24 Hours

240 months, 1042 weeks, 7300 days, 175200 hours, I’ve been waiting for this moment. The moment when just about everything would fall into place. That moment when I would find the true love of my life. On your 20th birthday, you switch bodies with your true soulmate they say. Nobody has been able to explain this phenomenon yet, and personally, I don’t blame them. Some say that it’s the closest thing to magic you’ll ever come across. You’re given one chance to find them and be with them forever. I, Everleigh Coleson, happen to be 19 years, 364 days, 23 hours, and 57 minutes old, so you can imagine just how nervous/excited I am. I’ve never been in a real relationship before, so I’m not sure what to expect. I barely know what it’s like to have some little 9th grade boyfriend, let alone a soulmate.

I check the time, my fingers trembling, March 4 11:58 PM. What if I don’t find them in time? How am I supposed to know how to find them? What if it isn’t my true soulmate? 11:59 PM. I had to use all of my strength to even think about putting the thoughts behind me, let alone doing it. I could feel my palms sweating and feeling the need to pace around the room. Then I suddenly came to the realization that this is the moment when my whole life is going to change forever, and I have no control over just how that change will go.

I sit nervously on my bed, trying to relax. The seconds passing feel like lagging hours, reminding me about what I was about to face. I check my phone, March 5 12:00 AM. I can already feel my vision getting blurry. Everything starts to feel numb. It’s happening Everleigh, and there’s nothing you can do about it...

I black out and suddenly feel chills down my spine. Since when is it chilly in Florida in March? Suddenly my eyes open to a bright room. Vibrant blues across the walls. I sit up and look outside, I see towering skyscrapers all around me. I have a feeling my so called soulmate doesn’t live in Florida. I go on my new phone. Sure enough they live right in New York City. I stand up and go over to a mirror and look at myself. Tall, lean, and dark hair, definitely what I imagined my soulmate would look like. Maybe it is him? I looked at the huge clock hung on the wall, 3:30 AM. How could 3 hours and a half already have passed? I have to get going! I ran to the closet, threw on some clothes, and set out on my journey.

As I walked out of my apartment, I instantly felt the cold New York breeze hit me like a truck. I put the thought behind me and pulled out my phone. Yup, I’m about 1,300 miles from where I need to be. As I stand outside the door, I realize something. This guy lives right in the city, and doesn’t have a car, just a bike. I suddenly feel the hope and drive leaving my body little by little. There’s no way I can do this. I’ll never find him again. Get it together Everleigh! This is a once in a lifetime opportunity and you’re totally blowing it! I get on the bike and instantly start pedaling south as fast as I can, not looking back.

After 3 hours of biking. I feel like my legs are going to fall off. I check my map, I’ve barely made it to New Jersey! Exhausted, I stop for a break. I want to give up really bad, my legs are practically screaming at me to, but deep down, I know I can’t. Think Everleigh think. I rummaged through my pockets, I had about 40 bucks, just enough for a bus ticket to Virginia! I excitedly grabbed my phone and found a bus stop nearby. I could hardly contain my excitement as I sprinted around the corner. I arrived at the small, grungy bus stop and sat down and could barely stand still. I actually had a shot at this! The old rickety bus stuttered up to the bus stop and I ran inside and sat down.

After the never-ending 5 hour bus ride, I ran off. It’s currently 12:15 AM, and I’m completely broke, not to mention without the bike, so it looks like we’re walking. I’m already halfway through my time, and I’m not even halfway to Miami. I take a look around, absolutely nothing looks familiar. I start walking down the road south until I see a small diner. My stomach growling, I walk inside. Digging through my pockets, I have exactly 5 dollars leftover. I bought myself a croissant and listened to the radio station playing over the speakers throughout the diner. I listen closely, and realize it’s my favorite radio station. As I listen I hear a static noise go over and then hear an announcement from a familiar voice. “Attention I’m looking for Everleigh Coleson! This is Leo! I’m looking for you too! I’m roughly around Savannah, Georgia! We’ll meet in between!” I could hardly believe what I heard, my jaw dropped and I instantly ran up from my old booth, slammed my money on the counter, and bolted out the door.

It’s 4:00 PM, I have no money, and I’m roughly in Stafford, Virginia. Once again, my legs are about to give up on me. Unwillingly, I sat down on a bench. I could feel every second ticking by, all the time I was wasting just sitting here. Then it hit me. Why don’t I just call my phone? He most likely has it with him! I dialed my number into the phone and listened for the ringing. Straight to voicemail, of course. Sounds like something I would do. I was starting to worry. Where even is the middle? North Carolina? If so, there’s no way I can get there in time. Not to mention, I was extremely tired and felt like going to sleep right now. I almost considered getting a hotel because I was so tired, but I knew I had to keep going. So that’s what I did, I just kept trudging along. Every step felt like I had a weight on my feet, getting heavier and heavier until I finally sat down on a bench. Before I knew it, I felt my eyes closing slowly. I resisted as hard as I could, refusing to go to sleep. If I went to sleep there would be no telling when I’d wake up. But it was too late now, I had lost control and fell peacefully to sleep, forgetting about everything that was happening for once today.

I woke up abruptly, looking around everywhere, and sat back. I was still in Virginia, I’m still Leo, and I still had time left, but judging by the pitch black sky, I guessed not much. I checked the time. “11:50 PM?!” I nearly shouted, people turning their heads in confusion. I grabbed my stuff and started sprinting down the street. I don’t care where I end up, I just needed to see him. I wanted this all to be over, it’s been the longest day of my entire life, or should I say Leo’s entire life? As I kept running, I began to slow down. 11:55 PM. I could feel the minutes slipping away almost as fast as I was running. I pushed forward. 11:58 PM. My body was yelling at me to just give up and stop running, but my heart pushed me forward even further. 11:59 PM. I stopped running, pulled out a marker and started frantically scribbling on my arm. “I hope this works.” I thought to myself as my body began to collapse. I’ve never been so tired in my life, physically and mentally. I felt myself drift away, and for once didn’t regret anything at all.

I woke up and found myself no longer in Virginia, but in Raleigh, North Carolina. Perfect. I started making my way North. After running for what seems like hours I came across just the place I was looking for. I walked into the nice, little italian restaurant in Henderson, North Carolina; my favorite place to stop and eat on road trips. I got myself a seat, looking around searching for him. 20 minutes and half a basket of bread later, I was beginning to lose hope. Then just as I was getting up, I hear the door swing open rapidly and footsteps thundering. A looked up, and saw the one person I’ve been trying to find for what seems like years. All my emotions flooded through me as I began to run to him. I practically leaped into his arms and just sat there hugging him, as if I let go he’d disappear. No words could describe how I felt in that moment, so I just sat there speechless never letting go. I could finally be at peace with myself knowing that I had made it to where I’ve wanted to be for what seems like my whole life. That short 24 hours was definitely worth the lifetime of happiness we’d have in store for the future, and to this day, I don’t regret one bit of it.