The disappointment tightened his throat like someone was standing on it. Opening his eyes, Seb brought his other self out of the orphanage and lay motionless, still gazing down at the stark building below.

She. He snorted slightly. He didn’t even know if there were any others of his kind, much less what sex they might be. Yet somehow he’d always known it was a girl around his own age he was looking for. He could feel her so strongly. Even though he had no idea of her name or what she looked like, he knew her. For as long as he could remember, Seb had had a sense of the girl’s spirit; who she was. He thought he could almost hear her laugh sometimes; catch glimpses of her smile. Not being able to actually see her, or touch her, was a constant ache inside of him.

Roughly, Seb pushed his hair back with both hands. Why wasn’t he used to the disappointment of not finding her by now? How many cities had he searched? How many orphanages and schools; how many miles spent walking how many streets? Suddenly he felt tired – so tired. Somehow this latest failure felt like the last straw.

It’s never going to happen, thought Seb. I’ve only imagined her all these years, because I wanted so much for it to be true.

Rolling over onto his back, he watched his angel self as it soared in the night sky, snowy wings outspread. For once, the sensation of flight didn’t soothe him. He’d been searching for his half-angel girl for so long – first, for years on the streets of Mexico City after he’d run away from the orphanage, checking out every aura he passed. Then, when he was eleven, he’d been thrown into a young offenders’ facility; he’d broken out at thirteen and soon after had started his quest in earnest, travelling up and down the country, searching every town, every city and village. Everywhere, for almost five years now, without encountering a single other aura like his own. Without once catching even a hint of her energy, except in his thoughts.

Above, Seb felt a cool wind whispering past his wings; the evening was quiet and peaceful. Enough, he told himself. The thought seemed to float into his mind of its own accord, but the moment it did he knew that it was true.