And when one of them meets the other half, the actual half of himself, the pair are lost in an amazement of love and friendship and intimacy, and one will not be out of the other's sight even for a moment.

Plato

The teashop has a CLOSED sign on it, and the door is latched so that even a pair of soulmates cannot get in. Pete and Viv are now sitting opposite Noel and Julian, and everyone has a fresh cup of tea in front of them.

Viv rubs his forehead, and says, "So, let me get this straight. You're both new arrivals here? You're not residents of the Waystation?"

"Yeah, Joo'n and I got here a few days ago," Noel says. "We were at the Hall of Mirrors because it's our assessments tomorrow."

"And you didn't know you were soulmates before tonight?"

"Er, no," Julian says, looking at Noel. "I mean, not really. I did get told that lots of people here have met their soulmate, though."

"Nobody told me," Noel says, sounding hurt. "Joo'n never said anything."

"I'm sorry, Noelie," Julian says, taking his hand. "When I'm with you, I don't think about other people very much. You take my mind off ... all this."

"How did you find out that you were soulmates?" Noel asks Pete and Viv.

"As soon as we both went Forward, we recognised each other," Pete says, looking fondly at Viv. "There we were, both arriving together, and suddenly we looked into each other's eyes, and we knew."

"The funny thing is, we'd already known each other on Earth," Viv says, smiling at Pete. "We were actually good friends for a long time, but never realised we were soulmates."

"You see, once soulmates have gone Forward, they're able to find each other," Pete says. "But you two haven't been Forward yet."

"Which begs the question, how did you manage it?" Viv says, frowning at Noel and Julian in puzzlement.

"We were at the same House of Healing," says Julian.

"And I saw Joo'n in the garden, and I went over to say hello, and I liked his smile," Noel says. "And then we started talking."

"It's a bit of a coincidence, because we happened to arrive here around the same time," Julian says.

Pete shakes his head. 

"It's no coincidence. Soulmates nearly always have deaths that are close together. Once one dies, it doesn't seem to take much for the other to leave Earth too – it's as if they want to find each other as soon as possible".

"Pete and I were killed in the same car crash," Viv informs them. "We died within minutes of each other."

Julian looks horrorstruck by this information.

"It's okay, we didn't suffer," Pete assures him, misunderstanding. "It all happened very quickly."

"But I'm just ... Sorry, I just can't wrap my head around it," Viv says. "You only met here? At the Waystation? You didn't know each other on Earth?"

"Not really," says Julian.

"I went to a couple of Joo'n's gigs," Noel says.

"I'm a ... I was a stand up comedian," Julian says self-consciously. "I mean, I did a few gigs. I could hardly call it a career."

"And I went to see them, and he was genius," Noel says proudly. "I tried to see Joo'n after the second one I went to, but he'd already left. Otherwise we would have met on Earth."

"Um ... I drowned in a lake after the gig," Julian says, carefully not looking at anyone.

"And I died early the next morning," Noel says. "I'd been poorly."

"And you never suspected there might be ... a bond between you?" asks Viv searchingly. "That this wasn't just an ordinary friendship or attraction?"

Julian looks doubtful then says, "I dreamed of Noel before I met him in the garden. I even asked my Healer and my Case Worker about it."

"You never told me!" Noel cries.

"It's not that easy to slip into a conversation without sounding like a psycho, is it?" Julian counters. "Oh hello, I already know you from a dream. Wait – come back! Too late, they've gone."

"You could have said something once we knew each other," Noel says. "And sometimes we can read each other's minds." He addresses this to the other couple.

"Not everything," Julian says quickly. "Just a bit here and there."

"When you both go Forward, you'll be able to read each other's minds easily," Pete tells them. "That's all part of being soulmates – being able to share your heart and mind and soul without limits."

"And your bodies without limits," says Viv with a sly grin.

"I knew he was going to say that," Pete says airily.

Julian gives an uncomfortable guffaw. Noel smiles at him and puts his hand on Julian's thigh.

After what looks like an especially determined swig of tea, Viv puts down his cup and says, "Do your Case Workers know about this?"

Pete gives Viv a piercing glance, and he retorts, "No, I'm not being nosy and interfering, my sweet. I really have to say something. You know I do."

Pete gives way with an 'I tried' gesture, as Julian says, "Not about being soulmates. But they know we're together. And when my Case Worker saw Noel and me, he did ask a couple of questions."

"What? Your Case Worker saw you and Noel together?" Viv asks in surprise. "Then he knows that you're soulmates."

"You see, once you go Forward, you can not only find your own soulmate, you can also recognise when other people are soulmates," Pete explains, seeing Julian and Noel's mystified expressions.

"Is that why you called us mates?" Noel asks. "You already knew?"

"Yeah, and I mean, you got through the door," Pete agrees. "And most people say mates instead of soulmates. It sounds a bit more ... everyday, doesn't it?"

Julian thinks of the people who've referred to he and Noel as 'mates'. All the residents of the Waystation who saw him with Noel must have known they were soulmates. Yet nobody had said anything, given any guidance. They'd even seemed to encourage them.

"My Case Worker hasn't seen Joo'n," Noel says. "I just told her I had met ... um, I sort of called Joo'n my boyfriend."

He blushes in a way which makes Julian melt inside. He puts his arm around Noel and pulls him in close, lightly dabbing his lips against his temple.

"So um ... your Case Worker didn't say anything about you and Noel meeting here?" asks Viv curiously.

"Yeah, he did actually," Julian says. "He seemed a bit worried about it at first, I think, but then he was okay with it."

Viv and Pete look at each other, and then Pete drops his gaze, as if giving Viv permission.

"Well, that's ... I'm sorry, I'm just really surprised that your Case Worker didn't warn you," Viv says at last.

"Warn us about what?" asks Julian.

"It's just that it's ... it's not exactly ... recommended for soulmates to meet for the first time at the Waystation," Viv replies.

"What's wrong with it?" Noel asks sullenly. "I met Joo'n here, and everything has been brilliant. We didn't know we were soulmates, but now that we've found out, it all makes sense."

He looks to Julian for confirmation who says, "Yes, it ... it feels right. Like the last piece of a jigsaw puzzle slotting into place."

Viv says, "There's a saying here, Meet at the Waystation, prepare for separation."

Noel looks outraged, so Pete adds placatingly, "Some people say, Soulmates meeting at the 'Station can expect complications."

"Why? What happens to all the soulmates who meet here, then?" Julian asks, trying to stay calm.

"It's only happened once before," Pete says. "At least, only once I've heard about."

"Only once before me and Noel – and based on that one case, it's become a proverb?" Julian says with a sternly raised eyebrow.

"Yes, that's how much of an impact it made," Viv says soberly.

"Well, what happened then?" Noel asks. "What was so terrible?"

Pete looks at Viv. "Shall we tell them about Miranda?"

"Yes, tell us about Miranda," Julian says.

Noel mutters, "Not that it's going to change our minds."

He folds his arms and looks defiantly at Pete and Viv.