Intertwined Fates. Ariana Bazhenova

ring finger sparkled.

      Suddenly, I felt a warmth flare up in my solar plexus, like a fireball, and gradually rose up to my chest. I didn’t know this man at all, but my whole body was striving towards him, as if we had known each other for a long time and even been close. How was this possible?

      Feeling my heavy, intense gaze, the man turned around for a couple of seconds and looked straight at me – but I knew that he hadn’t seen anything from the street in the reflection of the glass wall. After which he disappeared around the corner, taking a pack of cigarettes out of his inside jacket pocket as he went, and I remained standing there, breathing intermittently from excitement.

      I knew who it was. But for some reason, only now, seeing him in person, did I feel his energy and understand: this is definitely the man from the dream. But where are the others, the other two women?

      Yes, I’ve already seen him in photos, and more than once. Lev Aleksandrovich. How could I not know the face of the company and the main developer? It was worth opening the newspaper, turning on the news, looking at the honor roll – he was everywhere, telling about his success story or commenting on the development of new software.

      I never thought that fate wanted to immediately drag me into the thick of things! And this after a very recent break in engagement, when it seemed that only a miracle could heal a crippled heart. Now I felt a strange confusion – thoughts were feverishly mixed up in my head, and the smooth floor was trying to disappear from under my feet. I did not understand how the appearance of one single person could excite me so much?

      «A miracle? What a task for you, Kira Konstantinovna. And how can I work now, when I know that at any moment I can meet this man, and you will be thrown into a fever again?», I smiled awkwardly and shrugged my shoulders, returning to the office.

      And before my eyes were already mixed pictures of fire, marble and three mysterious figures from the dream, the sparkling reflection of the sun in the water surface of the ocean, the shine of which imperceptibly turned into the glow of a gold ring on Lev’s finger.

      That same evening I did not go home, but practically ran past the quiet brick courtyards. «I can’t believe it! Why am I drawn to him in particular? He’s married. This is some kind of mistake,» I thought.

      As soon as I got home and took off my shoes, I immediately sat down on the carpet and began to search through my unpacked suitcase for the Tarot deck. I quickly learned to read the past, present and future in the ancient signs, and from then on I always turned to them for advice.

      I needed answers.

      «Does something await us in the future with Leo?» I whispered the question to the deck.

      My hands shuffled the cards, and blue «shirts» flashed before my eyes. Finally, four cards fell out on the hard pile of the carpet. Burning with excitement, I immediately turned them over and recoiled. Who, if not me, would not know what they mean?

      The Two of Cups, the Knight of Swords, the Queen of Wands and the Moon were looking at me.

      The Two of Cups depicted a young man and woman against the backdrop of a bright cloudless sky, a spacious meadow and a small house in the distance.

      The Knight of Swords symbolized a man, young in spirit, sincerely passionate about his work and ready to get into any argument, but not too attentive to the feelings of others. This is what people of science are usually like, those same «eccentric scientists» for whom the truth was more important than relationships with others. Looking at the card, I felt that Leo was exactly like this in character. And I already knew his character even before we exchanged at least a few words.

      Looking at the Queen of Wands, I smiled warmly. Oddly enough, this card always meant me in layouts – a woman of the element of fire. Such a woman knew how and loved to set goals, make plans and not deviate from them under any pretext. Be that as it may, today in the layout this card points to me again, and, therefore, the appearance of Leo directly affects me.

      The last was the mysterious Moon card – it has always been a symbol of night, mystery, hidden from prying eyes. This is the subconscious and magical abilities. And also, since ancient times, the moon has been a symbol of betrayal, a secret relationship, committed far from prying eyes, under the cover of night.

      And this means that… The answer from the cards looked at me in its undisguised clarity: both Leo and I will be glad to meet, we will find mutual fulfillment and harmony next to each other… until something inevitable happens under the Moon.

      Chapter 2. The First Sparks. The Knight of Swords and the Queen of Wands

      And how frightening it is to discern it

      In a yet unfamiliar smile.1

      A. Akhmatova. Love. 1911

      Foreseeing you, as years are passing by —

      Your image is unchanged in my perception.

      I cannot bear the lucid, blazing sky,

      And so I wait – in love and in dejection.

      A. Blok. 19012

      Time passed, and I skillfully coped with the new job, enthusiastically shouldering a multitude of tasks. I still had to complete an internship and receive an invitation to stay to work at the corporation, but I was not at all worried and plunged headlong into the work of building a marketing strategy. Everything was going great.

      But there was one «but».

      Several hundred employees of the IT company were divided into two categories for me: Lev and everyone else. For everyone, I had a polite smile in reserve. But every time I saw Lev, something inside me turned over, and soon this inexplicable feeling crystallized into a burning sensation in the solar plexus. At the sight of him, I seemed to throw off the shackles of a familiar waking dream and look into the face of life itself, bright and sunny. But when I looked at him, my soul felt someone very close, an equal – spiritual strength, a thirst for life and a sharp, inquisitive intellect in this elegant, feigned silliness of a young man.

      And yet, every time I looked at him and felt that we were about to say hello and start talking like old acquaintances, he silently passed me by. And I looked away in disappointment, biting my lips.

      Although, was it worth it to allow such thoughts and let them settle in my head? After all, the sparkling ring on my finger left little doubt. It was strange why, when I thought that I was late and we had not met earlier, when he was free, I felt as if my chest was being squeezed by a heavy stone slab. But what was the point of hiding my feelings from myself?

      I had a presentiment that we were drawn to each other in spite of everything. But what would come of it? However, it was too early to talk about it. There was a lot of time ahead. A new city, a new place of work and even the inevitable feeling of falling in love… All this inspired and lit up the lights in my eyes. I wanted to start living differently, to become better, purer in my thoughts. I wanted to share my light.

      One hot summer day, I decided to practice managing energy, which I had partially succeeded in doing before. The day began with me riding the bus on a stuffy morning, gliding my gaze over the greenery floating by and tuning into the energy of a positive attitude towards life. I wanted to show the world light and love – to other people, to work, to this new city for me.

      If in the morning I managed to enter a state of love and joy, then at work Leo immediately appeared in my field of vision,

1

Translated by Andrey Kneller

2

Translated by Andrey Kneller