Yeah, more awesome reviews! Thank you, thank you all! (Didn't I just say that in the last chapter? Oh well, I still mean it!) Heh, a lot of people are telling me lately that when they first clicked on this story, that they thought it was some sort of Mary Sue type thing, since I had it in first person. Maybe I should change my summary to tell people that that's NOT the case! Heh. Those of you that I've replied to know that my name isn't even Katie at all, it's Melissa. True, Katie's based off of me in a lot of ways, but she's still not me.
I actually rarely ever write in first person, so it was kind of surprising when I just started doing it for this story. It just "felt" right, somehow. Of course, first person is kind of limiting, because I have to remember to keep everything from Katie's point of view, and not jump to Edward's. You have no idea how tempting it is to jump over to Edward's point of view every now and again. Heh. That's actually why I gave Katie that dream a couple chapters back, so that I wouldn't have to jump to Edward's mind. Yep, tricky obstacle, but I managed to get around it somehow.
Anyway, please enjoy the story, and don't forget to review afterwards, because that really encourages me. Thanks so much for your support!
Disclaimer: I don't own FullMetal Alchemist, and I doubt that I ever will, unless I discover that I'm the long lost relative of Hiromu Arakawa, and that I'm in her will. Of course, I don't look the slightest bit Japanese, so I don't know how that would ever happen. I speak a tiny bit of Japanese though, does that count?
As I walked home from the park, I tried to collect my thoughts on what I had just been reading on alchemy. Why did Edward want me to read this, anyway? When he said it was primitive, he wasn't kidding. This book was mostly a book about philosophy. Very little science was actually in it. How could it help me learn REAL alchemy?
I opened the book again and reread the text of the tabula smaragdina:
It is true, without doubt, and certain: the nether is like the upper and the upper is like the nether, to accomplish the wonders of the One.
I could only handle tiny bits of this at a time. I closed my eyes for a moment and thought, the nether is like the upper and the upper is like the nether.
Nether, that refers to something below something; nether, upper, below, above. Then it clicked, heaven and earth! The earth is like the heavens and the heavens are like the earth. It was starting to make sense, just a little bit. "The One" must be referring to God, or something like that.
And even as all things arose from the word of the One, so likewise shall all things by virtue of aggregation be born of the One.
I chuckled when I read this. I remembered once reading a Bible verse that said, "In the beginning was the word, and the word was with God, and the word was God." So this was something like and alchemist's bible, eh?
His father is the son, his mother the moon. The wind carried it in its womb, his wet nurse is the earth. He is the father of all wondrous works in the universe.
Unfortunately, that didn't make much sense to me. I gathered that there were a lot of theological references in there, but I couldn't figure out what they were talking about. I closed the book. I needed for Ed to clarify it before I went on.
I continued walking with my head down, trying so hard to concentrate. My shoe found a pebble, so I kicked it away. If only I could SEE Edward, then maybe I wouldn't have such difficulty getting the information I needed. I could feel his presence and his emotions, but when my own emotions got in the way, like they were at this moment, I couldn't feel anything. I could hear him if I was completely calm and quiet, but there was no way I'd be able to do that right now, not when I was thinking so hard.
As I was walking past a brick house, a little boy who had been playing with his toy trucks on the lawn came running up to me.
"Hello," I said, "Who are you?"
"I'm Jimmy," said the little boy, "Why does your brother have long hair? It makes him look like a girl."
"M-My brother?" I said, "I don't have a brother…yet."
"Then who is he?" Jimmy pointed to an empty patch of air a few feet away.
"I don't see anyone," I said, a bit confused.
"But he's standing right there!" said Jimmy, getting a bit flustered.
"What does he look like?" I asked.
"He's got yellow hair made into a rope on the back of his head," said Jimmy.
A rope…could he be talking about Ed's blond, braided hair? "What's he wearing, Jimmy?" I asked.
"Clothes," he said. I sighed. Talking to a four-year-old was so difficult.
"I mean, what kind of clothes is he wearing?" I asked.
"Black," he said. What was with these one word answers?
A woman came out of the house. "Jimmy, don't bother the nice young lady," she said.
"Oh, he's no bother," I said.
The woman chuckled. "That's good," she said, "He often scares people by telling them about things they can't see."
"I bet he does," I said, "But he's cute."
"Thanks," she said, "Would you both like to come in for a cup of tea?"
"By 'you both' you mean…"
"You and your friend here." She jerked her head in the same direction that Jimmy had pointed earlier.
"Do you mean that you can see him too?" I asked, shocked.
"Why shouldn't I?" said the woman, "Is he a ghost?"
I cautiously nodded my head. The woman smiled a weak smile. "As you can see," she said, "Jimmy got this trait from me."
"Really…" I said, amazed, "Can you talk with him?"
"Why, of course!" she said, "Why don't you two just come inside, and we can talk all you want."
After we were seated and she had served me some tea, she asked me what it was that I wanted to talk to my friend about.
"Would it offend you if I asked a cryptic question first?" I said, "I just need to make sure that you're talking to who I think you are."
"No, of course it wouldn't offend me," she said, "You can't be too careful."
I asked what the meaning of the last passage I had read was. The woman stared at a vacant spot on the opposite side of the couch from me for several moments, and then turned back to me.
"He says that the sun means gold, the moon means silver, and the wind carrying it in her womb is talking about gold being sent from heaven. He says you were right, that it was mostly theology, and that you have the ability to understand this stuff pretty well."
"Wow, I can't believe it! That's exactly what I'd read!" I said.
The moan had turned to face the vacant side of the couch, and then once again turned back to me. "He said that he doesn't know what you're so surprised about, since you're Clairsentient and somewhat Clairaudient. Frankly," she said with a chuckle, "I can't see why either."
"Well," I said, "I'm not Clair…whatever, I can't see him."
She laughed. "The word is clairvoyant. Don't feel bad about not being able to see ghosts. Everyone has their own place in the world, and you just happen to be an empath. Empathy is a wonderful gift. Don't waste it."
The three of us continued chatting for a couple hours before I decided that I'd better be getting home. We said our goodbyes and I promised to visit again. Edward said that he was going to stay a little longer, since she was the easiest person to communicate with that he'd met so far.
The small of a tuna noodle casserole greeted me as I stepped into my house. "Hi, sweetheart!" my mom said, 'You're just in time for dinner."
I washed my hands and sat down at the table as my mother brought in the casserole and the side dishes.
"So how are things going at the salon these days," asked Dad.
"No one's called for an appointment in nearly a week," said Mom, "I'm a little worried."
"Don't worry, business will pick up after the holiday season," said Dad, "Besides, we're got my income coming in too, you know."
"I know," said my mom, "But I don't like just sitting around. Of course it does give me a break from some of those crazy customers. Did you know that I actually have one client that pitches a huge fuss every time I dye her hair? I keep telling her that I'm not God, and that hair dye isn't flawless, but she always makes such a fuss! What does she want me to do, transmute it?"
That got my attention, so I looked at Mom, who said, "Oh, I'm sorry, Katie. I didn't mean to remind you of Edward like that. I'll try not to be so careless again. How was your day?"
"It was fine," I said, "I went to the library for a while, and then to the park, and I also walked around a bit."
"Really? Did you get anything at the library?" She asked.
"Yeah, I got this book on meditation. It seems so weird, you know, but it feels really good when you do it," I said. I didn't think that this would be a good time to mention the alchemy book. That would require way too much explanation, which I didn't care to give.
"Well, I'm glad you found something you enjoy," said my mom. My parents were well aware of my unusual taste in reading for someone my age, but they didn't care, as long as I was reading.
After we finished dinner, I decided to go to bed early, hoping that Edward had the same idea. I said good night to my mom and my dad, and went upstairs to my room.
As soon as the light was turned out, I heard a familiar voice say, "I was hoping you'd retire early."
"Edward!" I said, "I was also hoping that you'd come early."
Edward chuckled. "I'm with you most of the time, actually. Since you feel my presence all the time, your senses tend to tune me out, so you don't notice me. It's like keeping the same air freshener in a room. You smell it for a while, then quit being able to smell it, because you get used to it."
"So psychic senses do that too?" I asked.
"They sure do," he said, "Just like any other sense."
"Wait a minute…how do you know about air fresheners?" I asked.
Ed was taken aback. "Well…I've been on this side of the Gate for awhile now. I would certainly hope that I've learned something in all that time."
"Oh yeah, I forgot," I said, blushing a bit.
"So how is your progress with the alchemy book?" asked Edward.
"I've read a couple chapters so far,' I said, "But what does it have to do with real alchemy? It's all a bunch of philosophy and stuff."
"That is just as much 'real' alchemy as whatever I'd teach you," said Edward. "True, that book doesn't have much scientific fact in it, because those on this side of the Gate never got past phase one of alchemy. However, you have to master phase one before you can reach phase two."
"So then, you had to learn all this stuff when you learned alchemy?" I asked.
"Basically, yes. Being on the other side of the Gate, it was worded a little differently, but I had to learn it, nonetheless. All that philosophy will help you to grasp complex concepts in alchemy," said Edward.
I sighed. Was I even going to have enough time to learn what I needed to learn?
"Don't look so down, Katie," said Edward, "You're nearly ready to do your first attempt at a transmutation. As soon as you memorize the tabula smaragdina, I'll walk you through the transmutation process. You don't have to completely understand it, just memorize it for now. It'll make sense to you later."
It is true, without doubt, and certain: the nether is like the upper and the upper is like the nether, the accomplish the wonders of the One.
And even all things arose from the word of the One, so likewise shall all things by virtue of aggregation be born of the One.
His father is the sun, his mother the moon.
The wind carried it in its womb, his wet nurse is the earth.
He is the father of all wondrous works in the universe.
His power is complete; it is so transmuted to earth.
Separate earth from fire, the fine from the coarse, gentle and with great sagacity.
It ascends from earth to heaven and down again to earth, to receive the power of the upper and of the nether.
Thus you shall call the glorious light of the world your own and all darkness shall fall away from you.
This is the mightiest of all mighty powers, for it conquers all that is fine and penetrates the coarse.
Thus was the world created, the little world in the image of the big one.
Thus, in this very manner, wondrous aggregations come about.
This is why I am called Hermes, the thrice-greatest, for I possess the three parts of wisdom of the universe.
Accomplished it what I have announced of the sun's labor.
That is the tabula smaragdina. After a week, I finally had it memorized.
"So are you read to attempt your first transmutation?" asked Edward.
"Yeah, but I'm a little nervous," I said.
"Don't be," he said, "I'll be walking you through it every step of the way. It's just a little transmutation, so if something goes wrong, it won't be a big deal. We'll just have to pick ourselves up and try again.
"Are you sure I can do it?" I asked, "You had years of study, after all."
"I know you can do it. Also, my being inside you, performing alchemy through you should take years off of the time it takes you to learn," said Edward.
"Ok, so what do I have to do?" I said.
"Remember the tabula smaragdina that I had you memorize?" I nodded. "That is the basic formula for performing a transmutation," he said.
"That's the formula? But it makes no sense!" I said.
"It's cryptic, I know. Alchemists oftentimes write things cryptically or even write it in some sort of code to prevent abuse," said Edward.
"But how can it help me if I don't understand it?" I asked.
Edward smiled. At least, I heard the smile in his voice, "That's what I'm here for."
I felt something being thrust into my hand. I guess it was a piece of chalk. Then Edward grabbed my fist and dragged it and the chalk in a pattern across the carpet.
"This, as you probably know, is a transmutation circle. It's not in any of the books on this side of the Gate, but this is where the science comes in," said Edward.
"Okay," I said, "What do I do next?"
"Grab something small and simple that you're willing to transmute," said Ed.
I found a stone that I had gathered from the beach a few years ago. I really love this stone, since it reminded me of that special trip, but it was the best thing to use for my first transmutation, so I decided to sacrifice it.
"Now, feel it, turn it around in your hands, and get to know it," said Edward.
I toyed with my stone for a few minutes, just trying to find every little imperfection in it.
"Okay," said Edward, "Place it on the transmutation circle." I did so. "Good," he said, "Now place you hands just inside the circle. There you go, like that. Ok, close your eyes now, and imagine that you're going to that Gate you saw in your dream. It opens. Keep your eyes closed for now."
I felt a strange sensation in my hands. Was it working?
"Since you know the stone, I was you to mentally take it apart, bit by bit," said Edward. After a moment, he said, "Good, now mentally reassemble all the pieces in the way you wanted it to be."
I did as I was told. Just to keep thing simple, I stuck with a simple spherical shape. I didn't want to fail my first transmutation.
"You can open your eyes now," he said. I opened my eyes and ran to turn on the light. I looked at the stone. It was now a perfect sphere shape. I actually had succeeded!
"I can't believe I actually did it!" I said as I flicked the light back off.
"I never doubted it," said Edward, "Before you know it, you'll be doing complex transmutations."
"So that's all there is to it?" I asked.
"No," said Edward, "You merely learned what you needed to know to do a very basic transmutation. There's a lot more that you have to learn."
"But Christmas is less than two weeks away," I said.
"I know," said Edward, "I wish it wasn't so close, but I'm sure that you'll be able to do it."
"I hope so," I said. I held the stone ball in my hand, fingering it. It was hard to believe that I had really transmuted this with alchemy, but I had. Even though this was amazing, it still wasn't enough.
"Tomorrow," I vowed, "I'll do even better."
Heh, you should try reading aloud the tabula smaragdina by candlelight sometime. It sounds totally awesome in that environment! (I don't know why it does either, but it sure does sound awesome, even if it's difficult to understand.) Heck, I don't have a choice but to read things by candlelight sometimes right now, since the power's off at my house, heh. (I come to the library to type this up.) Oh yes, you're probably wondering what "tabula smaragdina" means. Well, "tabula" means tablet, and "smaragdina" means emerald, hence the meaning "emerald tablet". This inscription was found on an emerald green tablet a long time ago (or at least, so the story goes), and they have no idea who wrote it, but the alchemists assumed that this was the formula for performing a transmutation, specifically, turning things into gold. (There are an awful lot of gold and silver references in this text, as a matter of fact. Even the term "thrice-greatest" is referring to it. The three parts of wisdom are gold, silver, and man's sagacity. A little weird, but that's the way it is.)