Saint Vals 2020 Anthology

The Universal Cure By @_KittyCruz_

"Do you love him?"

I've dreamed of it, longed for it for eighteen years of my life. I've held my right-hand pinky finger close to my heart and knew--I just knew--that I would love the man on the other end of that red thread once the string shows and I find him. I've attended every searching ceremony year after year since I've turned sixteen just to find him, but for two years he did not show up and the other end of the thread on my finger seems to stretch farther and farther away.

"Do you love her?"

Then, he showed up. During one of the annual searches, I saw him apart from the crowd, looking at me with his wolfish gray eyes like I was the only person present inside the crowded hall. A tangle of red strings was all around us, like a web woven by a dozen spiders; it trapped us within but at the same time set us apart, for our red strings did not connect to each others' fingers.

"Is that why you came here?"

It was impossible. How can a heart beat for someone it was never meant to love?

"Can you give it to us? Does it exist?" Sky, my love's voice, doesn't tremble at the sight of the goddess of love, the beautiful Aphrodite, herself, when he asks her. He holds my hand like how he usually does whenever we secretly meet each other behind the abandoned blacksmith's hut--where no one else could witness our whispers, our laughter, our kisses, our precious moments together. The red thread on my pinky finger stings. "Damn," I hear Sky swear. I know he feels the same.

We are not destined to be together. If we stay and force to be bonded, we are to be cursed, live a life of doom, our souls crushed, and never live another life again. Unless--

The goddess descends from her golden throne. Her bare feet lightly touches the golden stairs leading to where Sky and I are kneeling before her. She smells like roses, jasmines, lavender, and all of the wonderfully scented flowers I could recall. Her golden eyes are fixed on my dull brown orbs. Her skin that's softer than the most expensive silk glows like the moon during the darkest times of the night. She calls my name: "Cattleya."

I spare a sudden glance at Sky due to unease. After he nods at me, I look back at the goddess, stand up, curtsy and follow her amidst the towering white pillars of her castle. I shudder at the touch of the cold mountain top breeze on my skin.

"What do you see in him?" She suddenly asks.

"Sky is--"

"Not him," Aphrodite cuts my word. She looks down in front of us and I see her silky hand as it makes tiny waves on the water on a basin made of pearls that I did not notice we've already reached. A moment later, an image of a man I have never met starts to form in it. "Cattleya, what do you see in him?" Her voice echoes in my head.

I look clearly at the man. A rush of sudden electricity surges inside my veins. A sudden rush of excitement I cannot control. I feel my body come alive--more alive than ever before.

Why?

Why? I ask myself.

The red thread on my finger seems to attain a life of its own. It lifts itself up and towards the image of the stranger reflected on the basin.

"What do you feel for him?" The goddess now asks.

I feel myself about to burst into tears with the rumbling emotions inside me. I have the sudden urge to look at my dear Sky. I want to see him and wash this unwanted euphoria away. I feel like I am betraying him.

No, I already am.

The chill from the mountain breeze becomes colder the moment I see him.

And so is he? For in front of him, I see one of Aphrodite's nymphs turn into a woman so pretty she must be a princess, with a gaze so warm it could melt any man's heart. What about Sky's heart? He stares keenly at her--with visible awe--at her hair, at her eyes, at her cheeks, and down below. The pang inside my heart doubles like it is being pierced by two poisoned arrows when his own red string connects to that of the woman's pinky finger. They look perfect together.

"You are free to choose. Choose your destiny." I hear the goddess speak. Soft glowing fingers wipe the tear flowing on my freckled cheek. "Here is your true love," she says, pointing at the pearl-white basin. "Do not let doom take over you, my faithful servant." Her arms gently hold mine and make me look back at the fleeting image on the water. She continues to speak, "There is a reason why you and this man are destined to love each other. You two will be faithful to one another and share life as if you are one person--completing what lacks the other. Such is designed by fate this way. Choose fate. Challenging it would cost you dearly." I look at the man, my fated one, in front of me. He is flawed; I see that, yet he also looks perfect. He exudes a charm that tingles my curiosity and creeps into my heart like an elixir against the hurt I felt when I saw Sky looking so closely at the beautiful lady.

Oh, Sky. My dear Sky. My beloved Sky.

I chance a glance at him again and is surprised to see him looking back at me.

My dearest.

At once, all doubt is erased inside my mind. I feel my heart being full again. "What foolish persons we are," I could almost hear him speak. I know that's what he is thinking. Somehow, we always know what each other is feeling, even without the use of words, even without the use of touch. Being with each other is enough. I nod at him and give him a reassuring smile. He smiles back through his own tears and walks towards us, leaving the image of the pretty princess alone. His finger must have been already hurting so much by now. Mine does. But I ignore it.

"Goddess divine, Aphrodite, Mistress of Love," he says, "would you allow us to have a drop of the Universal Cure so that the burden separating Cattleya and I would disappear?"

"You only wish for tragedy. It is true that the cure can heal all misfortunes and could cut your threads of fate; but if your love for each other is not strong enough, drinking it would lead to certain death. Even if you survive, your true fated would come and continue haunting you both. Their families would try breaking your relationship apart. Do you still want it?"

Sometimes the questions are complicated and the answers are simple.

I love Sky.

Sky loves me.

Our fate has been doomed since the day our hearts beat for each other. To have a chance to share a lifetime with each other as lovers, no matter what, to have a chance to be lovers in the next lifetime--these are more than what we could hope for. I hold Sky's body closer to mine in a tight embrace, then say as loud as I could, "Yes, give us the cure."

"Up," she commands.

Sky and I lift our heads towards the sky and open our mouths. A single drop of liquid each touches our lips. It tastes nothing, but it feels warm when Sky and I share a kiss.

The sting from our threads become even more excruciating. My heart feels like it is about to burst. We held tighter to each other.

How much? How much love is enough?

"Yours is." I hear the goddess say like she read my mind. "Good luck, then. To all of you."