I finally know my soulmate.
He holds me close in the cold dark hours when all I can hear is the hollow sound of my own heart beating.
He takes my tears and locks them in a coffin of obsidian and ice.
He sits in silence watching me while I work; he is with me eternally even when I am unaware of his presence.
There are small reminders of him everywhere - yet nowhere.
He waits patiently to take my hand, to let me know he will never leave me. Soft and soundless as a wisp of smoke, he links his fingers through my shivering ones.
He touches my throat, giving rise to a lump I can hardly bear to swallow the emotion is so profound.
I go out to do anything and he meets me there, where he helps me smile and nod and smile at all the happy strangers with their happy companions.
His name is Loneliness.
I wrote this in 2015. It seems like so long ago now. My soulmate is still with me, but I am having an affair with contentment.