Being oriental her features were graceful as ever, and despite her years, she moved with the fluency of youth; smooth and precise like flowing water. Her Changyi robe was a vibrant purple which shimmered with hues of pink in the early morning sun, a visage that contrasted pleasantly with the spring garden, which had become increasingly verdant during my stay. Her quiet demeanour allowed the smallest of nature’s sounds to commence undisturbed.
Kneeling eye-level before me, she set an ornate box neatly upon the ground and proceeded to open it up. Inside was a pendant on a chain, which she plucked out and let dangle as a pendulum between us. The feature was that of a blue eye, one I’d seen before but not in the orient. She began:
‘You know it, yes?’
I nodded.
‘The Evil Eye…’ she mused. ‘Do you know why it is evil and why it is blue?’ she asked deadpan.
‘I believe it is intended to ward-off evil, but I know not why it is blue.’
Her smile was faint, more for discipline than for suppression. ‘Very good. It is indeed to protect one against evil. Do you know its function?’
‘You wear it.’
Her smile faded. ‘Some are of lapis lazuli, others of turquoise, while affordable varieties exist in glass or resin. You might even find common folk mimicking nobility with Evil Eye talismans of their own, though visibly inferior and often of grey or green nephrite.’
I narrowed my vision as I attempted to foresee what she was leading me to.
Noting the shift in expression, she continued: ‘Has it occurred to you that we do not all perceive as one? That some consciousness is more detailed than that of others.’ She then paused and stared in an uncomfortable manner, longer than I would’ve preferred. Then: ‘You did not correct me when I said it is blue, so this is what you see?’
Again I nodded, ‘It is blue. Blue as the sea.’
‘Indeed. For many this is not so.’
Immediately I frowned.
Her smile returned. ‘Most see a shade of grey or of green, and this is what they mimic. Their consciousness is not so dilated as ours, you see. And so it is they the eye will shield its bearer from.’
‘Why would one require such protection?’
‘It is not a necessity; however, there are times when tension boils over and they…’ inhaling flatly, ‘misbehave. You have witnessed such misconduct, yes?’
‘I have.’
‘And caught in such a moment, would it not be helpful to quickly identify oneself as a like-sighted individual?’ She looked me in the eye, ‘Seeking sanctuary from the profane is simplified with such a talisman.’
‘Hidden in plain sight,’ I commented, bearing interest and a growing consideration for what was being revealed.
‘There are other methods I have heard of - other colours. The Phoenicians dyed clothing a certain shade of red… or purple, depending on who you ask,’ her smile grew, yet her lips remained pursed.
‘You’re saying some of us perceive with greater clarity than most?’ I asked, already knowing but wanting direct confirmation.
She gave a single nod, and then, ‘It is no permanent affliction, though. We are merely forerunners of what is to be for them. It will come.’
‘We lead the way?’
‘We do. Yet it is no safe state, being different. They notice - not at the surface, but deep within. And for this, they tend to dislike without a why. We become their target of choice when tensions rise.’
I considered the myriad secret societies of old, given they were never secret but, rather, harboured secrets among themselves. ‘How long has this been happening?’
‘Forever, I suspect.’
‘And when does it cease?’
She lowered the pendant back into the box and slid it closer. ‘When this no longer separates you from them.’
I then realised she was gifting the amulet and that I was being recognised by one of noble quality as like-sighted. My expression betrayed surprise and she smiled broadly, finally revealing me her teeth.
‘Now you know why it is blue.’
Song recommendation: ‘Beauty Song (Jia Ren Qu)’ by Shigeru Umebayashi (featuring Zhang Ziyi), from the soundtrack House of Flying Daggers (2004).