My face fell. I’d forgotten all about that part.
“N-no,” I said. “But I’ll think about it.”
“Once you figure it out, all you need to do is forgive that person and you’ll be all set. Your heartmate will walk right into your life like he’s following a magnet.”
I bit my lip. I still didn’t feel ready.
“I know you can do it, Charlie. You’ve already come so far in this life, and things are just starting to take off for you,” she said knowingly.
“But how do I know things aren’t just going to vanish from underneath me?” I asked, the worry coming through in my voice.
She signed as if she was explaining that the sky was blue to a simpleton. “That’s the fear talking. You’ve got to make a choice every single day, Charlie, and your life pans out based on what you consistently pick. You’re always presented with two choices—”
“But—”
“—yes, there are only two.” She said, then was quiet for a beat. “There is fear, and there is love. Every single situation presents you with those two options. Now, never forget this Charlie — you must choose love. You must resist the urge to choose fear. Fear is there to hold you back. We think it’s there to keep us safe, but it just gets in the way of everything…”
I could picture her swatting her hand through the air as if she was batting away a fruit fly.
“Fear keeps us on the same path. Love is the only way you can create new footprints and change your path.”
A tightness that had been coiling in my gut finally released. With some instinctual feeling, I knew that everything she was saying to me was true.
“Have fun in Italy!” she said with a giggle.
“Thanks, Hazel, I’m sorry I keep call—”
“Oh, don’t bother with that ‘sorry’ nonsense,” she said quickly. “I’m always happy to hear from you. You turned my hair hot pink and you’re shiny. I like you. So give me a call whenever you want to.”
Happiness lit up in my gut. “I— I’m so happy I met you,” I said, trying to articulate the strangeness and wonderfulness of this relationship that had formed between us. But I really couldn’t find the words.
“I’m happy to have met you too, Charlie,” she said. “I have a feeling our paths will cross again soon.”
Chapter Four
There was perfect weather in Italy. The sun was beating down, the trees were lush and green, and I had just entered an ancient-looking city on the Italian Coast. It felt like I’d traveled back a few hundred years in time.
The driver didn’t bother to slow the car down as he wound around the hairpin turns on the cliffs, so I was terrified the whole time.
But still, I kept thinking of what Hazel told me yesterday. I could either choose fear or love, she said. So I consciously tried to calm myself, focus on the roof of the car, and choose love.
It was impossible.
I was thanking my lucky stars as the driver finally got to the base of the cliff where the shoot was. He pulled up to a group of trailers clustered near the beach.
He said something quickly in Italian and gestured for me to get out of the car.
I was more than happy to leave that death machine, plucking my suitcase out of the trunk. I watched as the car drove away and wound right back up the sides of the cliff.
“You look like you’re going to throw up!” Said a familiar voice from behind me.
I turned to see Alina looking like an absolute vision in a billowing white toga dress, her beautiful white hair whipping around her face.
“Alina!” I cried, abandoning my suitcase and wrapping her in a huge hug.
“It feels like it’s been forever!” she said, curling her slim arms around my back.
“It’s only been a few weeks, but you’re right!” I said as we twirled.
“Ugh, I know! I missed you so much!” Then she came in a little closer and whispered, “this town has a lot of hot guys with your name all over them!”
I blushed. “Alina, stop. We both know you’re doing this to distract me from asking about your love life. Who have you been seeing?”
She blushed and with a look that seemed very unnatural on her face, her features shifted to a delicate shyness.
We both knew it was true. Every time she sent me some pic of a gorgeous, glistening guy, I’d wonder why she hadn’t jumped on him herself. The only conclusion I could gather was that she was seeing someone.
And with her expression like this in front of me, I knew I was right.
“I’m not seeing anyone,” she denied, her eyes looking out at the sea.
With her hair and makeup like this, she truly looked like some kind of greek goddess.
“Well, fine, don’t tell me,” I said, eyeing her suspiciously. “But I’ve got to say, you look absolutely stunning.”
“Thanks!” she said with a bright smile. “You do too — have you lost weight?”
“I have!” I said proudly, twirling in the sand as the wind whipped my hair around my face. It was true — I’d lost about eight pounds in the last few weeks, preparing to come onto this set. And if I was honest with myself, I was preparing to meet my heartmate, just as Hazel promised.
“Well, you look incredible.” She said. “I’ve been trying to lose weight for this role, too. The producers said I need to drop about ten pounds for the camera.”
“What?!” I said, eyeing her willowy limbs. “Do they see how skinny and perfect you already are?”
She leaned in with a wink and whispered, “I told them they could eat a dick!”
We both laughed there on the beach in the sunshine. I had a fleeting thought that this was what true happiness was.
Everything about Italy was different — the air, the scenery, the smells, and this feeling of ancient magic tingled in the fibers of everything that I couldn’t really place.
