by Holly Bourne
“Wow,” I said. “Someone’s obviously single…”
Dr. Beaumont didn’t appreciate that comment.
“Oh yes, that’s right,” she said, shuffling through her papers. “I read that you have attitude. Love to be sarcastic, don’t you?” She pulled out a sheet of official-looking A4 with a flourish.
“Here we go.” She began reading the page. “Poppy Lawson is an intriguing patient and very strong-minded. She’s the only one I’ve had who actively seeks argument in the therapy room. She has that usual adolescent habit of always thinking she’s right and usually dismisses information that suggests otherwise.”
I looked at her in shock. “What the hell is that?”
She put the paper down.
“That is a report written for us by your psychiatrist, Dr. Ashley. He’s been keeping an eye on you under our instruction.”
“You got my therapist to spy on me?”
Anita smiled. “He didn’t have much choice. Kept droning on about patient confidentiality but we’re not a force to be argued with. Anyway, he provided an interesting insight into your relationship with Noah.”
Noah.
His name triggered so many emotions it was hard to keep them under control. I thought back to my previous sessions with Dr. Ashley and it began to make sense. There was that weird one where he’d asked me about Noah and I’d lost my temper. In fact, he’d seemed determined to bring up my boyfriend even when I wasn’t mentioning him. The realization fell down around me like giant jigsaw pieces I hadn’t yet finished assembling.
Dr. Anita was looking at me, a smug smile on her face. “You’ve gone quiet.”
I gave her my best-ever evil. “Let’s just get on with this, shall we?” I said. “You were at the bit where everyone in a relationship is a deluded idiot.”
Her smile strained.
“Well, the real point I was making was that for ninety-nine per cent of humans, the reality is they find someone they’re genetically compatible with, convince themselves they’re ‘in love’, release some hormones and stay together through shared experiences and bonding attachment. Then they die and their kids continue the chain.”
“You should be a romance writer,” I said dryly. “I can imagine that version of Romeo and Juliet flying off the bookshelves and getting on the New York Times bestseller list.”
Anita winced slightly. She turned to another page in her file and scanned it. “This brings us onto you and Noah.”
I sat up.
She took her glasses off, relaxing almost.
“Tell me, Poppy. Do you believe in soulmates?”
“I’m quite sure you don’t.”
Anita smoothed an invisible strand of hair away from her face.
“Actually,” she said. “This is the part where it gets really interesting.” I couldn’t help it. The way she’d whispered the last sentence made me lean across the table.
“As I was saying, real life and real love isn’t romantic.”
The overhead light flickered.
“Whereas the idea of a soulmate is very romantic. People love it. The idea there’s one person out there just for you, your perfect fit, your other half. The thought is so intoxicating humans ignore the fact that, if we were to have a soulmate, we’d probably never meet them. I mean, what are the chances that your soulmate is, conveniently enough, Tony from work, or that girl from the pub?”
I nodded. I could see her point.
She put her glasses back on and lowered her voice.
“The thing is,” she said softly, leaning in close, “what people don’t know, is that every so often, yes, two people are born on this planet who are essentially the perfect match for each other.”
I shivered. “Perfect match how?”
“This takes into consideration a lot of things. But, mostly, genetically they are opposites in a way that makes their attraction astounding. Scientifically they are the perfect couple. There are a few select people born with a missing puzzle piece, shall we say? And when these particular pairings meet, it feels as though they’re complete.”
I noticed the way her eyes appeared to sparkle as she got into her stride.
“Of course, odds are still against them. The likelihood of ever meeting your perfect match is slim to nil. Usually it’s a rich kid from New York paired with a poor farmer in the Philippines. When are they ever going to meet each other? Statistically it’s practically impossible for any of these unique pairs to meet. It’s a big world. They just pass through life, falling in love hormonally like the rest of us. They may even get married and have children. Although lots with a perfect match choose a life of solitude. Not consciously, but merely because they feel something is missing.”
I thought about the file she had on the desk. I thought about her having Dr. Ashley spy on me. Then I thought about how I felt when I met Noah.
I shivered again.
“You’ve obviously had people spying on me and Noah,” I said. Anita nodded. “Am I allowed to ask why?”
She straightened herself in her seat.
“Because, quite simply, if these couples meet each other, it’s potentially catastrophic.”
“I beg your pardon?”
“It’s more dangerous than your small head can even imagine.”
I remembered what she’d said earlier. About how Noah and I were the two most dangerous people on the planet.
My voice was tiny when I spoke.
“And Noah and I are…?”
Anita gave me a hideous smile.
“That’s right. You and Noah are a match – destined to be a match. I suppose if you were going to be romantic about it, you’d call yourself soulmates.”
“Soulmates?”
“That’s right.”
“Me and Noah?”
“Indeed.”
The enormity of what she was saying wouldn’t register. One side of my brain, the practical, cynical Poppy side, was sneering and saying Yeah, right, while the other part, the new romantic Poppy, born and nurtured since meeting Noah, wasn’t the faintest bit surprised.
I wanted more answers.
“Why are we dangerous?”
“It involves some complicated science. Some of which we are still researching.”
“I’m sure I can keep up.”
Dr. Beaumont leaned further over the table. “I warned you earlier,” she whispered. “You’ll wish I hadn’t told you.”
I thought of the horrid prison cell I’d slept in, and said: “I don’t think you can tell me anything that would make things worse.”
She smiled. “Okay.” She was pacing back and forth now. “I’ve already told you about the powerful effect ordinary love has on people – couples who are only together because of basic hormones.”
I nodded.
“Well, when we’ve studied these ‘normal’ couples compared to ‘soulmate’ couples, we’ve found a major difference.”
She turned on her heel and looked at me. “Do you know what happens to the body when people fall in love?”
I shook my head. “Nice things?” I said sarcastically.
Anita raised an eyebrow. “Very clever. Love is actually a very chemical process. When you fall for someone, it’s like dropping a chemical warhead into your body. And there’s not much you can do to control it. Dopamine – our ‘happy’ hormone – floods the body, as I said earlier, giving you the same high as taking drugs. Then there’s norepinephrine.” She ticked it off on her fingers. “More commonly known as adrenalin. That’s the hormone that explains all the sweating palms and racing heartbeat. Then serotonin gets chucked into the mix – that’s another happiness hormone – responsible for making lovesick people act crazy.”
“That sounds like quite a cocktail.”
“You have no idea.” Anita opened her mouth to say more, but stopped herself and shut it again. She pulled out her chair and sat down, staring me straight in the eyes.
“Do you know how much electricity and magnetism a human being produ
ces?”
I shrugged. “A lot?”
She smiled at my answer. “Not very scientific but yes, a lot. More than people realize. In fact, it’s electricity that powers the heart and keeps it pumping blood round the body. People don’t really know that. We have our very own generators, right here.” She briefly touched the top of her left breast.
“…Then, as well as that, we have haemoglobin in our blood cells. It’s made of iron and has a strong magnetic force. It’s what they use to do MRI scans.”
I rolled my eyes. “This is all very interesting but you’re still not telling me how this makes Noah and me different. What is it that makes us soulmates?”
She went quiet for a moment. “Well, from what we can gather, ‘normal’ couples aren’t too affected by this chemical cocktail. But with ‘soulmate’ couples it’s very, very different.”
“Different how?”
“This is the thing. In a normal pairing, the love hormones don’t alter the electrical and magnetic make-up of a body. Yes, you get a bit flustered, anxious and sweaty, but that’s it. But the difference with you and Noah is that these love chemicals somehow tap into the electricity and magnetism in your body. As the hormones surge through you, they seem to trigger some kind of reaction… The ‘love’ you share starts creating a strong electrical and magnetic current.”
I was lost. “Huh?”
“That’s what we’ve found from studying other couples like you. What makes it even more interesting is that these currents are created before you even meet each other and fall in love. Love chemicals blast out of your brain and into your body if you’re within two miles of one another. We’re still at the beginning of our understanding but it appears the energy released acts like a homing missile, enabling you to seek one another out, like two magnets jumping together from a distance. The electrical and magnetic impulses are so strong they’re almost an unstoppable force. It can be very destructive though—”
I broke her off. “Destructive how?”
She stretched out her arms and gave a little yawn, then took a small sip from her glass of water.
“Tell me, Poppy,” she said, her voice different, softer, less authoritative, “when did you start getting panic attacks?”
I thought back to that awful day at school in Geography. “Two years ago.”
Anita nodded. “Interesting. And tell me, Noah’s depression? Do you know when that started?”
My memory fluttered back through time like a flick-book, stopping on the page where Noah had opened his heart to me in his flat; when we’d first started loving each other, trusting each other. It already felt like a lifetime ago.
“I think he said it began when he moved to Middletown.”
Another nod. “And how long ago was that?”
“About two years ago…” My mouth dropped open as a million pennies dropped. “Hang on, are you saying our problems are related?”
And for the first time since our meeting, Dr. Beaumont actually looked a little bit sorry for me. “Bingo.”
“But how? I don’t understand…”
“You got close enough to pick up on each other and the electrical currents sent everything haywire. Having Noah so close to you was like being strapped into an electric chair and turning the switch to full-whack.”
My memory flick-book whirred onto another page and I remembered the night of that first gig. That terrible, terrible panic attack. Another whir, and I thought back to all those first meetings. The way my heart would pound like that of a baby bird about to be snatched and eaten, the way my breathing became staccato like an experimental piece of orchestral music.
Noah was causing all that?
“Is that why, when I first met Noah, I had a massive panic attack?”
Anita didn’t seem surprised by this revelation. “Yes. And it explains Mr. Roberts’s sudden problems when he moved to Middletown and near you. Bodies react in different ways to the currents. For you, the impact was on your body’s normal mechanisms, like breathing and heartbeat, whereas Noah’s reaction disrupted his brain’s electrical firing patterns.”
I didn’t speak for a while. I was glad to have answers, but at the same time, there were so many more questions. I’d have to remember to tell my poor mother that none of my mental health issues were her fault. She’d be delighted. That was, if I ever got to see her again.
“Go on then,” I said. “I’m ready for it. Why are we dangerous? Surely this electricity is only a nuisance to us? I can live with the odd panic attack if it means I get to stay with Noah.”
The doctor’s eyes went dark and she began to talk in her scary voice again. Whatever sympathy I’d been receiving was finished.
“That simply isn’t the case, Poppy. When two people match, these forces don’t just affect the couple. Their individual electric currents begin to feed and build off each other, they get supercharged and create their own force field. The brain and the body are very powerful things. And if the simple act of two normal people thinking they’re in love can stir creativity and prevent pain, just imagine what can happen with a soulmate couple, whose brains and bodies are programmed to connect perfectly. It’s the energy equivalent of a power plant.”
I took a sip of my water and noticed my hands were shaking.
“Ultimately this electricity is too much. Your bodies create all this energy but there isn’t an outlet for it – so it escapes into the surrounding area. You’re probably thinking, how much damage can this sort of thing do? And you’ll be surprised. Our planet’s existence depends on a perfect yet delicate balance. There’s equilibrium everywhere – the North and South Pole, the ever-shifting predictability of the oceanic tides – laws and motions that need to remain ultimately stable. But you and Noah produce an astronomical amount of energy, which upsets this balance. It can cause electrical surges, short circuits; it can upset patterns in the weather and even has an impact on the shifting of tectonic plates.”
I couldn’t help it, I burst out laughing. “Yeah, right,” I said. “Noah and I are hardly causing volcanoes to erupt. We’re not Marvel Comics characters.”
The laughter didn’t go down well. Anita gave me a death glare. “At least twenty people have been killed since you met Noah,” she said.
That made me lose my temper. “That’s a horrific thing to say. We’ve not done anything to hurt anyone!”
Her voice was sarcastic now. “Oh, haven’t you?” She picked up another file and flicked through it. “Now, let’s see…oh yes. You caused a power outage across an entire town not too long ago, although no one was killed that time. And then there was the flooding. Didn’t that ruin at least a dozen local businesses? Of course, there was the snowstorm you caused. That created a massive pile-up on the motorway, resulting in many deaths.” She turned to another page. “And, I’m not sure if you’re aware but your actions last night caused a minor earthquake. Had we not, let’s say, interrupted proceedings, we wouldn’t be here to have this pleasant chat.”
I couldn’t stand this disgusting woman sitting in front of me. “How dare you? We had nothing to do with any of that. It’s just coincidence. How dare you try and blame those deaths on us?”
“If anyone is to blame, it is I,” Anita said, and I was surprised by her sudden change of tone. “You weren’t to know what you were doing and we didn’t get to you quick enough. But I’ve not finished explaining, Poppy. What you need to know is that certain…activities – okay, I’ll be blunt here – sexual activities, lead to a massive secretion of arousal hormones which jump-start the currents. Yours and Noah’s sexual arousal is like chucking ten gallons of lighter fluid on a massive bonfire.”
I blushed.
Anita noticed and smiled grimly. “Look back on it, Poppy. When all these things happened, what was going on with you and Noah? Had you kissed? Were you acting on your impulses? You can hardly be blamed. As I said, the sexual attraction between a match like yours is almost unimaginable. And when a matched couple has sex, the energy release
d is huge and disasters happen.”
My tears were hot and I was angry. Noah and I had been about to have sex. If I were to believe her, this odd stranger, if we’d gone through with it, what would’ve happened?
Disaster? I shuddered.
She was still talking, more soberly now.
“My job, why I’m here…is to find these couples and separate them before they can have sex. Otherwise, quite simply, people will die. And I’ve not always got there quite quickly enough, Poppy. The last time I failed was two years ago.”
She looked down at the table and I caught a glimpse of the human behind the hard official exterior. A moment of guilt, expressed with anger.
“A typhoon. So many lost. Although if I’d got there two minutes later, we would all be dead.”
I shook my head violently. “No no no no no.”
“Yes, Poppy. It’s true.”
“It’s not true. It’s just coincidence. Accidents happen, bad things happen. That’s life. You’re lying.”
“I can assure you I’m not lying. Why else do you think you are here, Poppy? Why do you think there’s a signed authorization from your Prime Minister stating I can hold you in custody for twenty-eight days? You and Noah are dangerous together. It’s a scientific fact.”
I started to cry. Terrified at where this was leading. “We never meant to hurt anyone,” I sobbed.
“I know you didn’t, but the fact is, if you stay together, you will,” she replied quietly.
The word “if” cut through me like the pain of jumping into ice-cold water. If we stayed together. If. Before today I’d assumed Noah would be a part of my life until the day I died. Now it might not be allowed.
“Why doesn’t anyone know this?” I asked through guttural sobs. “Why is it all such a secret? It’s not fair. People should know!”
Anita lost her temper again. “Are you completely stupid? How do you think the world would react to that information? That there are couples born every year who have the potential, if they meet, to wreak havoc on the world if they have sex? There would be widespread panic. And what about confirming the existence of soulmates? That they’re real? It would destroy society as we know it. Families would break down, relationships would fall apart. Everyone would want to know if they had a match, and try to find it! It could cause utter devastation.”
