POV: Your Hinge Date is Reincarnated

After work, Soni flopped onto the couch. Her phone was waiting for her, its lock screen yielded at her gaze and silence gave way to videos prepared by the algorithm for this moment.

Her finger twitched over a post that she would have liked, but for the knowledge that her activity was monitored by her employer. All Meta employees were encouraged to use the social media products they developed. Their experience would inform improvements in the tech. She didn’t think the algorithm could sense her thumb hovering, but maybe it could infer. A quick swipe back to the home screen. She stared at the grayscale icons she’d spent a Sunday morning installing.

The dating app was open as fast as thought and she fingered the glass between her and faces of singles in her area. Samantha had blonde curly hair and a radiant smile and had sent her a Like. “The craziest thing about me…” her profile said, “I remember my past life.” Soni zoomed in on her picture, matched with her, and threw her phone across the room.

They met at a bar downtown to size each other up over glasses of wine.

“You work for them?” Samantha wrinkled her nose. “Fine.”

“Probably hard to date someone who’s not a programmer out here.” Soni joked.

“Whatever, at least you’re rich, right? Anyway, I work for a tech company too... I’m a streamer," she clarified, seeing Soni's indignant expression.

Soni’s jaw dropped despite knowing Samantha was watching her reaction. She pictured her holding a game controller and wearing headphones with cat ears. “Full time? What do you do on there?”

“Oh, play games, watch videos, chat, mostly—I’m boring.” Samantha said, waving away the attention, apparently over it.

“But you’re free…” Soni said in a hushed tone, surprising herself.

“I mean, not at all, actually,” Samantha said, “if I don’t log on, I don’t get paid. People will forget about me, find younger, hotter women. You think I’m joking.”

“No, that makes sense. Let’s not talk about work!” Soni attempted nonchalance, casting about for something else to talk about. “So—past lives?”

Samantha leaned forward. “Yes!”

You’re from the past?

What if I am.

It’s a bold claim.

I’m a bold gal.

What were they like?

He was a man.

What kind of man?

He died in a war.

Recently?

Right before I was born.

Soni sips her wine. How do you know?

I found his grave.

Not yours?

“Mm, you’re getting it,” Samantha purred.

“Are you fucking with me?” Soni looked around, half expecting a hidden camera, though this didn’t feel like good content.

“Why would I lie about something so serious?” Samantha cocked her head.

Soni couldn’t tell if she was teasing. “It’s just a lot for a first date,” she finally said.

"Is it?"

“We’re only fifteen minutes in and you’re making me consider whether or not you’re neck deep in some woo-woo bullshit.”

She raised her eyebrows.

“Sorry—I’m just not one of those super spiritual lesbians!” Soni backpedaled.

Samantha picked up her phone to look at it. “Well, that’s why I do it,” she said. And Soni saw the pink glow of a ride-sharing app. “I should’ve known better than to go out with another tech bro. It’s too bad, you were cute.”

“Wait—“ Soni reached across the table to gently restrain the hand summoning a car. “I’m sorry, that was rude. Please stay.”

Samantha slowly pulled her hand away and considered her. “I’m just not sure we’re compatible,” she said. “I don’t want to waste our time.”

“I am actually curious about this.”

“I want someone who gets me.”

“Let me try.”

“I did.”

“Hey—" Soni leaned in further. “I'm sorry, I've just never met anyone like you. When did you first realize?”

Samantha put her phone down.

Samantha:

I was a kid. My parents brought me to a New Years Eve party and all the grown-ups were drunk. They brought me and the other kids onto the porch to watch the fireworks. We could see the crowd gathered in the park down the hill.

A whistle. A bright flash. But the CRACK against my tender eardrums is when I started convulsing, crying, and hyperventilating. Eventually someone noticed me whimpering but their soothing turned to confusion when they asked what was wrong and I said, “This is how I died.”

To be continued.