Tara Zenyora : and the Seven-Jeweled Lighthouse

by Samantha B. Adra

  “It takes about one to three weeks for the ankle ligaments to heal. In the meantime, avoid walking and try to rest as much as possible until the ligament is completely healed,” advised the Imperial Physician. He proceeded to take his leave.

  “I’m sorry Tara, the Imperial Physician said you’re not permitted to move around for the time being. I’m afraid you may have to stay with me here at the Cloud Nine for three weeks,” said Prince Chen with a cheeky grin.

  “Are you kidding me? You mean we’re going to squeeze together in this miserable tiny hut? There is only one bedroom. Where am I going to sleep tonight?”

  “Oh, that’s easy! You’re going to sleep with me on the same bed.”

  “No way!” cried Tara. “I don’t trust you to protect my decency. Take me back to my Damsel Retreat now!”

  Prince Chen laughed heartily. “Tara, you are injured and you cannot walk. You’ll definitely need help with your daily activities. Please let me help you with that. I’m happy to do everything for you.”

  “No, no, no…” cried Tara. “I do not want to sleep with you on the same bed, neither do I want you to help me take a bath or carry me around like a baby. Who knows what will happen if your mind is impure? I don’t want to be taken advantage of, especially now that I am hurt.”

  “Trust me, I’ll look after you well to make sure you’re completely healed,” said Prince Chen sincerely, gazing into her eyes. “I was pulling your leg just now. You can have my bed and I will sleep on the daybed in the living room.”

  “Alright then, how about taking a bath or going to the washroom? Isn’t it inconvenient for you to take me there all the time? I don’t wish to trouble you too much,” said Tara.

  “No worries. I’ll get a bath ready for you to do it on your own, and I don’t mind the trouble of carrying you around the hut. Will you have faith in me to look after you? I promise you 100% satisfaction.”

  Tara paused a while, pondering about what he said. His sincerity nevertheless touched her heart. “Okay, but what if I am not 100% satisfied with you?”

  “Then you can punish me in whatever way you like. I will be at your mercy.”

  Tara laughed, nodding her head. Her heart was filled with warm fuzzy feelings of love.

  “So, what would you like for your breakfast, lunch, and dinner tomorrow? I can get Singha to get something from the human world,” said Prince Chen with his trademark grin.

  “That’s awesome!” said Tara, her eyes gleaming with anticipation. “For breakfast, I want Eunos Loh Mee and soya bean with grass jelly; for lunch, I would like to have fish soup noodles and Cheng Tng[8] dessert; and for dinner, it will be Bak Kut Teh[9], and bubble milk tea.”

  “Your wish is my command, my Queen,” said Prince Chen with a cheeky bow.

  The next day, Prince Chen woke up early to get the warm bath water ready for Tara.

  “Good morning, darling, the warm bath water is ready. How would you like me to carry you? Front or back, you choose,” Prince Chen said with a cheerful lilt in his voice.

  Tara blushed, lowering her head to avoid his gaze. “Front.”

  “Okay.” He wrapped her right arm around his neck and then carried her to the washroom. For Prince Chen, carrying Tara in his arms was something that he truly savored. The touch, the heat and the bodily scent were sufficient to electrify him.

  Tara took a sheepish glance at his dashing, grin-plastered face. He seemed to be smiling and grinning most of the time; she hardly saw him in distress. Breathing in his body aroma that was woody and oceanic, her heart skipped a beat.

  Prince Chen brought her to his private bathroom and gingerly placed her on the wooden bench beside the bathtub filled with warm water.

  “Be careful in the washroom. Everything you need is already here. If you need help or anything else, just call out to me I’ll be waiting outside for you,” said Prince Chen, showing her the bathtub with warm water, a large stool for her to sit on, a fresh set of attire, some soap, shampoo, and other vanity accessories.

  “Okay, thank you for the efforts.”

  Tara looked around his private washroom and noticed a small natural waterfall at one corner that flowed into a small pond. “It’s fascinating to have a natural waterfall and a small pond in your bathroom. What are they for?”

  “The waterfall acts like a shower; and the small pond is a hot spring. For us dragons, taking a bath is a big deal; it’s our daily prayer ritual of purifying not just our physical body but our spiritual Qi. Usually, we begin by taking a cold shower under the waterfall, followed by soaking in the hot spring for relaxation and rejuvenation. Bath time is a heavenly bliss for me, and I hope that one day I can do it together with you. That’s the epitome of supreme celestial bliss!” said Prince Chen with his usual impudent grin, fantasizing about future prospects with her.

  An impertinent leopard never changes its spots. Associating with him is a pain in the neck; it is a tormenting test of my patience.

  “Prince Chen, you need to keep your overactive imagination in check. I’m not excited about this so-called ‘celestial bliss’ with an impertinent jackanapes who doesn’t seem to take himself seriously. Anyway, please excuse me, make sure you don’t peek, or get Singha to crash through the bathroom wall. I need complete peace of mind to enjoy solitary moments of ‘celestial bliss’ all by myself.”

  “Rest assured, Singha is not around; he is getting your favourite food from the human world. Anyway, why would I need to peek if I can get a full view one day?” laughed Prince Chen.

  “You are hopeless!” Tara was blushing on the outside but boiling on the inside. “Get out!”

  Whistling cheerfully, Prince Chen held his both hands behind his back and sauntered off, closing the door behind him.

  After her bath, Tara was delighted to see that Singha brought Eunos Lor Mee and soya beans with grass jelly for her.

  “Here you go, all your favorites,” said Prince Chen, sitting beside Tara at the round wooden dining table.

  “Thank you so much! It has been ages since I last had it,” replied Tara, preparing to dig in using chopsticks and the spoon.

  “How is it?” Prince Chen was curious about the taste but he dared not consume any of the food from the human world anymore, especially after the Katong laksa’s near-death experience.

  “Hmmm…simply heavenly! The braising sauce is thick but not starchy, and it’s a perfect balance of sweet, savoury, and sour. The fried fish fritters are crispy on the outside and tender on the inside. Everything from the thin slices of seasoned pork belly, crispy pork nuggets, half a braised egg, minced garlic, cut chili, coriander to the sambal is simply the epitome of perfection,” Tara lavishly praised the Eunos Lor Mee.

  “I know you are a chili incarnate, so I made sure Singha got you extra sambal chili to spice up your life,” Prince Chen chuckled, appearing proud of himself.

  “More sambal chili is excellent! Well, if I’m a chili incarnate, then you better stay away from me; if not, the consequence will be exactly like the Katong laksa,” said Tara gleefully.

  Prince Chen almost choked drinking his favorite dragon tea. “What makes you think I can’t transform a chili into dragon tea? Don’t you know I possess the magical powers to do so?”

  “Show me your magic then,” said Tara, sniggering. “I know you won’t dare to cast it on me.”

  “I don’t need to use the magic of psychic power to control you or the magic of telepathy to access your mind; all I need is the magic of instruction to transform your mind and you’ll fall in love with me willingly,” said Prince Chen with firm resolve.

  “Oh yeah, we shall see. Your Mother Queen isn’t so fond of me, and I’ve never really agreed to be your girlfriend anyway,” said Tara in a sarcastic tone.

  Prince Chen laughed, unperturbed by what she said. “Father King said he will bestow a title upon you soon and that will make Mother Queen happy. She approves of your appearance; all she wants is the proper title and status. As for you, I know perfectly wel
l that you’re secretly in love with me. Out of pride, you’re denying your affectionate feelings toward me by deliberately saying nasty words to irk me. Well, too bad, it doesn’t work on me; I know you all too well.”

  Goodness! Why am I so transparent to him? Perhaps I need to find ways to wear my Chinese opera masks to scare the pants off him.

  “When I go back home via Qibaota one day, I’m pretty sure you’ll be devastated. You’re too madly in love with me to let go of me,” said Tara, imitating his impudent smirk.

  “Forget about Qibaota, Tara. Even if you master the Dragon Fists martial art, it’s impossible for you to vanquish the demons. Well, you don’t have sufficient spiritual cultivation to do so. You can’t even transform yourself into a dragon, how can you possibly have the spiritual power to deal with millions of demons all by yourself? No way! You’re destined to stay with me in the dragon kingdom,” said Prince Chen with a trademark grin.

  Hearing the revelation from Prince Chen made her heart plunge to the bottom of her gut. All my efforts put into mastering the martial art have gone to waste! Stay with Prince Chen forever in the dragon kingdom forever? No way!

  “Darling, the most pragmatic thing for you to do is to marry me and become my wife and my Queen. I promise to give you an easy life and make all your dreams come true. You won’t have to slog over meaningless menial chores; all you need to do is to have fun living your carefree life, eating, dancing, and flying your phoenix to your heart’s content. I’ll also lavish you with gems and jewelry for your adornment so that you become the most gloriously beautiful Queen in the entire dragon kingdom. You’re free to do practically anything you enjoy because I’m delighted to let you be who you are.”

  But I’ve never wanted to become your wife; and I couldn’t care less about your gems and jewelries. You’re just not up to par. I prefer Bo to be my husband. He is more sensible than you. All her affections towards him began to wane as she remembered how he entrapped her into becoming his girlfriend. She even wondered if the pink connecting aura had anything to do with her temporary feelings for him. It was clear to her now that she did not want to get romantically involved with Prince Chen.

  “Prince Chen, I’m not enthusiastic about the prospect of having you as my husband ‘cos you simply do not measure up to my stringent expectations. Yes, no doubt I do have some feelings of affection toward you at times, but that’s only when you’re smart, capable, and intelligent. My ideal husband is a man of prudence who carries himself with equanimity and dignity. He is kind, gentle, and compassionate. He has a strong sense of responsibility and commitment in a marriage. Love is not just about flirtatious speech, neither it is a frivolous mind filled with fantastical ways to seduce a woman of your fancy. Love is nothing but concrete actions that bring true happiness to the other half. You know, I just don’t feel secure to have someone whose concupiscent mind thinks of nothing else except seducing women.”

  “Tara, please suspend your judgment and prejudice against me. I’m no longer young; I’m 30 years old this year. Many dragon princes at my age have already settled down in conjugal union. Maybe you’re not aware that I used to be the most eligible bachelor in the dragon kingdom and there were swarms of silly women swooning over me almost every other day, but I remained unperturbed. I would rather be a hermit on Cloud Nine spending time with nature and beasts than mingling around with insipid and uninspired women whose lifelong dream was to marry a prince. Don’t judge a book by its cover, Tara. I am more than just the façade of frivolous impertinence. Time will prove that to you,” said Prince Chen, his eyes were honest and sincere, and his impertinent grin was nowhere to be found which made him appear more credible.

  His sincere demeanor and honest declaration touched her heart. Her feelings of affection toward him were back, somehow stronger this time. It suddenly dawned on her that perhaps he was not really a Don Juan by nature; his humble abode of Zen sophistication on Cloud Nine might be a true reflection of his personality.

  Nevertheless, a part of her was thinking otherwise:

  It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a frivolous man will always love a woman for the most frivolous reasons.

  Perhaps if one day I’m no longer as young and beautiful as I’m now, he’ll not love me anymore. Perhaps if he knows how messy and cluttered my penthouse is, he’ll not love me anymore. Perhaps if I’m old, ailing, and bed-ridden, he’ll not love me anymore.

  “Well, let’s wait for time to prove your innocence,” said Tara nonchalantly. “Perhaps if you’re no longer a Don Juan, I may find some sensible rhymes and reasons to consider you as my potential spouse.”

  “Tara, as I mentioned before, I’m a Don Juan just for you because I wish to romance you. You know I adore you immeasurably and I’m willing to go the extra mile just to make you feel happy. Even if you become old and wrinkle-faced one day, I’ll still love you because I wish to grow old with you. Even if you’re bed-ridden or wheelchair-bound, I’ll still love you and I’ll never forsake you. Even if you choose to leave me for whatever reason, I’ll still love you and I’ll not marry another woman just to replace you. Trust me Tara, my love for you knows no bound. Let me just share with you how I feel: the moment I set my eyes upon you for the first time at the bathhouse, I instinctively knew you’re the one I’ve been looking for all these years. Yes, it’s inexplicably complex to unravel this feeling of mine but I trust my intuition. Will you accept me for who I am and have faith in my sincerity toward you?”

  His usual impertinent smirk was deliberately put on the back burner and that seemed to work its magic to convince her of his sincerity. He extended his hand for her and she did not hesitate to accept it immediately. In fact, she was totally blown away by his speech and sincerity.

  Maybe it’s just my pride after all; maybe he is not at all the frivolous person that he appears to be.

  As for Prince Chen, he was secretly relishing in this heart: I told you darling, I’ll only need the magic of instruction to transform your mind to fall in love with me willingly, and that’s the real magic.

  Evening arrived with the tiny twinkling stars splashing all over the dark blue sky like shimmering diamonds and crystals.

  “Tara, are you sleepy now? Or would you like to go star-gazing with me tonight?”

  “That’s a good idea,” said Tara, her mind had drifted back to the time when she gazed at the stars with Bo.

  Prince Chen carried Tara to a vast expanse not far from his hut and placed her on a mat.

  “This is an excellent spot to do star-gazing. The stars and the galaxies in the sky are simply spectacular beyond words, you’ll love it!” said Prince Chen.

  Gazing at the caliginous sky full of glittering stars like sparkling diamonds made Tara feel minuscule. She was a speck in the vast Universe.

  “The Lord Buddha recollected a variety of his former immeasurable lives, including many eons of world-contraction, world-expansion, and both world-contraction and expansion. He is the Unsurpassed One who thoroughly vanquishes the darkness of ignorance and attains the supreme wisdom and enlightenment of the true nature of life. Sometimes I wonder what my past lives were, but I’ve a feeling that you’ve always been my consort in my countless past lives,” said Prince Chen.

  “How are you so sure of that without anyone telling you? I’m pretty sure you were not my husband in the past. Being with you makes me feel like an active volcano waiting to erupt any moment.”

  Prince Chen burst out laughing. “My father has a black obsidian crystal ball that enables one to view his or her past lifetimes. How I wish I can get hold of the black obsidian crystal ball to understand more about myself.”

  But Tara wasn’t listening to his words anymore. She was looking at the vast expanse of the sky and began to miss Bo dearly. “Looking at the stars reminds me of a friend. He told me he came from one of the stars, and that he did not have parents; he was created through advanced biotechnology by his advanced race. He is the person I mentioned to you before; 2.5 meter
s tall, exuding a golden aura, with golden curly hair and deep blue eyes. He is the most compassionate soul I’ve ever met. Just being in his presence makes me feel a deep sense of peace, joy, and freedom. He saved my life before and I’m forever indebted to him. I miss him tremendously, wondering where he is now.”

  “You love him?”

  “Yes. He’s just like my late husband, kind, patient, and compassionate. It’s a pity that he said we could only remain friends forever due to the inherent biological incompatibility between us. He said he didn’t want to put my life at risk because of that,” Tara sighed. “Besides, his life aspiration is never to settle down in a marriage; he wants to preserve his body to witness Maitreya’s attainment of Enlightenment in the future.”

  Prince Chen secretly heaved a sigh of relief; at least he had no competitor who was trying to snatch her away.

  Tara yawned, a little sleepy.

  “It’s time for you to hit the sack,” said Prince Chen. “Shall we go back now?”

  “Alright.”

  “May I carry you from the back?”

  “Okay.” When Tara sat on Prince Chen’s back, holding onto his neck, she suddenly felt a sense of loving bliss inside her. He seems like a good man. Maybe I shouldn’t judge a book by its cover.

  Prince Chen placed her on his Luohan[10] bed in his bedroom and covered her with a duvet.

  Lowering his head, he quickly gave her a peck on her forehead. “Good night and rest well, darling.”

  Stunned by his intimate act, she was speechless. Tossing and turning incessantly, she could not sleep thinking about him the whole night. The lingering bodily scent of forest and ocean on his bed made it even worse; it was as if he was just beside her.

  In the next few days, Prince Chen accompanied Tara in doing all sorts of activities such as playing Go chess, learning painting and calligraphy, reciting poems, watching the sunrise, and trying out his home-cooked dishes.

  About one week later, Tara’s ankle was almost completely healed.