Unmei wa utsukushii..

Beautiful fate..

Fate..

There was a time when I despised fate.  I hated it for teasing me.  For fate has a tendency to do that to those who do not yet know theirs.

I was a student in the 9th grade when I felt the touch of fate.  Its touch was gentle at first.  A caress almost.

I ignored it.  Certainly I had heard the stories of my family saying how we had always been in touch with such forces, but I did not believe them.  What reasonable person would?  There was no way a person could know their destiny, their fate.

It stirred within me.  At first, I did not notice it, for it was simply a feeling of longing.  I had breezily brushed it aside as a side affect of my desires to get along into high school.  The entrance exams would be no challenge for me, so I was simply feeling impatience at having to remain at this level when I was capable of more.

That was a part of it.  I was capable of more.  That sub-conscious thought ate away at me.  Why was I stuck in such a place when I could be out *there* doing something?  I wasn't certain where *there* was, nor what I would be doing.  I did know it wasn't fulfilling the need within me to meet new a challenge.

As time wore on, this restless desire grew.  My parents had shown concern at my 'daydreaming'.  That was not what I was doing.  I was searching within myself for what could be the key to the mystery of my life.  Indeed, it was quite a journey for one my age, but I had to know what this feeling was, and why it haunted me so.

I remember the day in which I became a believer in fate. It was at a point of weakness that I found my strength.

The feelings of misplacement, longing, desire was welling up.  They overflowed to void of my soul to cause me to call out in frustration.  I demanded that whoever was torturing me to show themselves.

Yes, I had reached my limit that day.  How did I know if someone with malicious intentions was torturing me or not?  Better yet, how could they?

I'd lost my stability.  I ran to a secluded spot, hoping to hide from the embarrassment of my earlier outburst.  I was being silly.  There was no such thing as fate.

"Michiru-san?" A woman with long green hair pushed through the bushes that surrounded the alcove I had hidden in.

"Hai.." I answered hesitantly.  "Who are you?"  I should have felt fear at this moment, for I was in a secluded spot with a woman I did not know who obviously knew of me.

She smiled.  I did not sense any malicious intentions from her, but looks could be deceiving.  I watch her carefully as she came closer to me.

"What do you want?" I added to my earlier question that she had yet to answer.

She held her right hand out to me.  "I am Meiou Setsuna," she said with a smile playing her lips.  "I am the one that has been 'torturing' you."

I pulled my hand back and glared at her.  Nothing in her demeanor gave hit to her intentions.

She withdrew her hand.  "You don't recognize me," she sighed.  "After all this time, I shouldn't have expected you to remember... yet."

"What are you talking about?" I demanded.  I glanced at my watch.  Lunch would soon be over and this woman was blocking the only way out of this hidey-hole.

"You don't believe in destiny, Michiru, but I am a part of yours," she studied me intensely.  I noticed her eyes to be an odd red color.  They spoke of a deep understanding, a wisdom that someone as young as her should not be in possession of.

"Ironic how you have chosen to go against that which your family has held true for so long," she commented.  "Perhaps I could change your mind."

"I doubt that," I was beginning to feel frightened now.  This woman was speaking gibberish about my family.

"Let me begin again, Michiru.  You have been feeling a great loneliness, have you not?"  She asked.

"How did you..?  Yes, I have."

"The reason is because you are missing the other half of yourself.  Your soul mate so to speak.  There is one out there who will fill you in a way no other can.  When you find them, it will bring you the greatest joy intertwined with regret and sorrow."

"Stop playing games with me!  I don't want to listen to your riddles!"  I rose from the bench I was seated upon.

"Isn't that all fate is?  A riddle that those who are skilled, who are clever can solve?"  Her eyes turned intense at that point.  She watched me in a way that caused me to feel discomfort under her gaze.

"I don't know what you are talking about," I plead.  I knew then that I wanted to be away from this woman.  For some reason, I felt as though she were speaking the truth.  But that could not be.

"Remember, Michiru," in a fluid step she moved forward to place the palm of her hand upon my brow.  Her hand was cool, but a heat within burst.  My eyes widened as they were filled with visions of things long forgotten.  I fell to my knees with the woman bracing my fall.

"I.. you.. *her*.." I cried.  I was missing *her*!  The one who could wash away my pain.  The one who could wipe away my tears.  *She* was missing.

For now, Setsuna provided the service as she passed me a kerchief for my eyes.  I sat in the soft grasses and wept for several long minutes.  How am I ever going to find *her*?  It is a large planet after all.

Setsuna held me against her.  She rocked me back and forth, trying to croon away my tears.  "Michiru, tell me what you see right now, tell me your destiny."