The monk was puzzled for a moment, but seeing Callie’s determined expression, he turned and went inside to report.
After a while, he came out and said, “Please follow me.”
Callie followed him as he led her through a winding corridor, into a tower, and up a staircase. He opened a door to reveal a slender woman kneeling on a cushion before a tall Buddha statue.
Callie nodded to the monk, who then left. She approached and knelt beside Sienna. “I came to Anbusea on a business trip today. I heard the temple here is very spiritual, so I came to pray. I hope you don’t mind.”
Sienna kept her eyes closed and her hands clasped in prayer. “The Buddha is accustomed to seeing all beings. Only if the heart is insincere will it be an issue.”
Callie picked up three thin incense sticks and lit them with a nearby flame. “I heard that before Maevelyn returned home, you came here, and you come every quarter to fulfill your vow.”
Sienna continued to rotate the prayer beads in her hand with her eyes closed. “What I seek is with utmost sincerity.”
Callie held the incense above her eyebrows and bowed three times before placing it in the incense burner. She had not believed in Buddhism before; it was Sienna who taught her these rituals.
“My father is missing. Whether he was taken or wandered off on his own, there should be some trace, but he vanished without a trace. Several forces have searched for him to no avail, so I came to pray.”
Callie knelt beside Sienna, her gaze clear.
After a while, Sienna stopped rotating the prayer beads and opened her eyes. “This is a calamity. Asking people for help is useless; praying to Buddha may not help either.”
“What should I do then?” Callie quickly responded, turning to look at her. “Wasn’t Maevelyn found after you came here? I’m trying my luck.”
Sienna looked at her. “Before that, I had been eating vegetarian and chanting Buddha’s name for over ten years without success.”
Callie paused slightly. She found it strange that Sienna seemed very devout yet not entirely steadfast in her faith.
“Yes, eating vegetarian and chanting for over ten years, and then suddenly finding her. Don’t you find that strange?”
Sienna looked at her for a moment, her expression always calm. She then stood up, found a Buddhist scripture, and knelt back down. “I always believe that people have blessings.”
“Blessings,” Callie thought of the things the Ellison family had done and chuckled softly. “Maybe, but there are too many orphans without identities in this world. I’m one of them.”
Sienna paused in flipping through the scripture. “You are not…”
“I was adopted,” Callie understood what she wanted to ask.
She stood up. “I mean no offense. We had a brief time together, and I always remember those days. I think I should remind you that sometimes what you see with your eyes isn’t necessarily the truth.”
“What if someone has set it up?”
After speaking, Callie clasped her hands together in front of the Buddha statue and then turned to leave.
“What setup?” A clear voice suddenly came from outside the door as someone pushed it open and met Callie face-to-face.
Callie’s body stiffened; she hadn’t expected to see Charlotte here. She had come with Sienna.
Charlotte was slender and wore a light pink dress that matched the temple’s atmosphere perfectly.
She held two cups of tea in her hands and smiled slightly when she saw Callie. “Miss Marsh, are you here to see my mother?”
Callie’s back felt cold as if a venomous snake was slowly crawling up.
“Miss Ellison, you’re here too.”