“Anna, we’re not the only ones who see past the veil.” David whispered, the only other ‘souless’ I’d ever spotted. He was broad, fit, and looked barely a year older than me.

“There’s more!?” I exclaimed. “But wh-”

I yelped as David grabbed my hand, and tugged at me towards a few nearby cafes.

“Let’s find a place to sit down first.” He gestured at classiest one. “Don’t worry, I’ll pay.”

The waitress gave him some side-eye as he dragged me in, her soul betraying her thoughts as she greeted us with a retail smile. But she relaxed after I did, and took our orders with no drama. Her soul had a lovely shade of blue.

“I’m guessing no one else ever told you they could see other’s souls?” Asked David.

I nodded.

“There’s more of them out there than you think. About thirteen in a million people can see it.”

“That’s…about one hundred in this city alone.” I frowned, quickly doing the math. “I should’ve met two or three of them by now, if that’s the case.”

“You probably have.”

“No, you’re my first.”

“Then tell me, did you ever tell anyone else about what you see?”

“Well, it’s never really come up. I always wondered if people would label me as crazy, demented, or mental, but no one asked, so I kept quiet.”

The waitress started giving me side-eye as she placed our drinks on the table.

“See, very few people openly talk about it. How would you know what they saw without asking first?”

“Well other people just don’t… I mean, I assume that everyone else…”

David took a sip as I mumbled, listening intently on every word. I stared into his eyes, “Look. You’re the first person I’ve seen without a ‘soul’. How do you explain that?”

David smiled, like a kid that rescued a kitten. “Seeing the true self is one thing. But not showing one is another.” He paused to let the concept settle into my mind.

“What do you think we see, when we spot these souls? Are they real? Tangiable? Or perhaps something else entirely?”

“A soul is a soul. A colour that fits a personality, and a form that reflects their thoughts.”

Our food arrived, and it was so fabulous, I ignored the shimmering her soul was doing in David’s direction. He avoided eye contact with the waitress as he continued to speak.

“What normal people see, is just a mask for our souls. A presentable side we think best fits society…”

He took a bite out of his burger, and licked his lips.

“…but doesn’t quite fit into our bodies. We need to lie to ourselves, compromise our morals, or otherwise give up part of ourselves to form these masks.”

David finished his burger, wiped his hands clean, and continued, “However, we two, have no ‘souls’ -for lack of a better word - because our masks fit right into our real soul.”