StarGaze

Home Of The Preachers

When the man woke up, he felt a terrible headache. But despite the pain, he felt like a new life was inserted inside him. Under the influence of the drug, everything seemed more lively. It is hard to describe it in words, but consider it as a happy phase. And it was both odd and terrifying to him, as he had not felt good in a long long time. And he remembered that the last time he felt this way, he was betrayed brutally and stabbed in the neck by the very person he loved. 

Anyway, he got up from the cloth mat and looked around him to search for any living soul. And much to his surprise, he was not being guarded by anyone. It is curious because they had just caught a murderer who killed an old man in cold blood. Still, he was very much left in privacy. He went for his knife, but it wasn’t there. That was when he looked at his clothes. 

He was wearing an orange robe, much like the people who had kidnapped him. It was more like a shade of saffron, but f**k that. And when he started to look around him, he noticed a Cup of some green liquid in a porcelain cup. Now a man like him was clearly experienced and he knew that if he was not being guarded then the Cup wasn't poisoned either. He was familiar with the Chinese energy drink, so he decided to **** it. The hungry man drank the whole cup in one long gulp. 

Now that his body had something to work with instead of alcoholic drinks, he was feeling much more energetic and decided to stroll around and see who his captivators were. He was on high alert mode as he got out of his room but as expected, there was no one waiting around to kill him. 

Now I have already told you that the monks were very disciplined people. It was early in the morning and the sun was not shining so bright. The man could clearly see the monks training at the temple steps. Age didn't seem to matter, the Childs was training as hard as the adults. It was almost painful to see. 

“I knew from the moment I laid eyes on you that you were an early riser.” a voice came from beside him. 

The man looked to his left and saw an old man smiling at him. For a moment there, he almost forgot who he was and tried to be courteous. 

“Didn't I kill one of you yesterday?!” the man asked, almost irritated by the generosity. 

“ah yes, Chifu. he was a good master, but if the Lord wanted him to die so that he could change the life of someone like you, then you must be truly special. Don't worry, I would not ask your name. I am being told that you are most secretive about it.” the monk said and laughed a little upon noticing that the man was getting uneasy. 

“Who are you people?” the stranger finally asked the question that was eating him alive. 

“We are the Raika monks. We the descendants of Shaolin monks. upon getting sick of the constant violence that plagued our sacred temple, we decided to preach our wisdom somewhere more peaceful. And I have to tell you that this place is tailor-made for someone who wants to find peace. 

Away from all the hatred and all the constant battering of each other, this right here in the White Mountains is the place Buddha built for his children to reflect on their souls. and I believe it is for the same reason that he has sent you here. 

Now my child tell me, what is the burden that you have been carrying on your mind which has made you into the beast you have become?” the old man asked, putting his hand on the stranger’s shoulder. 

“my name... My name is Thomas white. I have seen things you would not believe and done things no man should ever do. The only place where I belong is in the fiery pits of hell not in some snowy mountain where I can relax like I have done nothing wrong and I am just another good man living in this peaceful world. And for the first and last time, I will tell you this, the arm that touches me is cut off." The man finally revealed his true identity. The monk took his hand away instantaneously. It was not because he was afraid, but because this was not the right time to shatter Thomas’ ego. 

“You are mistaken, my fellow traveler. This place does not belong to people who have never wronged anyone in their lives. Well, except the children. This place belongs to the people who have seen the darkest corners of this world and have still found the strength to search for the light that buddha has shined upon this gloomy place we call home.” the old man said and smiled. 

"You have no idea," Thomas said and looked down. 

The master knew that the stranger had let his guard down for the first time after a long time, and now things could go two ways. If he was to tackle the situation correctly, the man would join the pack of monks and spend the rest of his life in peace. But if for some reason his unstable side was to take over, the plan could backfire and the temple would probably become a graveyard. 

"People here are the ones that society would not accept. They have done terrible things to other people, either in the heat of passion or by provocation. Either way, they now know that there is another way of living. A way that is healthy for you and your mind. Someday they will achieve nirvana. And if not for the dark things they have done in their past, they would not have been here. 

Everything happens for a reason, and I believe that the life force wants you to stop fighting now. Just throw the armor away, stop being a soldier, and start your life as a human being." the old man said, looking directly into Thomas's eyes. 

 Thomas did not move. He kept looking at the ground below him without blinking. The master knew that he had done all he could do and now it was time for the universe to do its work. So he just walked away and entrusted the weary man to decide his future. 

When the disciples returned to the monastery in the evening, the man was still standing there. He had not moved an inch. The old masters knew that the still body was a battleground for the fierce mind within. After all, it is not easy to just give up who you are and let go of the instincts you had spent so much time mastering. And all in search of being...well, no one. 

At night, the monks sat down to eat their meager daily meals. 

“May I join you?” the gate opened and the man standing outside asked. 

The supreme master smiled as he nodded and invited Thomas to the table. The food wasn’t much to make up for the hard training, but no one seemed to complain. They were happy with what they were given. A strange glow of positivity filled the room, so strong that it made Thomas uncomfortable. 

“Thomas, would you mind joining me after dinner?” the supreme lama asked. 

Thomas nodded as he ate from his bowl. It had been quite some time since he ate a meal without alcohol clouding his senses. And let me tell you, the boiled rice seemed to be the feast of a lifetime to him. It was a shame he wasn’t allowed to have more. After finishing up, he followed the lama who was waiting for him. 

“Do you see the town below us?” the lama asked. 

They were roaming in the snowy path of the mountain, near to the monastery. Thomas could see the blips of light coming from the small settlements far below. The sky was clear and a cold breeze was flowing. 

“I do. What about it?” Thomas asked, looking at his comrade. 

"I used to be a farmer there a long time ago. I had a happy family. My father was a peasant who worked hard and bought a farm for himself. He was an honorable man, but not a very kind one. He used to beat my mother, myself, and my siblings to 'discipline' us. He was a sadist in every sense. 

But I was always happy. You see, I was the smallest child among two brothers and a sister. I was given special attention. So as many would expect, I was spoiled. 

By the time I was nine, I was already stealing from shops and robbing travelers on the outskirts of the town. My friends and I wore a mask to prevent us from being seen. Those were the days when the militia was just on the rise and the young people were being taken in. 

It was on a dark night that we came across one such militia. I was hiding in the bushes with my friends when we saw some horsemen passing. We estimated that if we could rob the men of their horses and sell them, we could be feasting all our lives. There were five of them and three of us, but the temptation outweighed the risk.” the monk said and sighed. 

“What happened then?” Thomas asked. 

“We took out our swords and stopped the horsemen. But we didn't know that they were actually part of an army that was on the rise against the emperor. The red turbans took out their swords and pointed them at our heads. 

We were outnumbered, out of weaponed, out skilled, and astonished. But surrender meant sure death, or so we thought. My friends fought with all the might they could gather. But in the end, it was me against two men. 

All I remember after that are glimpses. I was chained like a beast and dragged to my village. My family was right there in front of me. My father bought his safety with some grains and booze, but he had no interest in saving his old wife and irritating kids. And so I watched...I watched as they tied my mother and my sister and my brother with ropes and dragged them inside a pit. The warmth from the fire they lit that day burnt me from the inside all my life. 

They took me to where they were camped. I was a dog to them, used when they felt like having fun. They beat me up when they were angry with their superiors, when the emperor burnt their village, or when they were just bored.  

It was their leader who had mercy on me. He had come to check on the condition of the troops. That was when he saw me, squeezing the mud to drink the water from inside it. 

And from the day he took me under his command, I never stopped killing. They called me the reddest turban, as the blood on my face was never dried. I took on countless enemies alone, cutting them up so bad that no two could be told apart. 

The enemy camps went in shock and soldiers defaulted when they heard that my clan was on the move. The fire inside me never went out. Each day I felt like the heat from the family's scorched corpses ate up another organ inside me. I screamed at night while my fellow campers thought I was under the influence of the god of death. If you are too good at something, there has to be a god behind it.                 

It was only a matter of time before I was too popular and my own mentor who had saved me from the torture was threatened by my fame. He thought I would take over his position any day and might even kill him to do so. I was far too important to lose and so the tribe would accept it.” the monk said and sat down on the small patch of grass among the snow. 

“So he sent people to kill you?” Thomas asked. 

“On a raining dark night, the ninjas crept into my bedroom. But I was as wise as I was brave. My resources had already told me what the situation was. I took them out one by one, slitting their throats and savoring the sound of the blood and splashed on the floor. 

I took their bodies and impaled them outside the leader's tent. I asked if this was the prize of loyalty and devoting my life to the cause I believed in. The paranoia had got the better of the leader, and I said that it had suffered from old age, then perhaps it was time he gave the whip to someone else and retired. 

The words from my mouth were wrongly interpreted. Politics is bigger and more confusing than any war. My leader made sure that his superiors felt that the killing and impaling of the ninjas was all a plot by me to defame him and take over his position by gaining sympathy. In fact, he proved that there was no link to connect the ninjas to him. 

So I ran before they could impale me in the same fashion. I ran and came back to this village, to find that my father had married yet again and was in love this time. I had returned after ten years and with a lot of scars, but the old man still recognized me through the blaze in my eyes. 

As I grabbed his throat and pushed his head below my knee, the door opened and a nine-year-old kid came running out. He stopped in shock as he saw his father begging for mercy. And on that day, that very day when I looked inside the eyes of that innocent kid, I saw ME! 

I was about to take a loved one from him, the catalyst that would trigger the events that ruined my life and left me with scars that would haunt me till the day I step inside my grave. 

So I let him go, the man that had decided to keep his money instead of the family that had loved him despite his abuses and beatings. I let him go so that another kid didn’t have to walk my path. And as I strolled on the snowy stone road of the mountain, I felt a warm light calling me. It led me here, to my freedom. It made me free from all the sufferings of my past and all the pain that was weighing on my head like a pile of stones. I found myself, and I will help you find yourself!” the monk said and placed his hand on Thomas’ shoulder, but this time the latter didn’t resist or threaten. This time, he listened. 

He listened because now he had met someone with a story close enough to his own. And if a man like him could be redeemed, then not all hope was lost for Thomas. And as I have said before, hope is very, very dangerous. But that glimmer is too attractive to ignore, and Thomas fell for it again.