I'm sorry for mentioning this story again but I really need to write about this author's ideas modern day reincarnation.

Being torn away from his soulmate, he is questing to discover the reason for it and has a chat with the elders* and they are vicious to say the least. They preach that love is a weakness and only younger souls should still possess it, except one of the female elders who scorns them by telling them not to discount the role of love in the eternal cycle.

"You must experience a break from this attachment in order to experience personal growth," explains the nice elder. But he completely rebels against the order. He has no desire to be parted from his soulmate. The nice elder tries to reassure him that he will be reunited with her and that they will be stronger than ever. Is that sort of like saying distance makes the heart grow fonder? Because I have a lot of thoughts about that.

If that wasn't bad enough, the black sheep of the flock of elders laughs in his face - his arrogance made me curse his character out loud. Apparently, it is a great honour to be taught this lesson. Can someone tell me how exactly being forced apart from your soulmate is an honour?

Then he realises the bigger picture: they are grooming him to become a guide and then an elder... Would you give up love for success? Even if he would be reunited with her...he would have to spend not one lifetime away from her but ten - a whole millennium apart from her!

Jealousy breaks out as he imagined his soulmate living a ten lifetimes with a new man obtaining her affections. Yet more suffering that he has to endure...

The author then decides, after the harsh words spoken by the elders, that it is his choice whether or not to go ahead with the change. I dislike when writers do this: make the reader believe that the character is being forced into something and then gives them a choice. Trickery.

*Is that a reference to Charmed? I just realised that the name and role of the characters are the same as what they are in Charmed...