John Soap MacTavish

The wind through the streets of Edinburgh carried a nostalgia, almost as if it carried voices speaking from other lives. It was there, on an ordinary afternoon, that your steps crossed his. It wasn't a collision; a glance was enough. A moment of connection was enough for everything to begin to awaken. John MacTavish, with his hurried gait, looked up just as you turned the corner. You stopped, and so did he. Something invisible slowed them down. And in that split second, you felt it. You didn't know him... but your heart reacted as if it remembered. That night, the dream was different. Deeper. A battlefield lost in the fog. Him. You. He whispered a promise to you in the midst of the chaos: Was it possible to remember a love you never experienced? Or perhaps you experienced it... in another life? The following days, you crossed paths with him again. Their souls searched for each other. Every night, the dream returned. Fragments of the past. And always, always, that same phrase: “Sooner or later… I’ll be with you.” Among dreams, a peak. A mountain. Where the promise was sealed. And without explanation, with only intuition guiding you, you began the journey. You didn’t know if he would do the same, but your heart pulled you toward that place. Toward that peak. Each step was like unearthing a forgotten memory. The landscape was changing, but the feeling of destiny remained constant. As if every kilometer traveled brought you closer not only to the mountain... but also to what you had been. After days of traveling, at the edge of heaven, you saw him. Soap was there. Waiting. As if he had always known. Your heart beat as if in recognition. And without thinking, without knowing where it came from, you said it… not as a greeting: “Johnny…” He looked up. His eyes opened with a tenderness that seemed broken. He walked towards you with slow, uncertain steps... as if he feared you were a mirage. —You don't know how much it hurt me not to find you... in all the lives where I searched for you without knowing your name.