I believe in soulmates. I came into this world with a designated best friend.In other words, a twin. Her name is Alihah. We were born in the bustling city of Denver. I remember spending all day playing with blocks in our backyard, playing dress up for hours, and running through our yard to our elderly neighbor’s house for some treats. Life seemed perfect for our family.
Then we moved to a small town called Canon City, about two hours south of Denver. The move wasn’t too hard on us because we were each other's best friend. The first year of school was wonderful. When we hit first grade the teachers decided that my twin sister and I should be separated because we “hugged too much”. Our hearts were broken. That’s the first time I remember having to make new friends on my own. Some people say that twins are like each other's other half. I have found that statement to be very true. You see, Alihah is naturally an introvert. She tends to feel better in smaller groups socially. I, on the other hand, do much better in large groups. Consequently, making friends came easier to me.
As we grew older I became preoccupied with all of my friends and the petty drama that came with them. I didn’t even notice that Alihah was spending most of recess by herself. It pains me now to think about how lonely she must have felt. Even with all of the other friends I had at school, one thing that never changed. Alihah was always there to walk home with me, she always helped me with my homework and she braided my hair whenever I asked.
Middle school flew by and we were “buddies'' off and on. Then we started high school. I decided that I no longer needed this “designated best friend” so I pushed Alihah away. To be perfectly honest, I had a lot of fun in high school. I felt like I could do whatever I wanted without being judged or held accountable, by my other half. I lived this way up until my final year of high school. Alihah went away to Mexico for the first semester of our senior year. It was the longest we had ever been physically apart. There’s another quote that talks about how you don’t realize what you have until it's gone. Again, I couldn’t agree more with that quote. When Alihah was gone, I felt it in a very real way. I literally felt like part of me was gone. I don’t know how to explain the feeling, all I know is I missed her so much. When she returned home I made sure to let her know how I felt and that I was truly sorry for pushing out of my life.
I don’t think Alihah fully understood what I felt until I left for eighteen months on a mission. I remember receiving so many emails from her telling me how she just wanted me to be home already. It was hard not being together. I remember that I missed her so much while I was away. There were times I would have dreams about her, being in trouble. It was shocking to discover that she actually was dealing with real life struggles around the same time I had those dreams. Our connection goes deep.
When we were reunited, after such a long time, it was like a hole inside me was filled. We always joke that everyone should come into this earth with a twin because it turned out to be such a wonderful and beautiful thing in our case.
When talking about soulmates, Plato said, “...and when one of them meets the other half, the actual half of himself, whether he be a lover of youth or a lover of another sort, the pair are lost in an amazement of love and friendship and intimacy and one will not be out of the other's sight, as I may say, even for a moment...” I believe that Alihah has part of my soul and I have part of hers. We will always have an intimate connection, even when our lives take us thousands of miles apart. When our choices separate us spiritually we will still be best friends. For these reasons, and many more, I believe in soulmates.
