June 27, 2010 (11am)
Everything was still. The forest was quiet. The sun was
shining down on the woods. Amidst the green trees and plants, Chalano was
sitting before the pond.
Master
spoke with his powerful voice, “You must remain calm. Shut the vexations out.
It’s all about the power of the mind.”
Chalano
focused. Particles of water rose up from the pond. Chalano stared as they
floated before him. He found them creepy, and he suddenly began to think of all
of the scary movies that he’d watched. The particles fell back into the pond.
Realizing his mistake, Chalano focused again. The particles rose up. The
particles slowly became bigger as other particles floated from the pond to join
them. Chalano thought very deeply about the water particles. The particles
floated away from the pond, and went above a small plant. Fall. The water fell
on the plant like rain.
“Finally,
I did it,” Chalano said with a smile.
Chalano
turned to Master, and asked, “If I’m the only person in this lifetime who has
this ability, why me? And why do I have an ability to communicate to water; why
not an ability to communicate to trees?”
“In
every generation, there are four people who have more abilities than usual
human beings. They are intelligent, compassionate, and very perceptive.
Different species cannot clearly communicate with each other, but these four
people can communicate across species and elements. They know the environment,
and the environment knows them. Each of these four has one element that he can completely
communicate with. The elements are: Earth, water, air, and fire. You are
water.”
“Where
are the other three?”
“That
is beyond my knowledge. They could be anyone, and they could be anywhere. The
reason why they are given those abilities will always remain unknown in the
mysterious workings of Nature. Many of them have never discovered their unique
abilities. You might have lived all your life not knowing your connection with
water, until I came to seek your help. Different beings just have to join
forces when something ruins the balance of Nature.”
“Is the
person who can communicate to fire the arsonist?”
“No.”
“Then
who is the arsonist?”
“It is
too evil, that it is more a monster than a human. Never try to get to know
evil. It’s your enemy; that’s all that you need to know. Don’t try to find out
who it is.”
Chalano
became a bit scared. “If water can fight him, why don’t you just give this job
to firefighters? That would be easier.”
“The
arsonist cannot be burned. That’s its power. The only way to destroy its power
is to throw water at it. By then, it could burn. Its left hand once
accidentally got wet. Since then, the arsonist kept its left hand covered with
a glove that contained metal. The firefighters are unable to catch it because
it is too skilled at escaping. You are the only one who can find it, because it
has been waiting for you.”
June 28, 2010 (6:45am)
As the
students walked into the classroom after the flag ceremony, John stood beside
the door to check who was absent. It wasn’t his job, but he seemed to enjoy doing
the other school officers’ jobs in the recent days.
Chalano
and Kim were next. John asked, “So how’s your morning?”
“Fine,”
Chalano calmly replied as he walked into the classroom. “I woke up earlier than
usual. How about you?”
“Great,”
John sheepishly grinned, and looked at Kim, signaling something about Kim to
Chalano.
Chalano
turned to Kim, and noticed that Kim had been watching them with a puzzled look
on his face.
“It’s
okay, Kim. John had apologized to me,” Chalano explained. “He is now our
friend.”
After
staring at John in surprise for a few seconds, Kim said, “I-I don’t understand
…”
Kim
noticed that they had been blocking the line of students that was supposed to
enter the classroom. Instead of moving ahead into the classroom, Kim left the
line by walking to the back of the auditorium. Chalano followed him.
“It’s
me who should be saying ‘I don’t understand,’” Chalano complained as he tried
to keep up with Kim. “What’s wrong with being friends with John? He’s a good
person now. He has changed!”
“Don’t
trust him,” Kim said. He stopped, and turned to Chalano. “Not because he
apologized means that we have forgiven him. We don’t automatically become
friends with him just because he apologized. Doesn’t it occur to you that he
would get back to his old self once everything is fine? When life was good, he
bullied you, he beat you up, and he spread rumors about you. Rella was his
friend, and look at her. She wouldn’t have died if he was such a good friend.
What if her death makes him feel guilty and he’s befriending you only to seem
friendly to everyone?”
“You’re
speculating, Kim! You have no basis for that! He’s grieving for Rella, and he’s
scared.”
“Does
he appear to be grieving? He was smiling right there at the door of our
classroom a while ago,” Kim retorted as he pointed at the classroom, where all
of the students --- including John --- were already inside.
“You
always have something to retort. You like to argue. I wonder what the women in
your family are like. Are they too noisy?”
With
surprising speed, Kim grabbed Chalano by the shirt, and pinned him against the
wall. “Don’t you dare talk about the women in my family like that,” Kim angrily
warned. “You and I have been close friends. I’ve always been there for you, so
don’t talk about them like a jerk.”
Kim let
go of Chalano. He said as he went back to the classroom, “This conversation is
over.”
Chalano
stared into space for a few minutes. And then he recovered. “Oh, yeah? I can
say whatever I want to say,” Chalano yelled after Kim, and he didn’t care about
who would hear him. “Who said that you’re the only one who can talk? I have my
own thoughts, too.”
Kim
kept walking to the classroom as if he didn’t hear Chalano.
Chalano
yelled louder, “You have a very wild imagination, Kim. Your imagination is the
most colorful one that I’ve ever known.”
Kim
kept walking.
Frustrated,
Chalano yelled, “Can’t you hear me?!”
Kim
walked into the classroom like nothing happened.
“Can’t
you hear me, Kim?!"
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