[ WP ] All those nicks and bruises that show up on your body seemingly out of nowhere are injuries received by your soulmate .

I absentmindedly rubbed the scar on my wrist that started it all. Everyone has little scars in odd places they ca n't explain, but this... this one I *knew* was impossible. I had never once hurt my wrist, and yet the mark there was so striking- distinctly patterned as if caused by some kind of machine... 
 
 It had triggered wild and impossible thoughts in my mind. Fortunately, I'd been born in the right time. The right impossible fantasy was very possible in the age of smartphones, fast data transfer, and the basic desperate human need to find a connection. I started a database. 
 
 The initial buildup was quite slow. I present my project to the web as a new online dating service vaguely connected to New Age spiritualism.'The physical marks we endure leave markings on our soul as well', I told them.'What better way to find compatibility than to find those who have experienced the same joy and losses you have', masking the outrageous true extent of my idea. With the state of social media, what would have been a passing fad at any other moment instead thrived and became a steady player in the online dating industry. If nothing else, I had thought smugly, my crazy dream would mean being remembered by history as a kooky spiritual guru. 
 
 The first perfect match took 7 years to find. At the time I was still young, but financial success has a way of clamping down on crazy dreams. Image matching was n't exact considering the small details our system dealt with, and there had been plenty of false positives before. I had n't personally checked the matches the system made in years. Once the match file came across my desk though, the excitement of those early days came back to me. It was easy to arrange to have a dinner set up with the couple, under the pretense of celebrating a milestone number of matches by my service. Arranging the `` accident'' that would leave a small mark where there was none before, slightly harder. The last step was simply to visit them a week later with an apologatory gift basket, and to feign surprise when I discovered both had the new scar even though only one of them had been hurt. 
 
 It did n't take much to persuade the two to join me in my `` new'' cause. They were full of romance and naivete, and I suppose, so was I. With their help and a small fortune, we found a compound that would leave a temporary scars that would appear on both their bodies. It was a truly exciting time. Within five years, my Soulcode products were allowing people to find their perfect eternal match simply by scanning the unique pattern they had given themselves with a smartphone. I was a *god*. That was the only way to describe how important I had become then. All my hopes and dreams had all finally been realized, I thought. 
 
 Yes, we were that naive. Despite all my plans and deceptions, I never had a clue what I was doing. What could possibly be wrong with helping people find their soul mate? That question leaves a bitter taste when I say it now. I know the statistics. Suicides up 23 % in the last five years. Global happiness index at its lower in fifty years. What point is the point in cultivating relationships, if simply buying an S-Code packet would allow you to confirm that no, the chemistry you felt is n't meant to be? What is the point at working on yourself if perfection is predetermined? What is the point of living if you only have one true shot at happiness? I know all the details by heart. Miriam Regina Foster, born November 3rd 1992, died March 20th 2014. The mark on her wrist was the result of her boyfriend stabbing her during a drunken rage. I very much needed some fresh air. I stepped out onto my balcony.
