Chapter Three:
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I glanced out the window and complemented the beauty of the sunset, it really looked breathtakingly lovely.
The sky was vast and danced with the azure shades of crimson flames, the tint purple skies mixed together in a hue of cloudy grey.
The pasture of green was more scattered in patches across the narrow and barren clearing, not really what one would call great open meadow, but at least it looked like a half barren courtyard of sorts, somewhere around the outskirts of a city, and not some shabby looking backyard that hadn't seen a lawnmower in a good couple of years.
Mao, the black shorthaired cat, curled into a tight ball and snuggled onto my lap, while I busied my hands to scratch and cuddle her.
She was my only company and I enjoyed it eminently, it felt better to have her with me, to listen to her gentle mewing and loud purring, than to be alone and have nothing but the wind whistle in my ears as the silence of the night beckoned near.
The crickets had already settled nearby at some bushes, I could hear their loud chirping clearly from where I was.
It was a little annoying the first few nights, but I guess I just got used to it. I remember at first I was just too tired and had slept through the noise, but when I had become more aware of my surroundings, their chirping pierced through my ears and it was hard to ignore. The only way for me to sleep was to listen to Marcella hum a hymn of sorts, she said it was a lullaby and it helped me sleep.
She could really hum some nice songs, but she can't sing the words, cause her voice gets a little husky. Although she could hum the tune just fine she just has no skill for actual and vocal singing, I guess.
Besides, she's too shy to sing out loud, and though she's tan for being under the sun for so long, I really cant see her blush but I know its there, especially when she ducks her head, smothers an embarrassed smile, squares her shoulders and looks away.
I miss her smile, it always makes me feel so at ease.
And speaking of which, I hope she comes back home soon, I'm getting worried.
Marcella had left early this morning to work. She said there was this nearby pub owner who offered her a small stand at the back of his place, and there she could tell people's fortunes for a small fee, as long as he gets at least ten percent of her day's earns.
As scarce as it was to gain the money, and since he was nice enough to not ask for half the money like most people do, she agreed. She needed a job and since she could not get employed like the rest of the city dwellers, considering she's an illegal migrant with no paperwork or documents to sustain her identity, she had to work in secret in order to gain enough to help support her.
When I asked her why she didn't have anything to prove her identity, she gave me a sad smile and said it was a long tale to tell, and it would be better if she saved it for another day, so I decided to leave it at that.
Also, she needed money to buy food and drinks, but to do so she had to go out into the open and meet up with people. Although it is pretty risky a cop might arrest her, she had to work for her own keep. She didn't want to beg or steal because she felt it was- improper. Stealing money or other things from people was wrong, and begging just felt disgraceful.
'Why should I beg when I'm fully capable of earning my own money?' she once said, and I completely agree with her. I remember she even admitted if she was ever to be reincarnated into her sin, then it would most likely be pride.
But anyway, she left early in the morning and right about now it was really drawing closer to sunset.
She said she may not come back before midnight, if not tomorrow morning if things got out of hand and she had to hide, so Mao and I are gonna have to occupy ourselves till she comes back home… if she came back home.
I really didn't want to think she won't come back, or if a cop did catch her and dragged her to the station. I guess if she was caught I wouldn't know and wouldn't be able to help her, because I'd have no idea where to look, and considering I'm not human, walking out in the open isn't even an option. I'm just gonna have to stay here and wait, and hope for her to come home safely.
True I've only known her for barely a few days, five days if you want to be specific, but I like her like a close friend if not like a sister or a mother figure. Although I barely remember who I was, I've not regained any of my memories as of yet, just being with her makes up for it in a way, because to her it doesn't really matter who or what I was, she accepts me and cares for me regardless.
She cares for me for who I am, not for who I was or what I am.
Even with her company and compassion, there are moments of familiarity when I feel there is something amiss.
I've been trying to figure out what it was, this shifting sense of familiarity that keeps reoccurring, hoping it would help me come one step closer to who I used to be, but so far there is nothing in the horizon with a glimmer of hope or recognition. The sky in my mind's eye is still veiled with a thick sheet of black cast over my destiny, and I get the feeling it would remain that way for a long time to come.
Mao mewed and purred against my palm, distracted from the nostalgic sunset and back to the real world.
It was still early in spite of the dark blue-tainted sky, and there was a chance Marcella would make it back before midnight. I really wanted to be awake when she does. I didn't want to think I've fallen asleep again when she arrives home, tired and needing a hand with something.
I admit my body is still sore and stiff even after the days of rest, but at least I could get out of bed and walk around, stretch my muscles and help her around the burrow. Previously, I could barely lift an arm because I didn't even have the stamina to stay awake, but now after a few days of rest I'm feeling much better, more energized and hopefully more an asset than a liability to her.
The least I could do to help was to aid her and earn my keep, right? I don't want to be a liability to her.
Mao leapt out of my lap and settled in front of the makeshift door, and no more than a few seconds later the slate of wood was pushed aside and Marcella walked in, carefully after she tucked the wood back in place, before she turned around to greet us with a fine but tired smile.
"Welcome home," I greeted with a mellow grin.
I pushed off the chair to stretch my heavy and stiff legs a bit, before I took the basket off her hands and set it aside for now. She sat on the chair with a slow tired sigh and rolled her neck, before she rubbed the side of her neck to soothe the ache that lingered there. I stepped behind her and gently massaged the sore muscles, even though the golden chocker sort of blocked the way.
"How was your day?" I began, gently working around the jewelry.
She smiled and relaxed under my touch, then rolled a shoulder to ease some of the ache there, "Fine," she hesitated for a moment, then smiled a bit wider, "Fate is a strange thing, no? Shows you something at one moment, and then shows you something else regarding the same subject the next." She sighed and closed her eyes, chin tilted as she relaxed with my handy work.
After I finished soothing her neck I settled on the bed besides her, "Enlighten me," I smiled, wanting to hear what tale she had to tell tonight.
She nodded in acceptance to my request, and then worked on taking the sash off her head. Her somewhat curly and wavy locks danced as she took the beads and accessories from her hair, before removing the bracelets and necklaces off her shoulders and chest.
I noticed that before bedtime she'd take all her accessories off, all but the golden choker.
I asked her why she didn't take it off, and she exclaimed it was forced on her, and there was no way to take it off without the key. Also, she claimed that she didn't want it removed anyway, and why she didn't want it off as well was yet another story for another day, so I left it at that and decided not to ask her about it for the moment.
"There is nothing much to say tonight, I'm afraid." She smiled as she put the last piece of jewelry into her safe little oak box for tomorrow.
As she stretched her arms and popped her knuckles one by one, I couldn't help but stare at how naturally beautiful she looked, especially without all the sparkly and glittery items distracting the onlookers from her face.
Her hair looked better without that sari-like shawl thing covering it. Her hair looked browner down to the bottom and turned more inky black as it made its way back to the roots. It was because of her hair's nature being somewhat oily and dries up and gets curled, and being under the sun for long makes her hair turn brown instead of black. It was also straight from the top but starts turning wavy and curly half way down, leaving curls to rest on her shoulders and a few somewhat frizzed locks to cover her temple, and that's where the faintest mark of a scar lingered over her left brow.
I remember when I asked her about it the first time, she simply stated: 'I got this when I died.'
I was tempted to ask about the lighter colored mark again and again, but refined because every time she remembers the mark, it makes her sad and I didn't want to upset her any further.
It oddly looked like a circle with a splatter-like mark around it, like the sun with a burst of light circling it.
But also, it looked almost like someone had taken a tomato and threw it at the wall with all his might, and it hit dead center and splattered the juice everywhere. It wasn't big, it was barely bigger than a coin the size of a nickel, which made it a little odd looking, really.
But again, that is a story for another night, she's probably tired and needs to rest, anyway.
Marcella settled back on the chair and smiled at me, before Mao decided it was a good time to curl up in mommy's lap. She smiled more contently and tenderly soothed the feline's coat, stroked it lovingly and glanced up to me. She drew in a deep breath and I could see it on her face, busy putting the words together to tell me what happened today.
"Around a week ago I met an old blind man." She began, quiet and at ease, "He came to me asking for his fortune, saying he was going to go through a surgery and wanted to know if it would succeed." She paused to scratch the cat's head and Mao flattened her ears, flicking them as if she was listening to the conversation, "I read his palm and looked into his future, but there was no sign whether he would regain his sight or not."
"He was sad and thought the surgery would failed, and claimed if it would not succeed then he will not bother doing it." she paused for a moment, her saddened expression lingered, "I did not want him to go broken hearted, so I told him to have faith and hope for the best, that some times the future might be bleak, but if there is a chance the surgery might aid him then he should do it." She paused her cuddling to the cat and glanced towards the window, a solemn smile crept on her lips.
"I told him: Perhaps I was not allowed to see your future, and that is why you must depend on yourself." She closed her eyes, a moment of silence lingered as we listened contently to the silence of the night, tainted with the chirping of the crickets outside.
"He didn't say anything and simply paid my fee and left, just like they always do when they're not particularly happy with what they find." She looked back at me with a tired smile, and then a slight sad furrow kit her brows, "Today, I met the blind man again and he told me the surgery was the week after. He asked me the same question again, so I read his palm…"
"What did you see?" I asked softly and wondered if the future changed the second time.
Marcella had told me, more than once the same people would come to her to ask their fortunes told. She said that those who were unfortunate at one point of their reading, came back later and she would read their fortune again and again, some times the fortune remains the same, some other times it changes either subtly or massively, while on other occasions she can't read their fortune at all.
She said that there were those who she cannot read, or would find delivering their fortune too dangerous, or too seriously altering so she would tell them she saw nothing, therefore claims no fee for her task.
She claimed that there were times she was forced to exploit a terrible future, and things only got worse. One of those fortunes still haunt her for the owner of that misfortunate future claimed she was the cause and wants her dead.
She didn't exactly say it, but I think it is probably the reason she came here, to escape the one who hunts her.
"I saw him walking without the stick, but I could not see his face." She paused, continuing the tale with the blind man, her lips pursed and her expression neutral, "Faith goes a long way and strong believers are often gifted for their devotion." She smiled, "So as far as he was concerned it meant he would regain some part of his sight, even if it is only a meager portion of it." she sighed softly.
"After all, the blind would wish for their sight even if it is only one eye." She closed her eyes, resting lightly on her chair.
"But- I did not tell him this, I had the vague feeling the surgery would not be the cause, but it would aid him gain back his sight." She added as she stroked the cat, "Somehow, I felt if I had told him the surgery would not be the one to give him back his vision, then he might change his mind and not do it, forfeiting the change and remain unable to see." She sadly smiled at me, "By not exploiting that piece of information, I do believe he has a better chance to regain his vision, even if the result would not be as immediate as he would like."
"Things happen for a reason, and I think you did the right thing." I assured her with a smile, placed my hand on hers and squeezed gently, "Now, did you have dinner? It's getting late and you ought to get some sleep."
She tilted her head with a bemused smile and shook her head, "No, I hadn't eaten anything, not yet. The pub was rather crowded and I did not wish to mingle with the wrong crowed, considering those who would take notice of my items." She touched the choker, a little wry gleam shone in her eyes. "Greed is such a frightening being." She then murmured, looking a little unnerved.
I tenderly rubbed her hand before I pushed off the chair, then set about preparing something for her to eat.
There wasn't much to go around, but we ration whatever we find so it would last as long as possible, but hopefully with today's earns it would last us for a few more days, and she wont have to go out to risk herself being captured by the police or anything. I don't want her getting caught, more because she's the only one I knew and I didn't want to end up alone.
I have no idea who I was, let alone if have anyone to go back to, so I'd rather stay with her until I get a clue to my true identity.
I like Marcella, she's really nice and she's got this really sweet smile. She makes me feel at ease when she talks, her accent kind of tickles my mind when I try to catch the differences between the way she talks, and the way I do. Sometimes she switches to Latin and ends up confusing me, so she tends to forget herself when she's really into a conversation.
Also, I'm learning new words and I find Latin kinda easy to learn, if you really put your mind into it and try to memorize what words means what. Marcella is also very patient with me, and is always more than happy to share her linguistic knowledge.
She blinked tiredly and after dinner she was tired so she went to bed early.
Naturally I pushed off the bed, where I had sat during the whole time during our late night chatting and through dinner, and then gently ushered her to get some sleep and rest for the reminder of the night.
I will sleep on the floor for tonight because she looked tired, she needed the comfy mattress more than I did. It didn't take long before she was fast asleep, so I tucked her into bed, brushed a curly lock from her lips, and then smiled contently at how peaceful she looked.
I admit that when I found out about her powers, I wanted her to read my palms and hopefully find a clue, some sort of thread that would lead me to who I was, or maybe even look into the farthest future she could trace and figure out if I'd find who I am or not, but she refused. She said that there were powers within me that somewhat deflected her abilities, and something was blocking her, so she could not read my palm even if she wanted.
To be honest with myself, I think she didn't want to read my palm even if she could. Simply because there was just this thing about her face when I asked her, it told me she wasn't comfortable and probably knew in advance what my future would be like, if only a hunch, so she preferred to pretend that she couldn't read it at all and avoid the whole thing.
Although a little hurt at that thought, I figured if she thought some sort of harm would come if she did read it, then I'm better off not knowing. Ignorance is bliss, after all, and I'd better be safe than sorry.
Wide awake with no sign of sleep any time soon, I picked up a book from the nearby makeshift shelf and began reading.
The Alchemist, it was titles, a story about faith she called it and recommended the book, saying it was a good read about one pursuing their dreams, almost to the literal meaning of the word. I was a bit surprised to find out the book was really about a guy pursuing his dream, literally.
Absorbed into the book with Mao lazing peacefully on my lap, I stayed awake all night fully occupied.
I hadn't realized I had fallen asleep until I woke up the next morning with a sore neck.
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A/N: um, just to remind you people, this story is heading towards dark and wicked, therefore I'm upping the rating to M just to be on the safe side. It won't be explicitly detailed or overly bloody or gory, just- messy in a dark kinda way. I do hope you decided to stick with this story, though; because I'm not even into the first quarter of the plot yet.