SoulPrint

By Arias

Earth, in the 24th century, is thriving, an utopian bliss.
Humans are no longer killing the planet or each other.
It’s the perfect setting for the discovery of the soul to be released.
The soul is now fact, not theory. Every human has a unique energy connected to them, a SoulPrint.
This fact is something Fia, a normal 24th century woman, is in charge of to decipher humanity's next step in evolution.
It’s a responsibility she doesn’t want.
Fia is newly in love.
She wants to just enjoy her newfound human love, which holds happiness she’s never experienced...until she feels the nirvana of the origin of the SoulPrint...and realizes humanity’s evolution is not human at all.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Arias
• Release date: Dec 3, 2022
• ISBN: 9781005251963

Arias

XoX

Book preview

SoulPrint

By

Arias

SoulPrint

Copyright © 2022 Laura Arias

Everyone on Earth has a condition. The same condition. The human condition. The condition ends when the human body dies, and what we really are... lives on.

Souls.

We all are souls.

Reader, you are a soul. Currently, you're in a body. I've known this fact for one day longer than all of humanity. Wait....wait, let me slow down.

Sorry Reader, let me begin with me.

My life is happy and peaceful. No partner, no children. My focus is and always has been, on my feelings and my actions. How I positively treat myself and others, if that produces a favorable reaction in them and me, matters most. I didn’t understand why that held my attention so profoundly until I learned who I was...I mean, who I am.

Other things matter too. I dream of love. True love. Always have.

Sighing, I rub my eye with the meaty part of my palm as I lay on the floor of my living space on my back. Flipping onto my knees, I crawl a few feet to push back the white cloth covering my doorway and sit back on my heels to glimpse outside.

Mostly, I see trees as I gaze at green leaves aglow by lazy rays of the setting sun. My favorite ones live right outside my home. I do a lot of daydreaming, meditation, and laughter with them.

Standing, I go to them now. Gliding out my front entrance, I go to my trees in a few long

steps. These particular trees, they protect me, and I them. Our relationship is symbiotic in an almost human way. Speaking to them, petting their leaves, patting their rough bark, I make sure they feel loved and stay healthy. They, in turn, listen.

Toe to root with my favorite stationary friend, I whisper to its trunk. It feels like it responds as it touches my cheek occasionally with a drooping, swaying, thin branch like a scratchy finger. The air is dry, warm, and a stale wind pushes through my short, curly, loose hair. The breeze catches my dreams, spins them into my voice...my words.

I'm adding a few more minutes to the already many deep thoughts this slender tree has already heard. Saying it out loud makes the reality I’ve seen, but have not yet created, seem more real.

I love the certainty of my words as I voice them, Reader. The evidence of my faith has not yet been proven as truth, but it will. Love is coming.

Him, it will take Him.

The thought encourages a smile, and my heartbeat builds. I want to see Him. Need to.

It’s almost time.

Softly, I give a departing caress to my tree friend. The rough bark catches on the innocent pads of my fingertips, and I whisper promises of coming back soon. Moving back through my front opening, I cross to my brick red rug to begin stretching, getting ready. Sitting, shifting, pushing my legs in front of me, my fingers reach my toes and wrap around them. Lifting, I straddle my legs wide. Gravity does the rest as I lean, pulling my chest to the ground between my lean brown legs.

I'm tight and stay chest to the ground for some time, hearing my heart in the silence, and smelling my own sandalwood and vanilla cleaning concoction on the rug.

Finally, my body is lengthened, and I lay back on the floor, looking up. Emptiness falls around me. Ever since I saw him, I've been more aware of being isolated. Enjoying my own company used to make me feel strong. I enjoyed my thoughts expanding, reaching until some perceived epiphany was reached.

Now being alone just brings loneliness.

If he sat beside me, pulling me into his arms, my heartache would be no longer.

Shaking my head out of my thoughts, I try to focus on the bigger picture. Earth Sovereignty, the world government of this time, has shared an amazing thing with me.

Focus on that, I command myself. You have the power to obliterate the remaining suffering in the world.

Well, really, Reader...I don’t know if I hold that power, but the Earth Sovereignty seems to think I do. Also, I guess I can’t really say humanity is suffering. Pain is relative and objective, and suffering holds a different meaning nowadays.

It’s 2318, the twenty-fourth century of Earth, centuries beyond your time, Reader. Now pain is not caused by a lack of monetary means. No one is poor, all have equal wealth, and extras are traded for. The world is functionally fair. Basic needs are met for everyone. Humanity’s pain comes from the emotional factor.

Humans are still trying to navigate getting love, giving love, and choosing compassion and empathy over anger and fear. A balanced outside world cannot balance inner conflict. I look behind me at the darkness outside.

It's time. Eagerly I rise.

**********

At the beginning of a solid run, my mind moves with my movement. This gives some structure to my philosophical reflections. The dirt pathway under me changes from straight lines to curves as I sprint from my Freedom Neighborhood, free of responsibility, to the Family Neighborhood, where couples choose to have and nurture children. The Family Neighborhood is in a large spherical pattern. It calms me.

At this moment, my time, society is separated by unity. Does that sound strange? A contradiction?

It isn't.

Humanity has come to realize that the world works best when we, humans, function as a whole unit. A unit where every person Contributes in their own personal, distinctive way. Everyone is encouraged to express their uniqueness.

As long as it’s Contributing to the ‘whole’.

As long as it’s cleared with the Earth Sovereignty.

Every piece, every path, every personality at every age has their place in our world.

Everyone shines. Now, those whose brilliance might once have been unacknowledged in society are seen.

My feet have found their rhythm and move more quickly under me. Happiness fills me as I travel along the footpath around the families of this Neighborhood. Children’s voices permeate the air, laughter too. It’s a great time to be born.

My body vibrates with joy. I do dance steps as I run, coming to a quick leap in the air. Landing softly, practiced on the ground, I easily fall back into the stride of my run.

I have a secret Reader.

One full lunar cycle ago, I was told something important.

Maybe tonight, I’ll dream about what to do next, I think until my labored breathing brings me back to my current run.

Or maybe tonight is the night we introduce ourselves.

Nervously wipe the sweat off my forehead.

I’ve passed Him every day since the first time I saw Him on a run, one day after I…had been told my secret.

I wasn’t really surprised to run past Him. For years, during meditation, I’d been seeing my imagination writing about meeting Him. I’d always assumed it was my imagination...it was a girl, and as I stood behind her, I’d see what was being written.

That sounds weird, especially since we don’t use writing materials anymore, but that’s what I saw or imagined. I guess a part of me was trying to preserve the little hope I had left in love.

You might wonder now, Reader, how did I know this was the man?

You’d be correct to question that. I hadn’t seen an image of Him inside my mind. However, I’d felt something as the girl/my imagination wrote about Him. Something like the butterflies of excitement, but more...much, much more. I’d felt connected to what was being written. As I ran by Him that first time, I felt that interwoven feeling with Him. It was brief but so strong that as He moved beyond me, I almost cried out with loss.

That’s how I knew.

And now that the first meeting with Him has come true exactly as I imagined it, I wonder if it was ever my imagination at all.

Maybe I can tell the future Reader. No, I’m joking, although that would be nice if I could. I could help myself with my new dilemma of speaking to Him.

For thirty days, He has watched me as I watch Him, but we never slow or speak. I wonder what it would be like to touch Him? Already He’s all I think about. I don’t even know who He is, yet I’m scared of losing His love.

How backward is that?

I’ve run deep into the Family Neighborhood. The vibration here, the smell, is all-encompassing. The energy is pure and nurturing. Greenhouses and gardens cover the land around the family compounds. Family Units grow food for their area as their Contribution. The air, as a result, carries the sweet scent of fresh fruits and vegetables.

I slow how fast my legs are going and lengthen my stride. I appreciate the mindset it takes to have a family, but I would never have one myself. I have a different focus, a path that I was given in much the same way I was given the connection with Him, meaning it’s out of my hands.

My mind wanders as my legs carry me from what the world was in your time to what it is now. Your time, Reader, your era was crazy. Then, in the time of distractions, everything seemed to be fueled by wanting, regardless of who it affected. Misappropriation was at a high, highest with the government of your time and those who held the most wealth in the world. People seemed ignorant of accountability. I won’t lie, Reader. It’s still happening to a degree. Dishonesty with feelings has replaced the corruption of worldly things.

Humans can be untruthful to get the response they want the moment they want it. Manipulation of emotion has taken the place of corruption of money and power.

Is the first step to bring awareness to this? I ponder.

I run faster, and the compounds fly past. Briefly, I see the movement of a child playing inside a scraped-together living space built from materials recycled from your time. All of our living spaces are built this way. Still-standing buildings from your time are used for Contributions that require space and protection from outside elements, like experiment Contributions.

Stars light a secret picture above me. Sweat drips down my back. My skin is hot with the rush of blood pushing through my veins.

Awareness grows. I feel Him. Anxiously I scan the inky darkness. It feels like an impossible amount of time for Him to appear, but then, there He is. He's too far away for me to recognize features, but it's in the way He moves. I'm smiling before I get to Him, and though He tries not to stare as we pass, He does. We're so close, some of His sweat hits my cheek. Then He's turning His head, just as I turn mine, still continuing in opposite directions.

Don’t let the moment pass...say something! I yell silently.

Fear hinders me. Silently I yearn for him as our eyes stay locked, necks twisted uncomfortably. The ache is in His eyes too.

His look is torn from mine as He trips and tries to regain balance shifting His gaze to the ground. Too late, He hits hard, rolling. I'm already at a stop and jogging quickly back to where He lays.

He’s beautiful.

TYME

I'm Fia, I say, kneeling next to his skinned, bleeding knees.

He begins laughing and looks at me. You’ve been waiting to say that.

Not responding, I push his back flat on the ground and straddle His fallen figure. Pressing my lips on His, He doesn't hesitate kissing back and wrapping His arms around me. His lips are large and warm, salty from sweat, much like mine probably are. His gentle hands push at bits of curly hair that have fallen from my short ponytail until He takes the band wrapped around it and pulls hard. It breaks, and my hair flies loose. Curls frame my face, and He crushes them to my cheeks as He holds my face.

We don't stay this way long before His warm hands move to my shoulders, pushing up, forcing us apart. Fia, I'm Tyme, he manages before gently drawing me back to him. Then it's back to kissing.

Our mouths keep finding one another until the pebbles beneath my knees feel like they're becoming one with my body. It hurts. I don’t care...until I do. I press my cheek next to his for a moment, then stand, instantly hating the feeling of being apart.

Holding out my hand, my tone is strong, my voice soft. Come.

Tyme does.

**********

He’s a gentle and thorough lover.

Have you always been this amazing in bed? I sigh, not trying to hide my praise. Then something occurs to me, and I snort in laughter. Or did you begin to try harder once it was a possibility negative actions could hinder the soul?

Tyme pulls me closer, kissing my temple. It sounds like you think making love badly is worthy of negative consequences. He kisses my ear and whispers, What if some poor fellow just has bad rhythm?

I laugh hard, stomach muscles tensing as I roll into his chest, and I don't stop until I’m on top of him. His arms hold me there. I can feel the thud of his heart under my smiling cheek.

Tyme clears his throat, rumbling to me, his tone serious. Do you think, if someone lived some of their life not caring about their actions and then changed their ways, they would still be held accountable for the hurt they caused before? His hand runs up and down my spine, first soft, then with more pressure feeling each bone.

If they had the right teacher to teach them the art of lovemaking and took time to apologize for their previous acts of terrible sex… I pause for dramatic effect, …. yes, yes, I do think their slate could be wiped clean. I laugh at my joke until I notice his expression. He’s speaking about something else, something personal.

My smile fades, and I reach my hand to stroke his face as I add, Any perceived wrong can be changed with understanding action. Pressing myself up to look at him, I give him a soft kiss and ask, Why? Looking into his eyes. Did you do something wrong?

Averting his eyes, he stays silent for too long and shifts under me. I’ve made him uncomfortable. Finally, his eyes find mine again, but now they hold a guarded look. No, nah, just wondering what you think about this new discovery of the soul. His hand cradles my head, gently pushing it back onto his chest. "Just because we know the soul and reincarnation are real, there is no proof that being bad follows you, affecting future lives."

Now I’m silent, tensely trying to phrase my question correctly. Just as his breath begins to slow, I ask, How do you feel about the way the soul was discovered?

His arms encompass me, securing my flesh to his. No denying the proof of the experiment. His voice holds the confidence of a true scientist. "It does bother me how it was achieved. He continues releasing me with one arm as I roll to his side, tense now. It’s fucked up that she killed child after child for the last hundred years."

This reaction is how a group of humanity currently feels.

He may not know the facts.

I sit up, looking at him in the dark, and try to keep my voice light. "First, she, Poppy Wing, was each of the five children reincarnated... each had her soul. And the Sovereignty showed the records on the W.A.V.E. that indicate the children died naturally. There’s no proof she had anything to do with their death."

"So, they just happened to all die young? Tyme’s words are sarcastic and disbelieving. That would imply that our souls pick the bodies they are going to inhabit. He shakes his head resolutely. I don’t think so."

Really? Is that so impossible to believe?

He looks at me, confused. Yeah, it is a little hard. Hey, you, come back to me. Reaching out to me, he grabs my waist, pulling me close. As I settle my cheek on his chest, he picks up the conversation again. "Listen, it’s just when you factor at the beginning of the experiment. The fact that Doctor Wing took her own life. Chances are she kept taking the bodies that inhabited her SoulPrint to further her experiment. I think the Sovereignty covered it up, and so do a lot of people." I feel him