The Shamaness

"They say you can tell a shaman's age by the length of their cloak because the face remains the same as it was on the day of the coronation" Bella was carefully weaving gold beads into the girl's hair and asked quietly. "Are you scared?"

"I've been waiting for this day for so many years" the young shamaness smiled as she looked at herself in the mirror. She tried to calm the trembling in her hands by shoving them under the thin burgundy cloth. "But I am afraid to see the Great Spirit. I get chills running down my spine just thinking about it."

"The main ceremony is always exciting" the woman put her hands on his shoulders and said affectionately. "You will get a name and you find out the truth."

"The name" the spirit caster said wistfully, as if tasting the word. "Is it really that important?"

"Of course it is. People cherish their name and get it before birth."

" But I'm not human" a sad grin turned into a mirage in the reflection of the mirror.

The purple sky stretched over the huge temple of bones. Fallen red petals lined the path to the holy place. Flickering of small lanterns s illuminated the path of the young shamaness. She was tightly clutching at the transparent cloth fastened with sharp pins around her hips. Her long black hair, tied up with golden chains and a hoop, covered her face. The girl slowly approached the temple that would soon become her forever home.

"There's no turning back, so don't worry. It's all right" the crumpled thoughts were weaving a web in the shamaness' head one by one. "When I see the Great Spirit, I will finally be at peace. I've really been looking forward to this night, and now the dream has come true."

The girl took a deep breath and tried to relax. A door covered with flowers appeared before her. And the milky coloured temple reflected frightened yellow eyes.

The shamaness stood motionless in the heart of the bone shrine, leaning against the marble fountain. She was listening to the silence. The faint chime of a bell and the almost impalpable crackle of twigs. The girl held her breath A grey trail of a light haze filled the temple. The smell of incense hit her nose, and the fear that had burned through spellcaster's soul faded away.

"Be afraid of what cannot be heard" a deep voice echoed through the walls, and the shamaness, intoxicated by the incense, turned her head. "You can only hear me, not see me. Remember what your teacher told you on the day of your initiation?"

"Shamans are stillborn children who have become part of nature" the girl whispered warily with quivering lips.

"Right" the spirit chuckled. "And today you will be united with nature for all eternity."

Invisible hands gently slipped a red cloak over the spellcaster's shoulders. On the marble ledge of the fountain arose a staff with a bloody ruby at its core.

"Your name is Vesuvius" rumbled the Spirit, causing the shamaness to freeze for a moment. "The cloak will grow heavier and heavier with each passing year. In millennia you will not be able to carry it. Then your body will burst into flames and the volcano dormant inside you will devour the cities. You are not a human being, but a force of nature."

"I'm a volcano" the girl said, putting her hand over her dead heart. "One day someone will wash people away with water and someone with fire?"

"That's right. Because that's how shamans die, killing not only themselves" the Great Spirit whispered. "From now on you must maintain the harmony of the temple and nature. You may also hear out the ones who come here to pray, if you wish."

"Will they see me?"

"No, because a shaman can only be seen before someone dies."

The cold raindrops were falling on Vesuvius' puzzled face. The shamaness stood with her back to the temple, counting the silver coins on a thin rope. With her left hand she was firmly holding the wooden staff.

" What happens afterwards? Will my heart never beat?" the girl quietly asked the moon, covered by the black veil of clouds. "Shamans are not human, they are a lifeless force. I will become fire and depart into the other world. Again..."

This is how shamans die.