Fated Encounters

A stranger sat at her table, claiming to be her soulmate.

Katt nearly snorted into her coffee. Out of all the weird things that had happened to her in life, this had to be top five. She stared at the man sitting across from her, blinking, waiting for him to crack a smile, to admit this was some kind of joke.

He didn’t.

Instead, he just sat there, looking completely calm.

Confident.

Like he had just told her the sky was blue or that coffee was, in fact, the best drink in the world.

”Excuse me?” she finally said, setting her mug down slowly.

”I know how it sounds,” he admitted, resting his arms on the table, fingers laced together. “But I wouldn’t say it if I didn’t believe it.”

Katt narrowed her eyes, instantly on alert. “Listen, if this is some pickup line, I gotta say, it’s a bold choice, but..”

”It’s not a pickup line,” he interrupted smoothly. “I mean it. I know you, even if you don’t know me yet.”

She exhaled through her nose, torn between amusement and the very real possibility that she was about to be on a true crime podcast. “Okay, stalker vibes aside, I literally don’t know who you are. So, care to explain before I make a dramatic exit?”

He smiled at that. “You don’t remember me yet.”

”Yet?” Katt echoed. “Buddy, you’re making this sound way creepier than you think.”

”I know,” he said, chuckling. “But hear me out. Just for a second. When I sat down, tell me honestly, did your heart skip a beat?”

Her lips parted, and ugh, her body betrayed her, because yes. Yes, it had. But that didn’t mean anything. Right? That was just surprise. Caffeine. Maybe she had inhaled wrong.

She lifted her chin. “That’s some real main character energy you got there, assuming I had some dramatic reaction to you.”

But he wasn’t backing down. “Did you?”

Katt stared at him for a long moment, annoyed at how sure he looked. But more than that, annoyed because he was right.

She did feel something.

A weird, stomach-dropping, chest-tightening sensation when he sat down, like dajavu on steroids.

But that didn’t mean anything.

Right?

She cleared her throat. “You know what? I don’t have to answer that.”

His grin widened. “You don’t. But you already did.”

“Oh my god, you’re so annoying,” she muttered, reaching for her coffee again, mostly just so she had something to do with her hands.

”You dreamed of me,” he said then, casual as anything.

Her fingers froze around her mug.

She went still.

Because that, that wasn’t a guess.

Her throat tightened. “What?”

His expression softened. “You had a dream last night, didn’t you? We were somewhere open. A field. The sky was deep purple, and there were fireflies everywhere.”

Katt’s entire body locked up.

Because that was exactly right.

Her chest rose and fell in slow, measured breaths, her mind racing. Had she mentioned it to someone? Posted something online? No, no, there was no way he could know that.

Her heart slammed against her ribs.

”We danced,” he continued. “I took your hand, and it felt like coming home.”

A chill ran through her.

Katt’s voice faltered, her brain scrambling for a logical explanation. “ You.. how did you?”

”I told you,” he said gently. “I remember.”

She shoved back from the table so fast her chair scraped loudly against the floor. “Nope,” she said, standing up. “Absolutely not. This is too much. You’re either psychic, a con artist, or a government experiment, and I’m not dealing with any of that today.”

”Katt.”

She froze.

Her name. He had said her name.

She hadn’t introduced herself.

Slowly, she turned back toward him. He was still sitting, watching her carefully, like he knew she was one second away from bolting.

”How do you know my name?” she whispered.

”I’ve always known it,” he said simply. “In every life.”

Her hands clenched into fists. “I don”t believe in past lives.”

He smiled, like he had been expecting that. “That’s okay. You don’t have to believe in something for it to be true.”

Her stomach flipped.

”What do you want from me?” she asked, her voice quieter now.

His eyes softened. “I just want you to remember.”

She hesitated.

Something inside her, the part that had been restless for years, the part that always felt like she was waiting for something without knowing what, was suddenly wide awake.

”Let’s test it,” he said.

She narrowed her eyes. “Test what?”

”Our connection.”

She huffed. “Yeah, I don’t think science has a category for whatever this is.”

”Just take my hand.” He lifted his palm, waiting. “If you feel nothing, I’ll walk away, and you’ll never have to see me again.”

Katt eyed his hand like it might bite her.

Then, before she could talk herself out of it, she reached forward and pressed her palm against his.

The second their skin touched, warmth flooded her, deep and electric, like a bolt of energy straight to her chest.

She gasped, yanking her hand back as if burned.

Her pulse was out of control.

Her breath came fast.

And he, he was just watching her, completely calm.

”You felt that,” he said, voice steady.

She shook her head, like she could physically shake off the feeling. “That was just static electricity or something.”

”Try again,” he challenged. “See if it happens twice.”

Katt stared at him.

She knew if she reached for his hand again, it wouldn’t just be static.

She knew.

But that was impossible.

Right?

Her hands trembled at her sides. Her entire life, she had been waiting for something without knowing what.

Maybe, just maybe, she had finally found it.

And maybe, just maybe, this was only the beginning.

Katarina

@Divinemamma

Farmington, mo

Fated Encounters

Divinemamma