, tracing the names we carved into the wood with his fingers. “Maybe fate brought us together through our weirdness. Or was it the pineapple flavor?"

This time, he took me by surprise.

"How do you know?"

“The other day, I saw you here. I thought I was the only person in the world who craved that flavor of pizza, but you were sitting here eating my favorite pizza. Somehow, I just felt it. I do not know how to explain it."

"You felt?"

"Yeah. Even now, I'm feeling something. I just don't know what it is that pulls me to you so much."

It was the thread. I knew it was the red wire, and even then, I couldn't talk about it. It was painful. The legend hovered like a curse in my head, and I didn't know if it was reciprocal or not. If Alex knew we were soulmates, then the whole lobotomy thing must have gone wrong with him too.

"Do you remember… anything from the past?"

Alex immediately shook his head.

“I didn't even remember your face."

Those words… I don't know why, but they destroyed me instantly. I held back my expression because I didn't want to show my weakness.

"You do not know who I am?"

“Well, I was told I had an ex-boyfriend. But that was all. I don't remember anything about the two of us."

No. It couldn't be, no. Did he not remember? Had the lobotomy just gone wrong with me? Doctor Kim lied to me, or was it Alex Diaz who was lying to me right now?

"Are you kidding?"

Alex's eyes widened, noticing the seriousness in my tone.

“No… should I remember? Did something happen that I don't know about?"

Shit, it was true. He had no idea.

“No, it's all under control. I believe this is really a chance for both of us to put an end to this."

He nodded in agreement.

“If that's how you want it, that's fine with me."

I don't believe it. Was that it? After all that suffering, would I be the only one to remember our entire history, even if fragmented? That wasn't fair at all. I felt the tears involuntarily run down my face, beyond my control. If possible, I hated him even more now. No, I hated myself in the first place for suggesting the lobotomy. Alex had nothing to do with it.

"You are crying. Oh God, is there something serious I don't know about? Are you ok, Noah Johnson?"

"Why are you calling me that? Is just Noah. You always called me Noah. Damn it!”

I wiped the tears away with my sleeve, feeling an ache build up in the side of my head. This was wrong, it was identical to the legend. The pain was one-sided. I was made of pain as he threw stones at me.

"I'm sorry…" He murmured.

"It's not your fault. You know what, forget it. That was a bad idea. Look, thanks for waiting for me. I'm glad you made yourself available for a final conversation, b-but I-I can't. I'm sorry, but I can't."

I said, getting up from the bench to leave. But he held my wrist against the table, almost immediately.

“Wait, Noah, wait a minute. I want to know the reason. I want to understand how we got here."

I stared at him, surprised.

“Why is this important to you?"

"Because I loved you one day, didn't I?" he said, his black eyes locked on mine.

I stared at him perplexed. A simple, direct, and true answer. He loved me one day. He loved me. He had loved me, and that, he remembered. Everything was able to be erased from his mind. All the fights, all details, all the nightly text exchanges, all sighs of passion, all the dates, all the trips, all our first times, and all the stolen kisses in the bus seat… all of that was gone. Still, he kept the memory of my love inside his chest. And I didn't know how I was supposed to feel about it.

"Do you still feel it? Can you feel me?" I asked, pathetically waiting for his answer.

Alex nodded slowly.

"Every day."

That made me cry even more. Every tear that fell, left a piece of me. They were tears I would never forget because they belonged to my heart's grief. The grief of knowing that nothing is eternal and that I had lost myself while I was also losing him.

Alex got up from the table and hugged me. Even though he was a little smaller than me, he managed to engulf me in that hug.

“I… I'm terribly sorry. You seem like a great person, Noah, and I'm sorry that my past came between us. I feel like I made you suffer, and that is something I will never forgive myself for. But I really hope you find a place in your heart where you have the space to do what I can't. I hope that one day, you can give me what I don't deserve."

I let the tears say everything I couldn't. Alex hugged me the whole time I cried in his arms. He didn't say a word and let me vent for as long as it took.

He felt a searing heat rushing through my body. It was as if the thread was squeezing us, curling and tangling that awkward hug to transform into something else. I had no idea why he acted in such an abnormal way, but it was possible to feel that it was no accident. Something that had been corrupted before was now healed.

We stayed like that for many minutes until I accepted my own fate. I had never imagined that a breakup would bring me so much pain and regret, but when the crying finally stopped, I felt lighter. I felt his lips brush under my forehead, and I slowly opened my eyes to look at him.

There was sadness there, I could see it. But there was also a sense of relief. In addition to all the care that was familiar to me. Alex always tried very hard for both of us, but at that moment, I didn't feel better or worse about it. I just felt that things were getting better from there. I felt like I could start to be happy.

"Are you okay?" he asked me, still maintaining an emotional distance.

A distance from an ex-boyfriend.

"Now I am."

Alex shared a shy smile.

“That's good, then. Forgive me, Noah. I didn't want to cause you any trouble."

There it was. What a great choice of words…

"Don't worry. It's okay, I… I'm just going home now."

"Are you sure you can go alone?"

I held back the urge to roll my eyes. He might not remember a thing, but his protective maniac self was still as alive as ever.

"Do not worry about it."

Alex agreed.

"Right. So… is there anything else you want to tell me?"

"I don't know."

"It could be anything," he said, while we were both still standing in front of "our table."

We both stared at each other as the world around us seemed insignificant.

“I sincerely hope you can live well, wherever you are."

"Oh." He sounded shy. "Th-thank you. That's very kind of you."

I nodded in agreement because it was true. It was kind of me to override my own principles to forgive him. But I also knew that was what the yarn wanted. It was our destiny to be bigger than our own Ghana. I had to remain humble in the face of love.

"So, this is goodbye…?"

The sentence wasn't meant to be said as a question, but that's how it ended up coming out. Alex looked at me sadly, with a defeated smile on his lips. I thought that carrying the burden of the truth would make me the most miserable person between the two of us, but I was terribly wrong. The burden was spiritual, and no soul could escape that weight.

“It's probably a 'see you soon', Noah Johnson."

I smiled sadly at those words. I gathered my belongings, all my shards, and my weaknesses to get out of there with the least of what I had left. I refused to be a slave to pain anymore, and I refused to let karma plague me for the rest of my life. That whole situation could repeat itself if I didn't put a stop to it here and now.

"In that case… I beg you not to look for me."

Alex was surprised by my comment.

"What?"

“When you find me again… let me go. Can you promise that?"

He continued to stare at me, wary. He wouldn't be able to get the words out. Alex was always the weaker of us two. The big problem was always measuring our strength, that's what was between us. His lack of strength against my lack of understanding.

“I'm sorry,” he whispered.

I agreed with a nod. I didn't have to say anything else, because I already knew it wouldn't end there. Time and space were the limits for both of us. The thread didn't break, after all. It just prolonged the inevitable.

"Maybe then in another life, I'll see you there" 

He smiles this time, while I turn my back to leave. 

"Goodbye, Alex."

He didn't utter a single word in response. He just got mesmerized, staring at me as I got further and further away. The thread was stretching between the two of us, and each time I walked away from it, the more I felt my finger burn.

As time passed, everything got better. I could feel the connection much weaker and sometimes even almost invisible. It was rare that I felt the need to go to random places without planning because I knew it was the wire pulling me into it. But none of that was enough.

According to the spirit guide Doctor Kim had recommended for me, the thread was still intact between the two of us. It was weakened because it was as if we hadn't met yet again. He said that it would be impossible to premeditate when and where this connection would come back, but he made it very clear that Alex would come back to me one day.

The big question was whether we could start over again, with a simple handshake in the street. Because, now, I finally had his name.

And I would never forget ever again.