You Only Live Once

by Maxine Morrey

Even when your life had been shattered, nature’s cycle continued and, at a time I found it hard to discern comfort in anything, I did find some sort of comfort in that.

Life has a habit of throwing spanners in the works of our carefully laid plans. It’s not necessarily anyone’s fault, and whether they agreed with your choices at the time, the end result is that you made those choices, and now you’re making new ones.

‘People change.’

Other people may have our best interests at heart but, in the end, these important decisions have to be our own and we know what feels right.

‘I like to think there’s always something redeemable, even when it looks like all hope is lost.’

Do you believe in soulmates?’ ‘I think I do, yes.’ ‘Do you think you only get one per lifetime?’ ‘No. I don’t. And I think they can come in all forms as well. I think you can have platonic soulmates as well as romantic ones.’

we do what we think we should do at the time. It’s easy for others to tell us what they think we should be doing or for us to look back with hindsight, but we don’t have all the information at the time, and we just have to act with what we have.

‘I guess that’s why, if we really want something, we just have to find a way of getting it, or at least of trying to get it. Then you’re never left with the what if.’

Jack might be right when he said the universe may provide you with more than one soulmate, but I wasn’t prepared to take the risk. I’d had my heart shattered once before and I wasn’t prepared to go through that again.

‘Do you think I’ve been horribly selfish?’ ‘No,’ Jack said. ‘I don’t. You were devastated and you did what you had to do to try and keep yourself sane. But I do think it’s possible to get into a habit, a rut, which can then be very difficult to get out of, partly because we’re so used to doing things a certain way, and partly because then doing something different can seem overwhelming.’

‘Well, I’m Lily, as you probably guessed.’ I held out my hand. ‘I’m…’ She looked at Poppy for a second as though she temporarily forgotten her own name. ‘Sorry, I’m just… I’m such a fan of yours. I’m a little bit star-struck.’ She laughed and pushed her hair back from her face with perfectly detailed fingernails. ‘I’m Jemima.’ ‘But I thought Poppy said you worked with film stars and top models and the like?’ ‘I do, all the time. But that doesn’t faze me. To be honest, I’m not really into movies or stuff like that. I much prefer a book and I’ve always loved your books in particular.’ ‘Thank you. I’m so glad you enjoyed them and thank you both for coming here today to do this. I can’t say how much I appreciate it.’