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 Posted: Mon Sep 03, 2007 4:31 pm
"There's more to it, too," He added. "With my photographs... who's to say what I really mean when I take a picture of this instead of that? If anyone gets a hold of my photo album, it's just that -- a book with pictures, no secrets, thoughts, musings, or records." Abacus stopped, then laughed. "Now you know where I keep my journal, and that the pictures in it are more than pictures."
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Posted: Mon Sep 03, 2007 4:33 pm
"But I won't know what you were thinking when you took the pictures," she pointed out, voice soft. "So it's still a secret."
With her sketchbook, people would see ink drawings. But they wouldn't understand that piece of spirit she was able to keep with her and nourish to help her. So it was something similar to Abacus's journal.
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Posted: Mon Sep 03, 2007 5:40 pm
Abacus laughed. "True, very true. It's like your drawings to me -- it may be a flower, bush or waterfall, but if I were to examine it from another angle... It could be something completely different."
He paused, looking thoughtful. "I've never thought about how useful a journal like this could be. I wonder if it's possible to put a secret code into the images...?"
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Posted: Mon Sep 03, 2007 6:00 pm
"Maybe..." She pursed her lips slightly, thinking. "But for me, that wouldn't be the purpose. I draw what I feel I should draw. To do anything else would seem... seem... forced. Unnatural. Not what I should draw."
He was getting her to speak so much! She felt strange, discussing her sketchbook so openly. And so, predictably, her fan rose up once more.
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Posted: Mon Sep 03, 2007 6:20 pm
Abacus watched in amusement as the fan rose. But -- there was an interesting topic! "How do you... know what to draw? The feeling that you get -- where does it come from, and how does it originate? With me... I sometimes take pictures without thinking, since it seems something is important, but I won't know until later."
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Posted: Mon Sep 03, 2007 6:22 pm
"I don't know," she murmured, blinking and turning to look towards the tree. "Sometimes I draw because I'm bored, but I do that in my school notebook, mostly..." A few moments passed quietly.
"And then other times, it's like... the spirit in something is telling me to capture it for a moment. Like this tree. I wasn't planning on drawing... but it wanted to be drawn."
She blushed, ducking her head. "It sounds silly..."
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Posted: Mon Sep 03, 2007 6:29 pm
Abacus shook his head. "It doesn't sound silly. To me... It's a little... strange, I suppose. But that's only because I haven't given much thought to spirits," he quickly added with a shrug. "I didn't even acknowledge such things until Philosophy, and even then..." Another shrug. "I guess I'll probably end up spending some time in the library reading up on it."
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Posted: Mon Sep 03, 2007 6:31 pm
"I didn't... really pay attention in Philosophy," she confessed, going over to where her quill and ink still sat on the wall. She needed to keep herself busy with something, and so she began to put everything back into the bag she'd brought with her.
"Because before that, I knew there were spirits. Something like that. And so I didn't need a class to tell me that..."
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Posted: Mon Sep 03, 2007 6:36 pm
"I... see." Abacus replied, hesitant. "I can remember... stories about spirits, but... the only thing I pay attention to, I suppose, is the reality. I mean, we're here in it, right? The class has me thinking about what may or may not also be here. Spirits... I can't exactly capture them with my camera, right? Perhaps that's why I'm a bit shaken about them."
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Posted: Mon Sep 03, 2007 6:39 pm
"That class... all it seemed to be about was religion. Worshiping something more powerful. To get favors. But... but I don't think that's right." She set down her bag and moved into the little garden, kneeling and cupping a flower blossom in her hands.
"I think... that there are spirits in natural things. And that living in harmony with them is the best goal. Respecting them. Respecting the lingering traces of things left behind. But worshiping... doesn't seem right. We respect them as they respect us." She blushed, ducking her head but looking over her shoulder at Abacus.
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Posted: Mon Sep 03, 2007 6:59 pm
Abacus slowly nodded, "Worshiping for favors isn't right, I agree," he began, "But... there are deities that are patrons for things that can help people. Like, a patron for fertility can help ensure that a farmer's crop will grow again and again with good care. It is possible to do it without help from a.. you know, but it doesn't hurt to have extra protection."
He ran his fingers through his hair and shook his head. "But at the same time, it seems greedy, which in and of itself isn't right. There should be a way to help -- an exchange or trade of abilities, so to speak. It seems fairer that way, with no backlashes or without seeming to use another for one's own benefits."
Abacus finally nodded, returning to her words. "You're right -- harmony and respect go hand in hand. Without respect, there is envy which leads to hate, which leads to war, big or small. There has to be something other than worshiping."
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Posted: Mon Sep 03, 2007 7:04 pm
"Maybe if you live in harmony and respect the earth enough, it will be kinder? An indirect worship... since it's pure and natural, it's not made with impure intentions. And so the earth responds.
"Or... something." She looked away, towards the ground, biting her lip. "I don't really know."
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Posted: Mon Sep 03, 2007 7:14 pm
Abacus laughed, "Join the club. It seems that there are more mysteries than answers when it comes to things we can't see." He looked down ruefully to his camera and added, "Or photograph."
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Posted: Mon Sep 03, 2007 7:17 pm
"Mmm..." She finally straightened, smoothing out her dress. "... I don't really worry about it, though. I go by what I feel. And I think that's enough."
She moved back towards the low wall, sitting down where she'd been when he'd found her.
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Posted: Mon Sep 03, 2007 7:32 pm
"Feeling, hm?" He mused quietly to himself, before nodding. "Thank you, Biwa. While it was a big confusing... I believe I have a stronger grasp on it now." He stretched, holding that pose for a moment. "Hey, Biwa?"
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