It was a favorite past time of the upper class. It was, at one time, banned by most of the religions of Matik. Seeing the future was something that everyone wanted to do.
The giggling young girls piled into a small, dingy parlor. Around them, the walls were draped in bright, colorful fabrics. There were purples, blues, yellows, and greens all around them. The old soothsayer sat on the ground opposite them. She had a queer appearance, even for a common woman. It was almost as though the person who had put the fabrics on the wall had left the remaining pieces laying on her. She had a round face, with large eyes, the color of the sea, with the look of the stormy ocean imprinted on them. This woman was the most recommended soothsayer for miles around.
Laughing a little at her appearance, the leader of the group spoke boldly, with her class written all over her voice. "Crone. Will you speak to us? Or do you plan on sitting there, watching us all day?" The girls were highly amused by her boldness, and waited for the answer.
"You will do well to treat me with more respect than that, my dear," she spoke calmly. The girls became instantly serious, if not a little scared. "What do you want to know?"
The leader was slower to respond this time. This soothsayer gave off a strong aura of power that frightened her more than anything had before.
"Madame," she spoke slowly, "we wish to know if... will Mattie marry.., Orien?" she hoped that she would know who she was talking about, for she was far too scared to add any more to her question.
The old woman sighed. "Maddie will marry. I do not wish to tell you to whom she will marry."
The group found their gumption. How dare she? A common woman, turn down the daughters of the most important men in the nation? As though they were normal girls, she would speak this way!
Before they could express their outrage, the woman held up her hand. She took out an old recorder and pushed the button. Confused, they said nothing. The woman went blank. In an other-worldly voice, she spoke.
"In eight and ten years, Stella will watch the destruction of her world. The murderer-"
She was taken from her trance by the screams of the noble women. After so many years of these trances, she'd become quick to recover. She listened to the recording she'd just made. She thought it was the most confusing trance she'd had yet...
"Stella's world? Our mother goddess?" the leader was crying hysterically now.
Young Maddie, in shock, spoke for the first time. "In eighteen years? Matik is going to be gone in eighteen years?"
This was more than anyone could bare. They stopped and looked at each other. The only thing they had to worry about most days was if they would marry to someone that would make them happy. Sometimes what they would wear to a party was a concern, but this...
"Get out..." the soothsayer whispered. The girls obeyed quickly. Stella... It was true that she was the creator of Matik and everything on it. One thing was almost a sure thing, the world would end in 18 years.