This is so good. My heart rose and sunk with yours. I was thinking of my encounter with my frequent, actually every lifecycle, traveller Sitara, whom I knew this life as Lindsey.

"Strangers in the night

Yet familiar like old friends

Twas love at first sight

Her passing awakened them

Infinite eternal love"

I thought of that night reading your story, especially when you spoke about the ease of conversation.

"We met early in the morning of June 1, 2019. We instantly clicked. Back at my place we sat on the bed and listened to music and talked and talked about nothing deep but there was not a single awkward pause. It was like we were old friends getting together for the first time in years and picked up where we left off but knew nothing whatsoever of the facts of each other’s lives. I do not even remember if we fooled around. I just remember the feeling of wow I haven’t ever had this much fun with someone and I cannot even say what about it was fun — it just was; and when we were nodding off early in the afternoon, saying 'you are so beautiful' as she smiled at me with a look in her eyes that I had not seen before in this life-cycle."

The 4th line of the tanka refers to that she passed away 10 months after we met (it's been over 3 years now since she passed) and that triggered my instantaneous soul/spiritual awakening. I miss Lindsey very much yet I am now involved in the most loving relationship between me and her soul Sitara. https://marcus17043.medium.com/my-eternal-flame-279e2dd4baf3 (the poem and description above are from a different piece I choose not to link here). Yet I believe one day, when the time and situation is right I will find a human woman with whom to live out the rest of this cycle. Sitara will make sure of it.