Twice Upon a Soul

by Deborah R Stigall

  Taylor really preferred the almost undetectable scent of the clean smelling floor polish that Mattie used to scrub her wooden floors, to the acrid burning smell of the incense hanging heavily in the air. Mattie might be ensconced in the world of spirituality but she had also inherited her mother’s fanaticism for cleanliness. The ancient house was always immaculate even though a bit eclectic in it’s décor.

  Taylor continued down the hall following the gentle tinging sound of chimes, finally finding her friend comfortably meditating in the center of the candlelit living room. Mattie had painted the walls and ceiling of the room a deep midnight blue to “better channel her positive energy flow” and “release the creativity of her inner spirit”. She’d filled the room with huge over-stuffed pillows for furniture and somehow managed to procure large boulders of limestone from a nearby quarry. From these she’d laboriously chiseled off a level surface and balanced a round pane of glass, creating unusual tables of varying heights and sizes. The corners of the room were filled with planters overflowing with greenery, heavy vines covering the windows rather then the usual cloth draperies. Candles of differing sizes lined the mantle of the black marble fireplace; the warm yellow flames reflecting and flickering across the room in the mirror strategically placed behind them.

  Smiling affectionately at the sight of her friend’s serenely relaxed face, Taylor had to agree it wouldn’t take a stretch of the imagination to feel as though she were standing in the midst of a relaxing enchanted wood. Reaching up to gently strike the silvery chimes hanging in the doorway, Taylor waited patiently for Mattie to complete the final chant of her meditations before welcoming her friend into her personal sanctuary.

  Smiling broadly at her friend, Mattie’s dark blue eyes crinkled in delight. As she gracefully rose from her cross-legged position on the floor, she floated toward Taylor with welcoming outstretched arms. Tossing her glossy black hair away from her face with a quick shake of her head, Mattie affectionately grabbed Taylor by the arm, gently pulling her across the room. “I am so glad you’re finally here!” she bubbled excitedly, leading Taylor to a large pillow closer to the fireplace. Depositing the pizza on the glass table beside them, Mattie grabbed both of Taylor’s hands as she continued babbling happily, “My energies are so clear tonight…I just know this is going to be wonderful!”

  “Mattie you always think everything is wonderful…that’s what I love most about you.” It was true…the perpetual optimist, no matter what Mattie came up against; she always felt there was something positive to be gleaned from the total experience.

  “Well, Taylor, if you would just align your chakras and tend to your spiritual side as I’ve instructed you…then you would find everything wonderful too.” Mattie scolded with a serious nod. Arching her delicate dark brows in concern over her sparkling eyes, Mattie frowned at the emotional stress clearly reflected in Taylor’s slender face. As far as Mattie was concerned, Taylor took the physical world much too seriously, allowing it to slowly erode away her beautiful aura.

  “Now, while I hop into the kitchen and get us some wine, you must relax and clear your mind.” Mattie patted Taylor’s knee as she jumped up and bounded off to the kitchen, her silky multi-colored dress billowing gracefully about her. Mattie reminded Taylor of a rainbow-hued butterfly, constantly flitting about as though unable to take in the grandeur of her surroundings fast enough to satisfy her restless spirit. Watching Mattie disappear into the kitchen, Taylor decided with a rueful smile that she and Mattie balanced each other out perfectly. Taylor was serious, no nonsense, constantly requiring proof and factual evidence of anything she was confronted with. While Mattie, on the other hand, lived life freely believing that all things are possible and not everything can be scientifically explained…life was a constant journey of discovery to be enjoyed and relished.

  Mattie emerged from the kitchen, wine bottle in one hand; ebony colored goblets in the other. Taylor carefully opened the pizza box, repositioning the candles and crystal formations to another table to create more room. As Mattie set the bottle and glasses alongside the pizza, Taylor headed towards the kitchen for napkins. As she crossed the room, her gaze fell upon a weathered canvas portrait carelessly propped against the wall. Never able to resist the possible rescue of a potential work of art, Taylor gently lifted the canvas, angling it in the candlelight to get a better view.

  “Mattie…where’d you get this?” Taylor asked slowly studying the portrait. Gently turning it to and fro, she peered closely at the canvas at every angle.

  Removing the cork of the wine bottle with a quiet “pop”, Mattie looked up from her kneeling position to see what Taylor was talking about. “I found it at the vendor’s fair today…isn’t he positively scrumptious?” she purred, as carefully filling the wineglasses.

  The “he” she referred to was the stern-faced subject of the portrait. Piercing eyes the color of blue-white ice stared back into Taylor’s own moss green eyes. Shoulder length hair as black as coal framed the angular face. The jutting chin and clean jawline were set at a grimly defiant angle. The aquiline nose handsomely accenting the glaring eyes set deeply beneath ebony brows. The artist had draped the wide massive shoulders with a cloak the shade of blood…a deep hue of crimson accenting the tanned complexion that bespoke of hours spent exposed to the weather. The stance of the subject suggested he had not posed willingly for this portrait, but more out of a sense of duty, one large hand gripping the hilt of an ancient sword, the other closed into an impatient fist resting against a well-muscled thigh.

  As Taylor carefully traced the tensed jawline of the warrior posed before her, she gasped in astonishment as one corner of his seductive mouth seemed to curl slightly into a faint smile. Quickly bringing the canvas closer to her face, Taylor stared at the portrait intently, hurrying over to a nearby candle to study the warrior’s expression in a better light. Bewildered and slightly shaken, she finally decided the atmosphere was playing tricks on her. Turning, she found Mattie studying her with avid interest.

  “Well…” Mattie repeated, “Don’t you think he’s wonderful?” Watching Taylor intently, she was gleaning more information from her body language then she did from Taylor’s words.

  “The portrait is very…compelling,” Taylor answered quietly, carefully choosing her words. There was something unnerving about the warrior’s stare, the inviting curl to his lip. Taylor felt a strange stirring of uneasiness in the pit of her stomach as she continued gazing at the portrait. She had the uncomfortable gnawing that somehow; she should know this man. That for some reason…..she had seen him before. “Uuh, why did you buy it anyway? I’ve never really known you to be interested in oils.” Taylor returned the canvas to the corner, facing the portrait purposely toward the wall. Returning from the kitchen with the napkins, Taylor eyed Mattie expectantly; more curious then she was prepared to admit in hearing Mattie’s reply.

  As she carefully picked the olives from her piece of pizza and popped them into her mouth, Mattie tilted her head to one side, wrinkling her brow as she pondered the reasoning behind her actions. “Well…actually, he spoke to me, Taylor,” she finally decided, washing down the last bite of olive with a sip of wine.

  “Who spoke to you?” asked Taylor as she took a piece of pizza and began nibbling gingerly at the scalding hot cheese.

  “He did…the guy in the picture,” Mattie finished matter-of-factly, as though Taylor should have known whom Mattie was referring to without even asking.

  Pausing between bites of pizza and a sip of wine, Taylor repeated Mattie’s revelation carefully to ensure she had heard her friend correctly. “The guy in the picture spoke to you.”

  “Well…of course….who else?” Mattie replied, successfully spearing the green peppers Taylor was tossing back into the pizza box and downing them with relish.

  “Of course, who else?” Taylor agreed wryly, shrugging her shoulders and shaking her head as she emptied her glass of wine.

  As she reached for the wine bottle for a r
efill, Taylor eyed her friend with a smug grin, “You wouldn’t mind sharing with me exactly what he said…would you?”

  Returning her friend’s grin as she held out her own glass to be refilled, “As a matter of fact, he said he wanted me to bring him to you!” Mattie retorted with a mischievous glint in her eyes.

  Rolling her eyes, Taylor licked the last of the pizza sauce from her fingertips before continuing, “Mattie, you’ve really gone off the deep end this time,” she sighed. Idly swirling the remaining wine shimmering in the bottom of her glass, she shook her head in disbelief at her friend kneeling on the floor.

  “Taylor!” Mattie sputtered in a hurt tone. Retrieving her own glass from the table, Mattie flounced back onto her pillow, eyeing Taylor unhappily. “You’ve always supported me in my beliefs…made me feel as close to you as a sister.” Mattie shifted uneasily on her pillow as she glared at Taylor as though she’d just been slapped. “Now, all of a sudden, you sound just like my parents…like you think I’m some kind of nut!” Forlornly rolling her wine goblet between her hands, Mattie stared dejectedly at the floor.

  Mattie might pretend that her parent’s approval and acceptance wasn’t important but obviously, Taylor’s thoughtless observation had hit a definite sore spot. Taylor felt a sharp stab of remorse, as she suddenly realized just how much her opinion mattered to Mattie. Even though she couldn’t quite bite off on most of Mattie’s beliefs, there was no reason to pass judgement on her friend or belittle her eccentricities...Mattie would never think of hurting Taylor in such a fashion. Taylor reached across the table, gently placing a hand on Mattie’s arm. “I’m sorry, Mattie…you know I didn’t meant it.” Peering into Mattie’s eyes, she silently begged her friend’s forgiveness.

  “Then you’ll promise to try to keep an open mind this evening?” Mattie sniffed, searching Taylor’s face for an honest answer.

  Smiling earnestly into Mattie’s eyes, Taylor nodded seriously, “I promise to keep an open mind.” Silently swearing to herself that she would really try this time…for Mattie’s sake.

  “Good,” Mattie retorted, as she warmly grasped Taylor’s hands. “Now, you clear away the remains of our dinner, while I go get the runes.” Releasing Taylor’s hands, Mattie jumped up, rushing across the room to dig excitedly through the bowels of an ancient musty trunk.

  “Runes?” Taylor echoed as she scooped up the remains of the pizza back into the soggy carton. “I thought you were going to try out that mirror thingy you said you got today.”

  Mattie shook her head in resignation, briefly ceasing her digging, staring heavenward in response to Taylor’s statement. “Scrying mirror, Taylor….scrying mirror, remember? And yes, I’m going to use that too, but first I want to cast the runes for you to see what they have to say.”

  Returning from carting off the dinner scraps to the garbage can, Taylor found Mattie smoothing out a large square of black velvet in the middle of the floor. As Taylor sat cross-legged on the floor beside her, Mattie fished through the elaborately embroidered drawstring pouch within her lap.

  “There it is!” she announced victoriously as she removed a small oblong stone from the bag and placed it to the side.

  “Why are you leaving that one out?” Taylor asked curiously, eyeing the oblong stone at Mattie’s side with interest.

  “Because that’s the male question stone,” Mattie replied as she stirred the remaining stones in the bag. Taking deep cleansing breaths, she shook her head seriously as she continued, “Since you, my friend, are a female…it wouldn’t be appropriate to use the male stone.” She closed her eyes and gently held the bag of runes aloft, carefully balanced between both her hands. Since she seemed to be intently concentrating, Taylor refrained from asking any more questions, silently watching Mattie; her curiosity peaked even more with every additional step.

  Slowly, Mattie emptied the pouch of runes into her hands, then gracefully released them over the square of black velvet on the floor. The smooth shiny stones bounced over the material, two of them skidding off the cloth onto the surrounding wooden floor.

  As Taylor leaned forward with interest, Mattie turned each stone to display the symbol plainly carved into its surface, taking care to only reveal the rune marking without altering the stone’s position or direction on the cloth itself. She silently nodded at Taylor to retrieve the two stones that had landed on the floor, carefully examining each symbol before returning them to the drawstring bag.

  “So, what did those two mean?” Taylor finally broke the silence, unable to keep her questions to herself any longer. She might not believe in any of this stuff, but she had to admit it was a bit intriguing.

  Mattie pulled the two ancient symbols back out of the bag, showing the markings to Taylor. The first stone she held in her palm was the symbol of a triangle with a separate line drawn beneath the base. “This is the rune designating home or tradition,” she patiently explained. Adding the other stone to her palm, she displayed the symbol of a triangle with the base continuing into a longer line past the right side as though it were the letter “p” lying on its back. “This is the rune that stands for comfort or safety,” she continued with a slight frown.

  “What’s the matter?” Taylor asked quickly, her friend’s slight expression of displeasure not missing her critical eye. Mattie’s face was an open book, her thoughts and emotions easily displayed for any that cared to see.

  Mattie hesitated, pursing her lips and unconsciously rubbing the two stones together. Carefully, she chose her next words, frowning as she spoke. “Since these two stones refused to participate in the cast,” she paused to take a deep breath. “It means that it’s very likely these two things are not a part of your near future,” she finished with a shrug.

  Taylor wrinkled her brow, as she pondered Mattie’s explanation. “So, you’re saying that comfort and safety, as well as a traditional home are not going to be a part of my future?”

  “I’m not saying that,” Mattie disagreed with a frown. Nodding her head in the direction of the stones, she seriously added, “The runes are.”

  Taylor studied Mattie’s face, then returned her stare to the remaining stones on the velvet cloth. With a sigh of trepidation, Taylor tilted her head to one side as she turned again to Mattie. “Well…what do the rest of those little guys have to say…surely there’s some good news in there somewhere.”

  Mattie peered closely at the smoothly polished runes, lightly passing her hand over them as she studied the ancient markings. Rubbing her chin lightly with her hand, Mattie first pointed to a round stone completely free from carvings of any kind.

  “This is our questioning stone…telling the runes that you wish to know what the near future holds.” Moving her hand to direct Taylor’s gaze to three runes lying in a group to the right of the questioning stone, Mattie continued, “These three symbols confirm that this cast is about you. The triangle with the line going straight up from the apex symbolizes a woman or female, the “X” symbolizes gifts or talents and the final symbol of a dot within a circle signifies money or ego.”

  At Taylor’s baffled expression, Mattie interpreted the stones once more. “The female stone is you, the gifts or talents…your ability to restore fine works of art, and the money/ego symbol signifies how well you have provided for yourself without having to depend on anyone else’s assistance….you know, like a man to support you.”

  “Ahhh, okay…I’m with you now,” Taylor nodded assuredly for Mattie to continue.

  Nodding in approval at her friend finally catching her drift, Mattie now drew Taylor’s attention to the tightly knit group of stones lying to the left of the questioning stone.

  Eyes narrowing in concentration, Mattie chewed at her lower lip as she interpreted the meaning of the cryptic symbols. “This group is obviously referring to the present and your current relationships,” she paused. Glancing into Taylor’s inquisitive face, she added, “These are the runes for confusion, conflict, negativity and man.”

  Mouth sl
ightly open in astonishment, Taylor raised her hands in supplication. “Mattie! I thought you were going to tell me something good?” Taylor was less then comfortable with the fact that Mattie’s interpretations were so far hitting unerringly close to home. Confusion, conflict and negativity were a pretty apt description of the direction her relationship with Chandler was taking. The more she evaded his marriage and child-rearing plans, the more distant and hurt Chandler became. Taylor really couldn’t blame him if he decided to break it off with her, but she sincerely hoped that somehow he’d hang on until she was able to muddle through her feelings. Despite her inability to commit to Chandler’s plans, Taylor was genuinely fond of him. She didn’t really love him and wasn’t ready to marry him but she didn’t want a life without him either.

  Shaking her head slowly as she poured her friend another glass of wine, Mattie smiled with encouragement as she nodded toward the final grouping of stones. “Well now look right there…do you see that one?” She pointed toward the etched shape of a backward elongated “Z”. “That’s the sign for change and see? It’s pointing toward the fire or passion glyph, which is in direct line with the love and beneficial gain signs.” Smiling triumphantly, Mattie tapped on the final rune completing the last of the group. “Do you see this one?” she asked excitedly. Not waiting for Taylor’s response, she bubbled on, “This is the one for marriage or union…the final statement of this cast.” Sitting back on her heals, eyes narrowed as she tapped her chin, Mattie made one final interpretation, “The cast is clearly telling us that your relationship with Chandler is ending, you will soon experience a change in your life leading you to passion, love and a beneficial union.” Clapping her hands together excitedly, Mattie then opened her arms wide in satisfaction. “See…I told you I’d give you good news!”