Zvetlana's page

As the time approached, Zvetlana made sure she was still presentable-- not something she usually cared about, for in truth she was often very wild in her appearance-- but she wanted to make a good impression tonight. She wore a multicolored Varisian dress, with her white hair pulled tightly back and held in place with her mother's kapenia scarf. This helped to cover up her large forehead, which along with her large hands made her self-conscious about her mysterious heritage.

When she heard the wagon approaching she tried to hide herself, for she had no wish to see Koya's adopted son Sandru tonight. The two of them had never gotten along, especially after Koya's mother Niska died. Zvetlana had been looking after the extremely elderly woman and moved in with her when she got sick. No one was surprised when she died, but Sandru seemed to suspect Zvetlana of taking advantage of his adopted grandmother. In turn, Zvetlana suspects Sandru's reputed Szarni connections, and wonders if he is taking advantage of his adopted mother. Svetlana intensely dislikes him, and is sure the feeling is mutual.

Fortunately, Sandru was nowhere to be seen when Zvetlana clapped outside the door and Koya invited her inside. She smoothed her skirts as her host brought tea and made them both comfortable. She sighed loudly when Koya asked her what was on her mind. "Dear Auntie," she said with a grimace, "As I'm sure you're aware, I have never known my father, and my mother left town to travel when I came of age. As such, I have no one to advise me on important life decisions such as the crisis in which I now find myself. You have always been kind to me, and taken a neighborly interest in my well-being. I wonder, then, if I might ask your help, or perhaps I should say: your counsel. Would you read me my fortune?"

Madame Koya was surprised and excited, as Zvetlana had hoped she would be. It had seemed to her that Koya would take any opportunity to divine the will of her goddess. "Drink your tea," she croaked happily, "and then we will see what Desna sees in your future." As they sipped, Koya asked her guest a few exploratory questions, "to help narrow down the signs, to make the goddess's will easier to translate." The crisis, Zvetlana explained, was primarily spiritual in nature, but also involved domestic matters. Travel, too, was part of it. No to affairs of the heart, which had caused a look of slight disappointment to appear on the old woman's face, quickly replaced by a puzzled frown as she tried to figure out what was going on.

Finally, their cups empty, Madame Koya took her guest's in both hands and swirled around the leaves while chanting a prayer. "I want you to focus on the sepcifics of your circumstances, and try to frame a question as clearly as you can," she murmured. Then, she held out the cup for Zvetlana to peer inside. "What do you see?" she asked. Zvetlana gasped, and in a shocked voice said, "Why, I see a butterfly! A butterfly!" She stood and hugged Madame Koya. "Oh thank you, thank you Auntie, you have helped me so much! Oh, that makes me feel so much better. Such a weight off of my mind." She shut her mouth and let the silence work.

She watched poor Madame Koya struggle with wanting to ask her outright what the question she had asked was, and the desire to puzzle it out on her own. "Let me get you another cup," she finally declared, "and you can tell your dear auntie all about it." As she stood and busied herself, Zvetlana smiled. Halfway there, she thought. When Koya came back, she sat a little closer, and gave her an expectant look. Zvetlana wondered somewhat maliciously what would happen if she begged off explaining anything and just left. But no, she decided, she couldn't do that to dear Auntie Koya.

"Well, Auntie," she began, "Since Mother Niska passed, I have felt so adrift in the world. I thought many times of going to temple, to pray to the gods, but I have never felt as though I belong there, for I was not raised in any of the many faiths our cathedral honors. My mother, I think, favored Shelyn, and I have no idea what gods my father held sacred. I have decided to choose a deity to follow, and I hoped you could set me on an appropriate path. And it seems to me you have! Desna's symbol is a butterfly, yes?"

When Zvetlana left several hours later, she was bubbling over with joy. It had worked exactly as she hoped! Koya had invited her back the next evening to teach her the basics of Desna's worship, and promised to sing for her one or two hymns. And, because the cathedral was so imposing, Zvetlana was welcome to pray at the Mivashti's shrine, which would give her a reason to visit as often as she liked. Her reasons for ingratiating herself with the old woman aside, she found she genuinely liked her, which made latching on to her-- the same way she had attached herself to her mother-- enjoyable and easy. Thank Desna, she thought. Your blessings have already improved my life significantly.