I never believed in soul mates. The idea of having a perfect match out there is simply absurd. This, plus the fact that you need to consciously look for your other half makes this thought even more overwhelming for me.

Then my father told me about his near-death experience.

When he was 20 years old, he was afflicted with typhoid fever. The state of medicine in 1960 and the financial instability of his family made his condition worse. He was in so much pain that he literally went out his body just so he will feel, if at least a little bit, at ease.

Then, he met an angel who told him that he only has a day left before they have to move on in their journey to heaven. He told the angel that he needed to visit his relatives in another place, an entire day of travel.

Swiftly, he reached his hometown. Along the way, a commotion took place. My dad saw evil faces trying to kidnap other souls. He and his angel ran so the demons cannot get him. Unfortunately, he lost his grip and he was left alone while the angel wildly tried to save other souls.

My dad hid under a bridge and waited for the demons to pass. As he was hiding, he saw a little gir, around 8 years old, crying for help. Finally, her mother came by and consoled her. The girl's name was Virginia.

After the commotion, my dad woke up in the real world. His mother told him that he was unconscious for two weeks. He realized that he's been given another chance, and he decided to fight his disease.

One day, twenty years later, my dad went on holiday. He worked, anyway, because he had a pile of paperwork to do. The phone rang.

"Hi my name is Virginia! Can we be phone friends?", the lady from the other line said.

My dad and Virginia spoke on the phone for three months before they decided to meet. Right then and there, my dad knew that Virginia was the eight-year-old kid he saw in his near-death experience. He told Virginia that story, and they laugh about it together.

By the way, my mom's name is Virginia.