The Manipulation Symphony #4

It was decided that she would be meeting Bone for a 'viewing'. That was the first time for Diana to hear such a thing, but apparently, lost souls or people with pressing spiritual matters - the vision, in her case - could file a request for an elder for a session. The session itself was called a 'viewing' where the elder would be able to view your fate lines and your spiritual core.

The core itself was divided into seven sections, each section breathed different thoughts and emotions into the owner. The more spiritual a person was, the more they had control over the core and were able to direct their inner beings into their own way, rather than being directed by them. It was safe to say, that reaching that level alone took years of studying oneself and one's environment.

Everything that had to do with the person - such as memories, emotions, people, places and even smells - could distract or disturb their inner peace. Only a few masters were able to reach such a degree where they were able to control themselves and 'view' others.

'Viewing' others meant that the masters had to have the ability to separate themselves from their own bodies and almost surround the person with their aura and senses. Only then, the master would be able to sense and feel where your fate might lie or feel the disturbance that had broken some lines that fate followed.

Another thing that a master would need was your 'coin'.

The moment a child would open their eyes to the world, they would be given a white coin that appeared to be almost translucent in the sun. It was so pure that it gave its own light in the darkness. Like every other coin, it had two sides but only one side would have a mark, symbol or a word on it and the other would be left blank.

Whatever lied in those sides, it was fate. One fate was told, and the other hidden till the owner unlocks their second road in life. Both time and place had to be perfect for that to be achieved, and both sides can only be seen by the owner. Other people would only see blank surfaces.

Diana had completely forgotten about such a thing. Not to mention what was happening lately, but because of how vague coins can be and how much distractions they could cause in someone's life, most families chose to hide their coins away - locking them in temples - and lose any right of summoning them, preferring to live in complete oblivion than to seek something that no one knew how to unlock.

That was exactly what Diana's original family had done. They were firm believers and a part of the spiritual faction, so they let things go freely and locked away their supposed 'fates'.

She suddenly wanted to really see it. Maybe, maybe there would be something there to help her because all of this had to have a reason. It couldn't be a coincidence or an unfair punishment. There had to be more to the story than just repetitive deaths.

The only problem was, this family had chosen to lock away their coins too.

Diana was going to completely deny the chance of meeting Bone since she was afraid he would discover the fact that she didn't have a vision. But, when she thought about having the chance to see her locked fate, even if vague, it was better than nothing. So, she had agreed.

The only one who seemed to be a bit hesitant was Elliot. He seemed unsure if he should trust an unknown master. It was weird to see him like this since his family was known to have the same firm beliefs as her family did. In the end, he only nodded his head and adorned a look of unease.

"When will be the meeting?" She had asked. Her hands placed carefully in front of her, as her body sat straight on the couch. Diana had a faint memory that this wasn't how she originally used to sit and that it used to be more relaxed, but she felt that this body was used to sit in such a way.

She started to get confused, was this her body? Or not? It all felt weird as if she was having an out of body experience. She knew that this wasn't completely her. Her name and body were the same, but the memories and life experiences themselves were different. But then, that meant that she wasn't totally her right? The original her that lived in a middle-class family and ate and drank freely, was that the true her?

She felt that she was digging herself a hole the more she kept on thinking.

It was better to leave such matter be, for the time being. For now, she had to find a way to end this, whether she continued to live in this body or any other body, she didn't mind. She just wanted to have one life and one death.

What a simple wish.

"I will send an immediate signal to Bone to get ready. Usually, it would take weeks since the council itself have to approve, but since it is a direct request from me, we can skip ahead few steps."

Her mother glanced at him. "But, won't that cause an issue between you and the elders?" Her dad shook his head.

"This will be done discreetly. Bone comes from my family so it won't be done through the system. You can consider it as asking for a favor," He said.

"What would he be able to see exactly?" Diana tried her best to keep her tone calm, not showing how nervous she actually was.

Her father shrugged. "It is different every time. Your fate is the one who shows itself, not the other way around. He might see glimpses of your past or your future, any place where the lines get blurry. He will try to find the connection between what might happen in your vision and somewhere in your life. An event or a person is enough for us to start with," Her father paused with a frown. He was looking at her dead in the eyes, and she suddenly felt as if he could see right through her, "But, if the person themselves don't show their total acceptance of that, it could lead to some issues."

She didn't know if she should or shouldn't ask what the issues might be. Her father continued before she could interfere, "We will start preparing from now, the viewing will happen in an hour." He looked at someone behind Diana. When she looked back, it was a maid. When did she come in? "Prepare the bath for the cleansing." Then he turned to Diana, "You will take a bath and cleanse your body before greeting the master." She could only nod her head.

She glanced at Elliot. She wanted to talk to him and apparently, so did he. She knew that from how he kept gazing at her every now and then. She bowed her head and said, "Sure, father. But, can I speak with Elliot for a second?" He frowned but agreed. Her mother looked unamused.

They could only talk by a corner in the room with her parents watching them. Diana didn't know whether to laugh or cry.

"Listen, darling," He whispered, his eyes looking directly at her. He was closer than she thought, and from the looks of it, closer than what her parents were comfortable with. "You need to be absolutely careful there." It was her turn to look wary. "Even if your father knew him, there is some stuff that can't always be revealed,"

In other words, even if her father trusted Bone, that didn't mean he was completely harmless. How could he be harmless when he was able to stay under the radar from everyone and become a supposed master in the art of spirits?

She completely agreed with him.

It seemed like she couldn't even trust her dad in this.