The rain continued for the rest of the week so work had been cancelled. The smell of rain had crept into my apartment bringing Kai with it. He had made a pit stop at his own apartment just to pack things to temporarily move into mine.

I pulled my coat on tighter as I splashed the puddles with my gum boots.  The rain had died down to just a light pitter patter so Kai and I decided to take the chance and pay a visit to his apartment for his belongings.

I looked up too see the grey skies looming over the city. They say weather is controlled by mother nature. But it's not hard to think of it as a mood setter casted upon us by the puppet masters. Just a light reminder that they still have power over us weaklings. I sighed. Swimming in my own thoughts proved to be a challenge even for me at times. Kai had now appeared by my side. Duffel bag swung around his torso. He looked up at the sky with me. "I think it'll start raining again" he muttered as he took my hand and stuffed it in his coat pocket along with his.

----

Soul mate- A person ideally suited to another as a close friend or romantic partner. Yet the moment you read that you thought of a person that you are destined to spend the rest of your life with romantically. Does anyone consider you could have a soul mate that is considered only a good friend? Of course it's more interesting that it's romantically, correct? Were Kai and I soul mates? Did we have that kind of fate? Were we romantic soul mates? Friendly soul mates? Kai believed we were both.

"Who said you couldn't be both?" Kai challenged as I read to him.

"It's just a book Kai" I soothed as his fists clenched.

"Stupid book then" he murmured relaxing back down on the couch.

I grimaced at his criticism at just a book. It wasn't the criticism that got to me, it was the way he lashed out at just a sentence. So what if the author hadn't considered there being another alternative. That was no reason to get mad. Kai had now closed his eyes and his breathing was steady and I knew that, that was the end of our discussion.

----

The days went on and before long the sun had shown itself. The warm droplets of the sunshine shone one my face as I opened the curtains. The air still lingered with the smell of rain. Kai was still asleep on my bed. His light snores echoed through the small apartment. I made my way back in to my room. Kai's hair had been strewn over his sleeping face. I extended a shaky arm and drew his hair back. He grunted and turned his body over, his back now facing me. Withdrawing my hand I looked away hastily.  It did hurt a bit, but I brushed it off since he wasn't conscious. He didn't seem to want to get up and by noon he was still slumped in my bed and my room smelt musty from the lack of fresh air.

I took a mug of coffee into the room. The contents warmed up my hands and the smell was inviting. I sat on the edge of the bed facing  his still sleeping body. I placed the mug onto the bed side table and prod lightly on Kai's back. He turned around eyes still shut and nestled onto my lap.

"Five more minutes" he muttered making himself comfortable.

"You promise?" I asked, brushing his hair away.

"No" he yawned as his lips tugged upwards.

"Then I'm going" I protested as I began pulling away. His arm s around my waist which rooted me to the spot.

"Ten minutes" he murmured, closing his eyes once more.  I quietly groomed his hair as I let him doze in my lap.

----

We decided to break away from the books for today, as Kai and I the television.  A game show streamed through the living room as Kai grasped his cup of coffee, settling into the couch.

'Okay, Wendy, ten seconds on the clock, and your topic is, things you're unable to live without. Your time starts now.'

'Food, Air, Oxygen, Water, Family, Friends, Money, Home, Electricity…..'

"Do we really need those things to live?" Kai mumbled, his fingers intertwined with the mug's handle. His eyes blankly staring back at the show's contestant.

"Depends on what your definition of living is" I replied, scooting closer to him.

"Definition of living?  To science it means the term describing and distinguishing an organism from another. To dreamers, appreciating their own lives. To realists, to be alive. But to me?  To find answers. You see, if you ask a scientist what you need to be living, what would he answer? Atoms? Particles? Elements? And if you asked a dreamer? Adventure? Imagination?  Happiness? And a realist? Oxygen? Water? Food? And lastly me? Answers. I need answers, I want to know, I need to know. Do I? What am I going to do with these answers? Smile smugly and proclaim that I'm no longer living? I feel that you need to understand the difference between, life, living and alive to know, maybe someone already does. But me? I'm far, far from it."

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Bear with me here.