Soul Mate by Leah Huffine, Emily Neu (mind reading books .txt) 📕

“Thanks I guess.” Just then the man I had hit in the stomach began to pick himself off the floor. “Come on, we’d better get out of here.” I said pulling him out of the alley.

Once we thought we were a safe distance away we sat to talk.

“Thank you so much for saving me and my money.” He said with a grin.

“No problem. I’m Thalia.” I said holding out my hand.

“Henry. Henry Johnson.” He said taking it. “You said you were from America?”

“Yeah, I am actually.”

“Awesome.” I laughed. “So, Thalia, what brings you to London?”

“I’m trying to get to Moscow, but I have absolutely no money and I lost my phone on my way here.”

“Well that’s a problem. Why do you want to go to Moscow?”

“I’m trying to find my soul mate. And Yeah it is. What about you? What are you doing wandering in an alley so early in the morning.”

“Just wanted to see London.”

“Oh yeah?”

“Yeah. Anyway, I have a way for you to get to Moscow.”

“What? Really?” Was he joking?

“Yeah man! Do you know who you just saved?”

“No?”

“You just saved the rich and famous Henry Johnson!”

“Oh really?” I shook my head.

“No, I’m not kidding! I can get you an easy train ticket to Russia. Problem is, you have to take me with.”

“No way man! I’m sure you have a family to take care of and school to go to. I’m not taking you with.”

“Nah, besides this is a one way deal. I have to make sure you don’t spend my money on something else.”

“But I just met you!” I protested.

“Exactly. Now, come on. Do you want the money or not?”

“Ugh, fine.”

“Yes!” He said jumping to his feet. “Now, come on, let’s go catch that bus!”

“We’re going now?”

“Oh no, we can wait a few decades.” He said sarcastically. “Of course we’re going now!”

“Ok.” I let him drag me away through the narrow streets of London.

The train was large and fancy. We were given our own compartment complete with two beds, a small dining area, a couch, and a TV.

“This is amazing.” I said flopping down on the couch. “Thank you Henry, I owe you big time.”

“Oh it’s nothing really.” He sat in a chair across from me. “So tell me about yourself.”

“Um well, I live with my mom and sister, Zoey. We live in a little wood house in Crown Point, Indiana, and I went to high school. There’s really nothing to tell.” I said making myself comfy.

“What happened to your dad?”

I looked away. “Um, he died five years after my sister was born. He went to work and never came home.”

“Oh.” He studied the door. “I’m sorry.”

“Anyway, what about you, do you have a family?”

“Well, I have a mom and dad and a little poodle named Scarlette, but I left them. My dad owns Johnson’s Goods, which is the biggest shipping company East of the Atlantic. To them, I was never perfect. To them, I was a screw up of a child. I would never be what they wanted me to be, so I left. Then, you found me getting mugged and here we are!”

“Wow, I’m sorry.”

“Don’t be, I took all their money.” He smiled and I laughed.

“Yeah, ever since my dad left, my family struggled with money. My mom lost her job at the pharmacy and now she works in a factory about an hour from our house. She does all she can to keep a roof over our head and food on the table. That’s why she could only send me to London by ship.”

“Hey, at least she cares about you.”

“Yeah, that’s true.” I said, a smile tugging at the corners of my mouth.

He stood up and stretched “Enough with the sob stories! I’m starving. Where can a fat man get some food in this joint?” He turned to me and smiled.

“I think there is a dining car in the back.”

“Well why didn’t you say so!” He pulled me to my feet. “Let’s go eat.”

Two days later we arrived in Moscow. It was the exact opposite of London, Moscow was huge and colorful. It was cold and raining when we arrived.

“We should probably find some place to sleep!” Henry shouted over the storm.

“Ok!” I looked around. “Do you speak Russian?”

“Do I look like I speak Russian? For God’s sake I’m an Englishman who’s never left the perimeter of his own home!”

“Then how are we going to find a place to stay?” I asked pulling my hood up over my head.

“Um, well, I didn’t think about that.” He looked around. “Look! English! It says motel!” He laughed. “Oh what would you do without me!”

I rolled my eyes. “Come on Henry, you’re the one with all the money.”

“Oh, right. Well then, let’s go!”

We ran into the little motel and asked for a room. It took a while since the man at the front desk barely spoke any english, but eventually he gave us a room.

“Bloody Hell,” Henry said holding his nose. “It smells like death in here!”

“It’s just to hold us off until morning.” I said heading to the bathroom. “I think I’m going to take a shower.”

“Ugh, ok.” Henry said making sure there weren’t any bugs in his bed.

I went to turn the water on, but bugs flew out of the shower head instead. I screamed.

“What happened?” Henry said running in the bathroom with a lamp in his hands.

“Nothing,” I said taking a deep breath. “I don’t think I’m going to be taking a shower though.”

“Ew, gross.” His face turned green when he saw all the bugs. “Let’s just try to sleep.”

"Agreed. Then, in the morning, we start our search for Luka.”

Henry and I stood side by side gazing up at the government center. We’d checked out of the motel, so I had my bags with me.

“What’s the plan, again?” Henry asked as we marched up the steps.

“We go inside and ask for all the Lukas in Moscow. Then, we go to their houses and see if it’s him.”

“Where did you come up with that idea?” He asked.

“I don’t know. It just sort of came to me. It’s the logical thing to do, we don’t know where he lives, so we go ask.”

“Alright, but you’re doing all the talking.”

I shook my head. “Fine.” We walked up to the giant marble door. “This is it.” I said and pushed it open.

The door groaned and revealed a vast room filled with desks and people. We walked up to the first one we saw. She was tiny old woman with short, curly gray hair and thick round glasses. She was wearing a dirty, old dress and scribbling words down onto a piece of paper.

“Excuse me,” I said as we approached. “Do you speak English?”

“As a matter of fact, I do.” She had a thick Russian accent, which made her difficult to understand.

“That’s great!” I smiled and looked at Henry. “Do you mind looking someone up for me?”

“Not at all. What is the name?” She asked digging through folders in her desk.

“Um, we only know his first name: Luka. I was wondering if you could give me his address.”

She peered at me from behind her glasses. “Alright,” She said after a long pause. “Give me a moment.” She stood up and walked away.

“That went well.” Henry said. “What if she doesn’t find anything about Luka? What if she does, but doesn’t know where he is? What if there are hundreds of Lukas and we have no way of telling which one is your Luka!”

“Henry please! This is no time to panic. Stay strong. We will find him!”

Just then the old woman came back. “Alright, there are four Lukas in Moscow.” She said handing me a sheet of paper. “This is a list of all their addresses.”

“This will work. Thank you so much!” I nudged Henry. “Give the woman a nice tip.” I hissed.

“Why?”

“Because she helped us and was nice about it.”

The woman looked at us expectantly. “Fine.” Henry grumbled. “Here’s your stupid money.” He handed her a couple Rubles.

“Thank you.” She said with a smile.

“No, thank you.” I replied.

Henry took my arm. “Come on, let’s go.”

Once we were outside, he took the list. “Luka Scolofska, Luka Crivse, Luka Soljka, and Luka Wessen. Which do you want to start with?”

“Luka Crivse is lives only a couple blocks from here, let’s start there.”

“Ok. What are you planning to say? ‘Oh hello, my name is Thalia. I think you might be my soul mate.’”

“Don’t be stupid. Come on, I’ll think of something.”

“This is the last Luka on the list. Luka Wesson.” Henry said.

“It has to be him, Henry! All the others were busts.”

“Thalia, we’ve been all over Moscow. What if it isn’t him?”

I shook my head. “This is him. I can feel it.”

We were standing outside of a large red victorian styled house. It had big brown French doors out front and was covered with windows. The landscaping was beautiful. There was a fountain out front that was surrounded by different colored flowers. Pink trees surrounded the house along with perfectly cut bushes.

I took a deep breath. “Here we go.” I walked slowly up the steps to the house. What if it isn’t him? I thought as I lifted my hand to knock on the door. Or what if it is and he doesn’t like me? I knocked on the door. Guess we’ll find out. The door opened slowly and all time seemed to stop. A silhouette stood in the doorway.

“Thalia.”

It was him, the Luka from my dream. What now? Do I shake his hand? Do I hug him? Kiss him?

“Hi.” I said softly holding out my hand.

He smiled and took it. “Hi. You look so much nicer without your