Chapter Ten: Tarot
Kyoko returned to the LoveMe room after an afternoon handling a dog as a special request from a director. The dog's handler had been ill, and they needed to shoot the scenes with the dog that day because of scheduling restrictions. So LoveMe had gotten the request, and off Kyoko had gone to make sure that filming went smoothly. It had been lucky that the dog liked her, as she had no experience with dogs at all, and that the dog was well trained and obedient. It was just tiring.
She entered the room and went to her locker to change. Kyoko knew that she would need to wash her coveralls before her next LoveMe assignment, as they smelled strongly of dog. She dressed in her regular clothes and headed towards the door. She had an empty night, and so she was planning on waitressing at Daruma-ya tonight. Okami and Taisho needed the assistance for the dinner rush sometimes. She was just leaving the room when a ball of blue and lace barreled into her.
"Maria!" said Kyoko, looking down at her little sister. "It's good to see you."
"It's good to see you too, Big Sister," said Maria excitedly. "Guess what? I got a tarot deck!"
"That's wonderful Maria," said Kyoko, delight lighting up her face. "How does it work? Will you be able to see the future?"
"My friends say that it's not exact future, but more like advice," said Maria with a frown. "But I think everyone could use some advice about their lives, right?"
"That's probably true," mused Kyoko. "Do you think that the cards will have any advice for me?"
"I think so," said Maria confidently. "The cards sometimes look at things that we ignore to draw attention to the things that need looking at."
"Wow," said Kyoko. "I didn't know that."
"I want to do a reading for you," said Maria. "I don't have much experience, so I'll have to look at the book a lot. Can I read for you?"
"I would like that very much," said Kyoko. "Why don't we use the LoveMe room? There's a table in there that's clean."
"That's a good idea," said Maria. They went into the bright pink room and sat at the slightly less bright pink table on the equally bright pink chairs. Maria pulled her deck out of her pocket and slipped the cards out of their box. Kyoko decided that she was going to get Maria a little box to keep her cards in. Maria tried to shuffle the cards, but her little hands couldn't get around them well enough.
"Big Sister?" said Maria. "could you shuffle them?"
"Am I supposed to?" asked Kyoko.
"I think so," said Maria, picking up the little book that came with the cards and flipping to instructions on how to read. She frowned lightly, then looked up. "It doesn't say that you can't."
"Okay," said Kyoko. She shuffled the cards thoroughly, making sure that they were well mixed up before handing them back to Maria. Maria cut the deck into three piles and then gestured to them.
"Pick one," said Maria. Kyoko looked at the three piles and chose the one on the left.
There was a knock at the door, and Ren poked his head into the room. Kyoko and Maria brightened when they saw him. Maria noted that Ren brightened too when he saw Kyoko. She beckoned Ren over to the table. Yashiro followed Ren in and stood off to one side, watching the three of them.
"Good afternoon," said Ren. "What are you two up to?"
"Maria's going to read tarot cards for me," said Kyoko cheerfully. "Maybe I'll get some much needed advice that I wasn't aware I needed to hear."
"That sounds exciting," said Ren. "May I also have a reading?"
"Of course," said Maria. "Okay, are you ready Big Sister?"
"I am," said Kyoko, eyes shining.
Maria drew the top three cards from the deck and placed them from left to right. The leftmost one depicted a hand holding a sword aloft against a blue sky with clouds. The middle card showed two people holding cups and facing each other under a winged lion's head. The rightmost card was a naked man and woman standing under a benedictive angel. Kyoko looked at them eagerly as Maria leafed through the book.
Yashiro watched Ren watch Kyoko, who watched Maria. The gentleness in his eyes looked like it could have been normal, if one didn't know Ren well, which Yashiro did. There was passion under the gentle look, passion kept well restrained, and directed at the subject of Ren's gaze. Kyoko was oblivious, delighting in the fortune telling that was happening, and her enthusiasm was bringing a small smile to Ren's lips. Quietly, so as not to be noticed, Yashiro pulled out his phone, snapped a picture, saved it, and sent a copy to the President.
"Okay!" said Maria after a few minutes of reading. "So the first card is the Ace of Swords, which means 'You have fought in the name of good, adding your intense energy to an idealistic cause. The events of the recent past have set unchangeable events in motion.' You've tried really hard, and something that happened not too long ago has made it so that something important has to happen."
Kyoko's face darkened slightly, then brightened. Her first thought had been Sho's defection, but she recognized that other important things had happened to her in the past two years. Her friendship with Ren, her sisterly bond with Maria, and of course her friendships with Kanae and Chiori. Never mind the work that she'd done since joining the industry.
"The second card is the Two of Cups," continued Maria, "which means 'A loving union or close partnership will begin soon. Through commitment and dedication, this relationship will bring you great rewards, even if they are distant.' You're going to be with someone who loves you a lot soon, even if it's a lot of work to make it work. Maybe it'll be true love."
If the first card had darkened Kyoko's face, the second one made her blanch. She wasn't ready to love. Not yet, not so soon. Not after a lifetime of hurt and rejection. But the cards were saying that soon she would. That she would be loved in return. A glimmer of hope sparked in the depths of Kyoko's heart.
"The last card is the Lovers," said Maria. "It doesn't necessarily mean love, though. What it does mean is 'It will benefit you to remember that opposites are two sides of the same coin; there is not one without the other. The right choice will be made only if you have accepted others and yourself.' So you have to accept the good and the bad together, even if it's hard, because that's what makes a person a whole person."
"Wow, Maria," said Kyoko. "That was a really powerful reading. I'll need to think about this a lot."
"It's exciting, isn't it?" beamed Maria. "Ren, it's your turn."
"What do I need to do?" asked Ren.
"Shuffle the cards and then give them back to me," said Maria, "and then pick a pile."
Ren followed her instructions as Kyoko watched distractedly. Ren selected the pile on the right. Maria picked it up and turned over the top three cards. The leftmost depicted a robed skeleton riding a white horse. The centre card showed a woman in a white dress holding a cup. The rightmost card was a seated man holding a staff. Again, Maria flipped frantically through the book. Ren paled at the sight of the first card and looked visibly shaken by the entire spread.
Yashiro frowned at his charge's expression, then relaxed as it shifted to a soft smile in Kyoko's direction when she put her hand on his, before schooling itself into curiousity. Yashiro made a note of this change in mood; why would a card upset Ren so much? Nonetheless, it had. Maria finally smiled at Ren, excited by what she had read, having missed what had passed over Ren's face.
"Ready, Ren?" asked Maria. Ren nodded. "So, the first card is Death, but it doesn't mean actual death. It means 'You have moved into a new phase of life. All things change with time, and your path through this world is no different.' So you made a big change in the past that shifted the way you're living your life."
Ren nodded, as his move to Tokyo years ago flashed through his mind. Everything had been different from that moment when he had given up his old life and his old self and been reborn. Everything he had, his career, his friendships with Yashiro and Kyoko, his self esteem, had come from that one decision.
"The second card is the Queen of Cups," said Maria, "which means 'Possibilities to your life will be revealed by the influence of a powerful woman. She may challenge or inspire you, but whatever she does will lead you to valuable insight.' So what happens next in your life will depend on a woman in your life, and it will change you forever."
Ren's sidelong glance at Kyoko was missed by the young woman in question, but Maria and Yashiro saw it, along with the hope that flickered and then died in his eyes. Ren wondered what it was that Kyoko would say or do to change him as profoundly as moving away from home had. He wasn't prepared for the possibilities. Kyoko was known for being surprising. Maybe this would be a good thing.
"The last card is the King of Wands," said Maria, "and he stands for 'The future will bring you success in your professional life. Good investments and prudent spending will outweigh the risks you take and the strong conviction you have shown will grant many opportunities.' Mixed with these other cards, it means that something you've put a lot of effort and energy into will pay off, and you'll get something that you really need."
"That's very positive, I think," said Ren slowly. "I'm also going to have to think about this. I always thought that the Death card meant that someone was going to die."
"That's movie silliness," said Maria. "Death is major change. It doesn't mean literal death. Just something ending so that something else can begin."
"That's the way life works," added Kyoko. "For something to begin, something else must end. Life is a constant cycle of deaths and rebirths."
"I didn't think that you were a philosopher, Kyoko," said Ren. "I stand corrected."
Kyoko flushed. "It's just a thought I had."
"I like these thoughts," said Ren. "Feel free to share them with me, if you have any more."
"You're making fun of me," said Kyoko, flustered.
"I'm not," said Ren. Yashiro looked at his watch.
"Ren, we should get going," said Yashiro. "You have a talk show to get to, and if we don't leave in the next five minutes, we'll be late."
Ren stood an offered Kyoko and Maria a smile. "It was wonderful seeing you. I enjoyed the reading. Thank you, Maria. I'll have to think about this."
"I'm glad that you liked it," said Maria.
"Don't forget to eat," said Kyoko. She levelled a glare at Ren then turned to Yashiro. "Make sure he eats a proper meal."
"I will, don't worry," said Yashiro. The two men left, Ren looking back briefly to find Kyoko gazing back at him as she listened to Maria chatter about what she was learning in school. After the door closed behind them, Kyoko returned her full attention to her little sister. After all, the warm feeling in her chest that had started when she saw Ren had gone with a sharp pang when he left, and that was something that she would examine later. For now she would enjoy spending time with Maria and put aside what the cards had suggested.
After all, Kyoko knew she wasn't worthy of love. Letting herself love again would only end with her getting hurt.
**all tarot interpretation were taken from tarot **