In Every Life

By Nur Dinie Asfa

The rustling of leaves would have probably frightened any other woman sitting in the forest alone, but that was not quite the case for Princess Emilia. She had come to look forward to the sound, knowing it usually came with a certain someone. She turned to face her beloved, who carried a basket and the smile she had come to adore.

"Your Highness, I apologise for my late arrival. I had some last-minute duties to attend to."

"I thought we agreed to drop the formal titles when no one was around— or shall I start calling you by yours as well, Prince Henry?"

The prince chuckled and sat down near Emilia. "Old habits die hard I suppose," he replied, opening the basket to offer her fruit.

Emilia picked an apple and bit into it hungrily. "I love these, you should bring more of them next time."

"You act as if your kingdom hasn't seen an apple tree in centuries," Henry replied, amused.

"Yours always taste better for some reason."

"If that's the case, I'll be sure to spoil you with them every day when we get married," he teased.

Emilia's smile flickered at the mention. 

"How can you be so sure we will be able to marry? Our kingdoms are at the brink of war, my love. We can barely even see each other without sneaking around," she said, the tone of sadness clear in her small voice.

There was a short silence before Henry responded.

"Have you ever heard of the legend of Ad Occursum Destinata?" 

"The legend that speaks of reincarnation?"

"Yes. It is said that soulmates are bound to meet in every life, no matter what form they take. If this legend is true, I swear to the gods that I will find you in every life I live, and we will do what we could not in this one,” he declared, taking Emilia's hands in his. 

The princess looked up so that her blue eyes met his deep green ones. She had always loved his eyes, their colour rivalled the emeralds embedded in her crown. And they were always so full of hope.

"We will have no memory of this life,” she murmured. “We will both forget all we've been through."

"Then I shall have no problem falling in love with you all over again."

— 

"I've written another poem. Would you like to hear it?" 

"When have I ever said no to that question?"

The poet smiled fondly at her husband and began to read. With the way he looked at her, you would have thought she was a goddess, and in his eyes, she was. Her sapphire blue eyes sparkled with passion every time she read her own work, a sight he would never tire of.

"It's beautiful, my love." He planted a kiss on her forehead. "Who is it about?" he joked, earning a playful smack on the shoulder.

"You know I would never write about anyone but you, my dearest. You are my muse, and always will be."

— 

"There you are. You sounded amazing as always."

"Thank you, darling. You weren't bad yourself." The singer sat beside his fiancée in front of the piano.

"I merely play the tune in the background of your voice."

"You underestimate yourself." The singer kissed his loyal pianist on her temple. "You play better than anyone I've ever heard."

"You're just saying that because you're marrying me," she says jokingly as she turns to face him. She felt herself flush under his gaze. His emerald green eyes never failed to fluster her, especially when he was staring right at her lips.

"How lucky am I?" He smiles, bringing her in for a kiss.

— 

He always admired how his girlfriend could glide across the ice while making it look effortless. She looked way more graceful than he did while he played hockey. He watched as the skater spun in the air and landed perfectly. It was something he could watch her do forever.

Finally, the skater noticed her boyfriend sitting outside the rink and went to join him.

"Hey, where have you been?"

"I have something to tell you," the boy replied, patting the seat next to him.

The girl sat and looked at him questioningly.

"I'm moving to California."

"What? When? Why?" she asked, confusion spilling across her features.

"Next week. My dad decided to accept a job offer there, long-term."

"What about you? Are you just gonna leave the team?"

"I'll join another team. They have ice-hockey there too, you know," he joked, trying to lighten the mood, though both of them knew it wasn't working.

"So… is this it? Are— are we done?" the girl asked, sadness seeping into her voice as it cracked. Her eyes looked up at him, and it shattered his heart to see the joy that usually lit up her blue eyes now nowhere to be seen.

"What? No! No, of course not," he said as he took her hands in his, her skin cold from being near the ice. "We'll make it work. We always do. Don't we?"

— 

"It's tragic, isn't it?" the girl asked, eyes fixed on the painting hung before them.

Confused, the boy looked around before realising she was indeed talking to him. They had never really spoken before, only knowing each other from art school. 

"It is," he finally replied.

He peeled his eyes away from the painting itself to look at the name:

Princess Emilia and Prince Henry,

The lovers who could never be.

"It is beautiful though," she said.

This, he had to agree. The painting showed a princess and a prince reaching out to each other, surrounded by a flaming forest.

"Do you think they ever found each other?" she asked.

The boy turned to her. "What do you mean?"

"The legend. People in their kingdoms believed in a legend that said soulmates would find each other in every lifetime. It's said that Prince Henry made a promise to find her in the next life and every life after that before he died," the girl explained, still staring at the picture.

There was a short pause as the boy processed this. Eventually, he spoke.

"I guess that's not entirely impossible. Do you believe reincarnation is real?"

"I believe that if they were truly meant to be, even the universe wouldn't have been able to stop them from meeting again, and again," she said.

They turned to face each other.

She didn't know if she was imagining it, but there was a lingering sense of familiarity as her blue eyes met his green ones.

By Nur Dinie Asfa