Starcrossed     Created on Monday, 28 April 2008 04:22  
  Starcrossed  
  The inter-twining fates that the Gods weave into what become our lives are ceaseless strings of purpose, as the Gods desire to create productive beings, truthful, and worthy of respect. It's a concept that is no longer foreign to me, as I have experienced this theory firsthand.
I led my life. I was out on my own while I was just a young teen - wandering off into the wilderness, admiring nature and what we have been blessed with. For the most part, I cared for myself and at night, had I not found shelter, I'd unravel a blanket in the nearby rogue guild of whichever kingdom I happened to find myself in on that particular day. Freedom.

I

I had no responsibilities to anyone other than myself. Survival, interest and pleasure guided my existence and upon reflection, I realized that my life while I was growing up lacked true wealth and meaning. This realization came at a single sight.

It was the perfect day--the sun was blocked out by clouds, lightly tinted in gray; a refreshing breeze freely flowed by, carrying leaves a few inches in any direction; and the temperature of the Earth mimicked that of a mild spring day-splendid. I sat outside Pond's Library, relaxed against the cool stone wall, partially veiled behind a the trunk of a tall, flowering Ilbon Blossom and its shadow. The idyllic sound of nothing flooded around me and I began to drift into unconsciousness. But my rest was cut short. The door to the library, usually opening with an awkward creak, opened silently, aside from the sound of the latches. I glanced up through the distance at the half open door and heard what I deciphered to be two voices, engaged in cordial conversation. Curious and vigilant, as I have been throughout my life, my eyes were fixed at the obsruction of silence. A fraction of a moment passed before I saw the stimulus that sparked this all--a girl, not like the other girls, not like anything I had seen in my lifetime, gracefully stepped over the library threshold and approached the steps ahead. Her complexion, light and unblemished, a perfect paradigm, glistened under the shaded sun. Her eyes, a light shade of lavender, softer than velvet, were accompanied by sepia-colored hair, pinned up in an elaborate fashion--an addition to her beauty. As this wonder tread down the stairs, she became eclipsed by the tree. I impulsively rose, slightly ruffling my pack, but enough to catch her attention? Her head slowly deviated from her path and her mysterious eyes focused on me. I stood, paralyzed by shock as she stared at me for an instant before I regained composure and released a friendly grin. Her body moved with the small laugh she produced under her breath. That sure limited my embarassment. I slowly stepped over some roots that unburrowed themselves and approached her, greeting her with the same bright smile. It was pleasant. SHE was pleasant. I experienced a feeling I had rarely felt before. Uncertainty.

Who was she? Why had I never seen her before? Why is she here and so accepting of me-a stranger-caught gawking at her? Questions such as these would have to wait until later.

Only a couple minutes had passed as we exchanged comments on the day, the library, and the kingdoms, before she mentioned that she must reach Dae Shore by sundown. I offered to walk with her and together we hurried toward the soon-to-be setting sun, still shrouded behind clouds. It was on this journey that we began to really talk. I began with asking her name. "Ataxia," she whispered, eyes set to the path. My mind recycled the name and soon I recalled one of its few meanings. Irregular. There was no doubt about it. She WAS irregular, but in a good way. The way that one would never forget and would crave for the nostalgic feeling of a first-time meeting again. I told her my name, to which her only reply was, "Ill-fated." Thoughts began flashing through my head and my pulse raised. "Don?t worry," she said. "It is destiny that allowed for our meeting," she paused but continued in her mannered stride. "I've recently learned who I am and of my history. It was not chance that you saw me and I saw you. It was destiny." Ataxia began to tell me of her history and her family's history?the meaning of the mysterious silver essence trapped in the vial, the story of Keitaro and the Mystics. It was crazy, but so enticing- I felt committed to this girl I had met but an hour ago, something I could honestly say I hadn't experienced very much of since I left home. I felt like I owed something to this cryptic beauty, though I hadn't any idea what. And as we approached the Bodhi Sanctum, we said goodbye but made a promise to meet the following day, just after sunrise.

I vowed to join her. I vowed to have purpose.


                            Starcrossed Sung'Ngai