Threads of Fate

Chapter 12: The Dance of Bougainvillea Petals

"So..." Dancho sat on his favorite spot, the top of the huge rock. The view on that spot is really breathtaking, seeing the beautiful scene of the whole town. "...you mean to tell me that your sister's soul was inside your body after she was cursed, is that right?"

"Yes mister Dancho." Lawrence replied. He really needed the known healer's help so he told him the entire story how his twin sister −Lawrice− got the curse and how they got into the Kingdom of Gansia.

"Master Dancho for you!" Dancho yelled at him.

"Y-Yes M-Master Dancho!" he hesitantly replied.

"That's better!" Dancho laughed out loud which echoed throughout the mountain.

"So, can you help me cure my sister?" he asked.

"No..."

"What?!" Lawrence exclaimed in disappointment. Dancho said he will help him earlier but now he is telling him that he won't.

Dancho strikes his nape with a piece of dead branch. "Do not shout at your master!"

"I-I'm sorry, Master..." he just replied while rubbing his throbbing nape.

Dancho closed his eyes and breath the fresh mountain air. "I didn't say I will not help you... What I am saying is that I cannot help you at this moment. It would be very dangerous for your sister."

"Why?" Lawrence wondered.

"To lift the curse, we need a vessel for her soul, a body for her to use... What do you think would happen to her if her soul was removed from your body?"

Lawrence was silenced, he didn't think of that before. "Once her soul was removed from my body, she will just become a ghost or a spirit wandering around."

"Indeed... Imagine if Magwayen was around while your sister is wandering as a spirit. Magwayen might capture her and bring her to the afterlife. Worse, what if it's not Magwayen, but a buwaya? Your sister will be damned in Kasanaan for eternity." Dancho explained. Magwayen is another sea goddess and also acts as a ferrywoman who takes the souls of the dead to their final destination, either Kaluwalhatian(Heaven) of Kasanaan(Hell). Buwaya, on the other hand, is another creature who takes souls of the dead but only takes them in Kasanaan... It is one of Baconaua's servants.

Lawrence thought about it. Dancho was right. "Then where should I get a body for her?" he asked.

"Master!" Dancho yelled again and struck him again with the branch he's holding.

"Aw! I'm sorry Master..." Lawrence's eyes started to tear when he felt that branch strikes the same spot on his nape, it stings. He rubbed it to ease the pain. "He's annoyingly strict, much stricter than Master Gust..." he thought.

"I know a way to get a vessel for her, but that is not the case for now..."

"M-Master..." Lawrence is still not used to calling him master, he's still hesitant. Though he doesn't want to feel the sting of that dead branch on his nape. "...what should we do now then?" he asked.

"Your sister gets tired easily by using your body, yet you were twins, both of you has the same blood. What more if she controls a body that has a totally different structure from her real body?" Dancho explained.

Lawrence thought about it, and again, Dancho was right.

"So we need to train her soul first, we need to strengthen her spirit to get used to using a different body..."

"And to do that, I must get used to using your body first, kuya." Lawrice commented inside Lawrence's head.

"Lawrice! You're awake!" Lawrence suddenly said, forgetting someone else can hear him.