Author's Note: Thank you for the reviews and follows everyone!
There was a guest review that is now gone but I just wanted to say thanks for your critical review, I always appreciate those because I want to make my writing better! I was just using the "recluse in the forest" as an example to get my point across about time being relative; I did not mean it to refer to Wiz, though I see where it could have been confusing to the reader. I guess you could interpret that person as being the witch or someone like her; I originally wrote that part about the Harvest King and Harvest Goddess but decided against it for various reasons. Anyway, I know Mr. Wiz lives in town, and much of the following chapters take place at his fortune-telling residence ;)
Her presence in my space is powerfully apparent; perceptible even to those without the awareness of magical energies. In that way, she is distinct from the others in this town. Unlike our earlier meeting, in the confines of my space, I can read her intentions clearly as she seats herself across from me. Her brown eyes glisten like two fine pieces of topaz, illuminated more by their internal light than from the aura of my crystal ball, her gaze rising and falling around the room as I evaluate her. I remove the doubt that plagued my mind from our previous encounter, satisfied by my observation and convinced that she truly believes in the magic.
"This crystal ball… was handed down to me by my master… it holds immense power… but its ability depends on the user," I begin, the deepness of my voice drawing her out of her thoughts and onto me. Her gaze is deep, her eye-contact never wavering as I speak, reminding me even more of a person from far in my past, "with it… I can look into the heart of the person you are interested in."
I felt a rush of blood to my head as I spoke the words. Though I had promised to use the power of my crystal ball for her after she aided me in finding it, I regretted making such a promise in that moment for I did not want to know who she was romantically interested in. She focuses her gaze downward onto the cool glow of the sphere, her thoughts suddenly becoming unreadable to me.
"Chase," she responds abruptly, her gaze still downcast as a flush of color emerges from her neck and onto her cheeks. I feel a tinge of unwarranted sadness as I begin to watch the hues of the crystal change. A muddied color of reds and oranges take hold of the crystal's depths, fading in and out of gray and purple as I attempt to receive the message.
"I… am unable to read his heart," I say after a few more attempts, the aura returning to its silvery blue radiance.
"I'm not really interested in Chase," she confesses as she turns away, revealing her pleasantly formed profile, her nose elegantly outlined above her full lips, an image so closely resembling my memories.
"You… should not ask questions to test the magic. It is… in bad taste."
Her eyes grow wide as she looks across the table at me, tears threatening to spill from their edges.
"I'm so sorry, that is not what I meant to do! I wasn't trying to test you or the magic of the crystal ball!"
It was evident that she was being truthful. Why then, did she ask about Chase? Her thoughts were again hidden from me, as if she had control over my reading of them—perhaps that was because she was reading my thoughts. I regain my composure, assuring myself that that could not be the case.
"Is it dark enough to look through the telescope?" I think for a moment, recognizing that she is deliberately changing the subject.
"Perhaps… shall we go look?" I hold my hand out as I stand up from the table and she looks at it cautiously. What did I intend to do? Escort her through the short distance up the stairs to the observatory? The gesture was once customary, so it had remained somewhat habitual for me as I had not interacted extensively with society for some time; but I recognized that it was not appropriate for the situation or even the era. Despite my embarrassment, she grasps my hand, holding her other hand up to her lips in a girlish way as she laughs. Her hand is small and soft—familiar—as if I had held it before.
"Wow!" she exclaims as she peers up through the telescope with one eye clenched shut.
"Keep… both eyes open. You will see… more clearly that way."
She turns to look at me and our eyes meet. That smile. A vision. Candlelight flickered softly off of her features. A momentary lapse of consciousness. Something I had seen before. Something I had not seen for centuries. The walls behind her fade into a distant past, moments that had been lost to time.
But not lost to my mind.
Akari…?
The sporadic candlelight fades back to a steady light shining from the lamp and the room regains its present form.
"Sometimes I get crazy déjà vu with you! It's so strange," she remarks as she looks through the telescope again, both eyes opened as I had suggested. Fortunately, she begins to ask me questions about the constellations to which I have much to say, allowing me temporary relief from the unsettling vision. We talk like that for a long time until she yawns, reminding me that most people go to sleep at this hour.
"I've got to hit the hay soon!" she pulls her scarf over her head as she gazes out towards the ocean. I look over as well, a black sky reflects off of a black ocean, the stars fading into their reflections seamlessly. A slightly warm wind rushes between us, bringing with it the salty-scent of the sea.
"The ocean and the sky… they seem… indistinguishable."
"Mm," she agrees with lazy eyes as she holds her arms around her small frame, "… we should do this again sometime! If you want to, I mean."
"Do you… want to go see the ocean and the sky… together?" Her eyebrows arch expressively before she lets out a chuckle. I wonder why.
"You say things in such a strange way, but I like it! Whatever you want to do is fine by me, I don't mind. I look forward to it."
She hesitates as she closes the metal gate, smiling at me before she disappears once again into the night. I fight the urge to call out to her. To run after her. I remind myself that, if it is her, lifetimes have passed between us.