Any romantic's admitted greatest fear is that their soulmate lives in China, Sri Lanka, Los Angeles, or some other exotic land and can never be known. But though fate can work in mysterious ways, it is not cruel and would never give with one hand only to taketh away with the other. This self-delusion is only to steal attention from the more rational and scarier fear: that their soulmate lives around the corner but still remains unknown.
This second fear is unbearable; the blame for loneliness lies squarely on the lonely. Your soulmate is everywhere and everyone. He is the man whose parking spot you stole. She is the DMV agent who won't cut you any slack. He is the father of the bully that beat up your only son. Because every person could be the one, you always have to be at your best. The stranger kind enough to hold your hair back as you puke could be your future wife. How could you live life like this, as a romantic? This is why I believe there doesn't exist a single woman in the world right for me. It makes my lonely life easier to justify.