Soulmates

I have a friend who has stars in her eyes and galaxies in her mind. 
I have a friend who is a golden hurricane wrapped in a brightly coloured pint-sized package.
I have a friend who is a connoisseur of movies, who used his insomnia as my personal lifeline to home when time zones separated us. 
I have a friend who uses brazen humour to downplay his skill, but he hand carves lamps for my mother and transforms houses into homes daily. 
I have a friend who epitomises an English gentleman, but with one gin and tonic he will bust out dance moves that can put even the most unsynchronised dad to shame. 
I have a friend who exudes Scandinavian metropolitan sophistication yet he taught me the meaning of "lit" and gave me my first (and last) sip of Colt 45. 
I have a friend who's entire face lights up when she smiles, the questions she poses, now fondly named after her, make any game of 'would you rather' seem weak.
I have a friend who paints the picture of party loving scoundrel, but he can speak as eloquently as he thinks, his being free from a single bad fibre. 
I have a friend who can convince me to do almost anything, her contagious energy enchants cities. 
I have a friend who lives life more bravely than I ever could, he touches the sky and forgives without hesitation. 
I have a friend who likes to play the jock but who will protect those he loves with equal measures of dignity and ferocity.  
I have a friend who has overcome greater hardships than I have ever known yet he lives his life with an insatiable zest and a penchant for a good glass of wine. 
I have a friend who makes me laugh ridiculously over plates of Japanese food, the ups and downs we have endured together have bound us for life. 

Soulmates, though, are those in whom you find both a comforting solace and compelling inspiration. They are the moon that soothes you and the sun that energises you. While certain friends may occupy specific parts of your life, soulmates are those that fit into every piece of you. A soulmate is known within moments, a connection that cannot be denied. Laughter and conversation flow easy but silences, too, are welcome and never empty. Pleasant words are frequently exchanged but pleasantries are alien; for soulmates do not sugarcoat. They know you inside and out, including parts that you may have hidden even from yourself. Theirs is a love that is not burdened by the need to please or flatter. Hearts that pull towards each other as though they'd been kindred for centuries, need share nothing that is not true.

Of soulmates, I have found three thus far. 

The first I have known since birth. We share our blood through our mothers and our lives have been entwined from the start. To the world we are cousins, but their sisterhood became ours, despite the multiple oceans that have separated us.Bottles of warm milk shared under blankets are now filled with wine and drank in European cities. Screaming matches fueled by pre-adolescent tears are now knowing glances that can be expertly communicated across a room full of people. We hold up mirrors of truth for each other when necessary, no false words are ever uttered. Dreams and desires are not only discussed and encouraged, but become a joint effort. She is a force to be reckoned with, sparks from the fire within her have lit mine when I needed it most. One would not be complete without the other. We have grown together and bloomed because of each other. 

The second was found mid pirouette at the age of seven and we were instantly joined side to side. "Joined at the hip" was never true for us as there has perhaps only been one day in which our heights matched. First was her turn to be long, and then, at 14, our roles switched seemingly overnight as my limbs doubled in length. People often confuse us for sisters, and we rarely correct them.Our friendship is cemented in firsts. When I think of my first time being drunk, she is twirling beside me, taking a swig from our shared bottle. When I think of my first kiss, she is the one I rant to giggling after wards. When I think of my first heartbreak, hers were the arms that instantly consumed me in reassuring comfort. When I think of my first adventure, she is sitting next to me on the aeroplane. For everything that is still to come, though we may not be physically joined as we once were - I know she will be there for it all.  

I found the third as I began to find myself. She appeared in my life along with a whirlwind of change just as I jumped head first into so many unknowns. She arrived just when I needed her, as I began to realise not only who I was but who I want to be. Grace, ambition, and wisdom glow from deep within her in a way that is impossibly infectious. Eyes, blue as the ocean, can see the truth and depth of a person long before mine ever do. Her mind and heart operate in seamless partnership, allowing her the sense to notice the realities of our world in all it's starkness; but to work with empathy and hope for the better. Our time together has been the shortest, but no less bountiful and essential than that of those she now sits with in my heart. 

These, all, are the people I have chosen. They are the ones I can depend on without a shadow of a doubt. They are the ones I would cross oceans for and give my complete trust to. These are the people my heart feels at home with. Theirs are the doors I will always be welcome at. These are the people that build me up from different corners of the globe. They are the family I have curated.