Lycster"s was the first to drop. The stick fell out of his cylinder and hit the wooden floor. Yini picked it up and moved towards the side of the altar. There was a huge wooden cabinet filled with rows and rows of small drawers. Each drawer was filled with small slips of paper that explained the fortune you received on the stick. Yini examined Lycster"s before she placed it back into the bamboo cylinder. Moving over to the wooden cabinet, she traced each of the drawers with her pale bony finger.
Under her breath, she mutters to herself as she looks through the labels on the drawer until she finds the right one. She opened the drawer and took out a piece of paper. Yini read the paper before she handed it over to Lycster.
Lycster looked at it and was instantly baffled. The words written on it were not in the common language. But as soon as Lycster concentrated on the words, the words rearranged on their own.
He read it through multiple times, but he still could not quite understand what it met.
Yini smiled, she walked up to him and whispered into his ear, "The spiral will empower you. But it divides you. Dark clouds gather and fester. Rain will pour, flood will follow. Separation is imminent, but so is convergence."
Lycster looked down at the words on the paper as he heard Yini"s whispers. He did not quite understand everything she had said. But looking on at Vy, he knew he could figure it out. Vy"s stick finally fell from its cylinder.
Vy picked it up, only to realise that there was nothing written on hers. Every stick in the cylinder had something written on it, except for the one that fell out of Vy"s. Looking back at the statue on the altar, Vy realised something.
When her eyes met Yini, it confirmed her suspicions. Regardless, Yini still took the stick from her and found the corresponding drawer swiftly. She took out a piece of paper from it and handed it over to Vy.
Much to her surprise, the paper was not blank. But, it did have a line of advice.
"It is your decision to make," Vy whispered to herself as she read the words.
In an instant, Vy and Lycster realised that they were no longer in the main hall of the shrine. They were back on the path, surrounded by red spider lilies. When they turned to look back at the entrance of the shrine, Yini stood at the door of the main hall.
With a smile, she bowed to both of them. Just as she did so, two foxes appeared from the sides and sat down next to her. Their piercing eyes never left Vy and Lycster"s gaze. Getting the hint that it was time for them to continue on their path, they bowed to Yini and took their leave.
Finally, they arrived at the strawberry field. Emerging from the forest, the siblings were greeted by harsh sunlight and an open field covered in ripe strawberries ready for harvest. The scent of fresh strawberries surrounded the fields.
Vy also quickly noticed that they were not the only guests there. Up ahead, they noticed a person waving towards them. The person had the antlers of a deer upon their head, sprouting from the top of their skull. He had tanned skin and light freckles on each cheek right beneath his eyes.
"Welcome to the s.h.i.+ka Strawberry Fields!" the person welcomed them cheerfully.
He quickly handed Vy and Lycster each a hand-woven basket and explained that they are free to eat any of the strawberries they plucked. Anything they harvested and placed in their baskets were also theirs to keep.
Before they could even learn his name, he hurried them off into the field and showed them how to harvest the strawberries. In each of their baskets was a pair of clipping shears. All they needed to do was spot the reddest strawberries and clip it just a little above the leaves of the fruit.
After his short demonstration, the deer-like man left them to enjoy the harvesting on their own. Vy and Lycster looked around to the endless fields that surrounded them. Using their keen sense of smell, the siblings easily spotted the strawberries that were ready to harvest.
"Look Vy! I got a huge one!" Lycster excitedly exclaimed as he showed Vy the latest strawberry he had plucked.
The strawberries on each forb were plump and bright red in colour. But as they continued to pick the strawberries, they noticed some of the forbs had exclusively white strawberries. They shared the same shape and size as their red counterparts but their exterior was cream-white and their seeds on the surface were red.
"These must be a different breed of strawberries," Vy said to Lycster.
The sweet aromatic fragrance was too difficult to resist. Both of them ate the first few strawberries they harvested. The bite was slightly soft as the sweet juice flooded their mouths and coated their tongues. It was the best tasting strawberries they had ever eaten!
Vy thought about all the amazing dessert items that could be made with the strawberries! The combinations were endless. This only fueled Vy"s desire to pick more. Thinking back to the staff at the hospital that had helped her and Lycster heal, she realised it would make a great gift for them.
Within a short period of time, both of their baskets were getting heavy. While they did not fill them to the brim, it was more than enough for both of them. Looking up at the sky, Vy realised that the sun was almost ready to set.
"I think it"s time for us to head back, Lycster." Vy declared as she harvested a plump strawberry.
Lycster turned over, his cheeks were puffed up with the two large strawberries he had just placed into his mouth. The signature red juice was drooling out through the side of his lips. Vy chuckled as she used her sleeve to wipe his mouth clean.