At first, I hated the fact that my soulmate sang every night.

It started on my 18^th birthday, the same way it happens to everyone. On the day that you turn eighteen, you are able to hear whatever music your soulmate is listening to, and you could hear their voice if they were singing. I hadn’t given it a thought as I celebrated during the day with my friends and then with my family at night. It wasn’t until I was just about to go to bed that I heard it… the soft, beautiful, unfamiliar voice singing a sad ballad. I had looked around my room, thinking my brother was playing a prank on me, until I realised what was happening. I was hearing my soulmate’s voice for the first time.

My soulmate almost always went to sleep much later than me, so that meant many nights where I was lying in bed wishing they would stop so that I could sleep. I suppose that I should have been thanking my lucky stars that my soulmate was actually talented. Eventually, I started to look forward to hearing his gentle voice singing every night before I slept. I found it comforting, and after adapting to the change, I found it difficult to sleep if he stopped singing before I was ready to sleep. I wish there was a way to record his voice, but it’s not possible to record the voice in your head.

For two years, I heard his voice every day and night, but I had never met him in person. I wondered if I would ever meet him until one day… his voice disappeared.

I was confused at first, I was lying in bed when I realised that I hadn’t heard his voice all day. I lay awake for half the night, hoping to hear him… nothing. When I woke up the next morning, I was grumpy. I hadn’t slept well because I hadn’t had his soothing voice to lull me to sleep. I wondered if he was ill and decided to play some upbeat music to try and cheer him up.

After a week, I was terrified. The boy that sang every single day in my head for the past two years had suddenly vanished and I had no way to find out if he was okay or not. When I told my best friend about it, she gave me a sympathetic look before hugging me tightly, whispering a ‘I’m sorry’ into my ear. I know what she thought. That something had happened to my soulmate and I would never get the chance to meet him or hear his beautiful voice ever again.

Another week passed and I was at the hospital visiting my grandma who had fallen in the bad weather. It was good to see her so cheerful after her operation. She gladly informed me that she would be getting released by the end of the week. I left her room after promising to visit her again tomorrow. I wandered through the white, sterile corridors until suddenly I heard it.

The voice of my soulmate, but only this time, it wasn’t just in my head. It was real. I ran forward, following the sound of the familiar voice. I burst through a set of doors, startling the occupants of the room. I had stumbled into the children's ward, a group of children were sitting in a circle with a guy around my age sitting with them. They all turned to face me as the doors banged open. The kids gave me dirty looks before turning back to the guy and begging him to continue.

He gave them a warm smile before he started singing again. I felt the air whoosh out of me as I grabbed the chair next to me to keep me upright. The feeling of being able to hear his voice both in my head and for real was more than I could ever have imagined. Before I realised what I was doing, I started singing along quietly. I barely had a line of the song out before the guy turned to face me, his jaw dropping as he stopped singing. I sang another line of the popular kids song before embarrassment won me over and I stopped.

He apologised to the kids and stiffly got to his feet, grabbing a pair of crutches to support himself. The kids all grumbled but were quickly distracted by other things as the handsome man made his way towards me. “It’s you.” He said, his voice more beautiful that I could have ever imagined, even when he was just speaking. I nodded, a smile on my face. “It’s you.” I said back. He gave me a grin. “I was worried about you.” I blurted out suddenly. “You stopped singing.” I said, holding his gaze.

He gave me an apologetic smile. “Sorry. I didn’t mean to worry you.” He said. I looked over the bandages that covered his body. “Are you okay?” I asked. He gave me a warm smile. “I am now.”