by Iram Dana
Diego inhaled deeply at that bit of information, fighting down the irritation that it brought.
“Sierra? What was he doing here?” said Diego, rolling to his feet with a wince.
“I called him to help me shift the tables and shelves for when the two of you would return. The less people that know what happened here the better. I figured that since you would probably tell Sierra what had transpired here on your return anyway, it would be best to call him. After we were done rearranging, I made the mistake of telling him what had happened and where you were …” Master Shengdu trailed off.
A feeling of dread began to descend in Diego’s stomach.
“And?” said Diego, not really wanting to know the answer.
Master Shengdu sighed deeply.
“He jumped into the portal to save you.”
*****
CHAPTER 12
“What the hell do you mean?!” yelled Diego, and then bit his tongue. “I’m sorry. That was … I was …”
Master Shengdu nodded for him to go on.
“It’s just … why didn’t you stop him?”
Master Shengdu gave him a pointed look. “How do you suppose I got the shiner, as you would call it?”
Diego gasped. “Sierra did that to you? He hit you?”
“Yes. It seems he is quite the warrior when it comes to saving the life of his brother.”
“My life didn’t need saving.”
“Try telling that to him, will you? He was putting up too much of a fight and would not listen to reason. The only option I had to stop him, was to kill him. I couldn’t do that, so I let him go.”
“He’s an idiot!”
“If you see him again, you may tell him that.”
Diego paused, scrutinizing Master Shengdu’s face.
“What do you mean, ‘if’?”
“Sierra jumped in before I could explain how much time he had, or what should and shouldn’t be done once he goes in. he could be doing anything at this moment. And you know where that might lead, if he somehow changes events happening in the past…”
If Diego was feeling worried earlier, it was nothing compared to the alarm coursing through him now.
“I have to save him! How much time do I have?”
Master Shengdu glanced at his watch. “Half an hour. And I would advise against what you plan to do, but I do not want any of my bones broken in addition to the bruised eye. Therefore, you may do what you feel is best.”
“I have to go. He’s stupid and an idiot, but he is my brother!” Diego exclaimed, looking mad enough o break something.
“Please … save the idiot. You have my blessings. Go now.” said Master Shengdu blandly. “One more thing. Remember, you cannot change the present by going into the past, either.”
“What do you mean?”
“Neither of you must get fatally injured, killed or eaten.”
Diego would have laughed at the ridiculousness of that list but the inclusion of the word ‘eaten’ sent a shiver running through him. It was possible, he knew now. Master Shengdu continued;
“If either of you gets killed inside, the other will trapped, too. Forever. Am I clear?”
With a nod, Diego sprang forward and jumped back into the silvery-blue portal.
He came out at the exact same spot that he and Stephanie had just exited from. Getting to his feet, he was wondering where to begin looking for Sierra when not far ahead, a sight made him stop. Sierra shot out of a cave, pursued hotly by the bellowing Yeti. Trust Sierra to get into trouble this quick, thought Diego with an exasperated shake of his head. He was about to bolt after Sierra when a second figure came into view, trying to sneak into the cave the Yeti and Sierra had just come running out of, making Diego gasp. It was Stal. He was young, with just a hint of a beard, and blonde hair the same as Sierra had, only now it was unmarred by any grey.
What was his father doing here? And where was his mother? Had they met yet? Who was Stal looking for in the Yeti’s hideout? Did he need help? Questions blazed through Diego’s mind in the fraction of a second he stood there, until a cry drew his attention. He turned just in time to see Sierra trip over a fallen log. The Yeti pounced on his prone figure in an instant. Snow and debris flew and victim and assailant struggled furiously in the snow. Snow that was rapidly staining a bright red. Diego’s mind formed two thoughts. Blood. Death. Shit! No!
He broke into a dead run towards the two fighting figures. With all the force and momentum he could gather, Diego crashed his body into the monster’s. The beast went flying through the air, hitting a tree some distance off. As the beast rolled over with a keening cry, Diego pulled Sierra out from underneath the snow he was half buried in, noting with relief that his injuries were not very severe.
“D!” Sierra gasped, looking at him wild-eyed. “I thought you were dead!”
Diego shook his head, glancing behind to take stock of the beast who was lumbering to his feet, and mouthed only one word.
“Run.”
Sierra didn’t need more telling. Together, they tore through the woods towards the portal. As soon as they were out into the open, Sierra stopped running.
“What are you doing? We have to get out of here!” exclaimed Diego.
Sierra shook his head. “Can’t! Mom!” he panted, pointing to the cave which was visible to them once more while he gathered his breath. “There’s a woman in there that looks just like mother. We have to save her, D, we have to!”
Things clicked into place in Diego’s mind.
“That’s not ‘a woman’. That is mother. We’re in the past.”
Sierra’s eyes bulged. “In that case, there’s no way we can’t save her!”
“No. we cannot.”
“WHY EVER NOT?” yelled Sierra, “I’m not leaving without saving mom from that thing!”
“BECAUSE WE CAN’T, OKAY?” Diego yelled back in frustration. “Now quit arguing and run, or the bloody Yeti will kill us both. And then, we’ll really be dead.”
Sierra looked over his shoulder but could not see the Yeti pursuing them.
“He’s not following us. Maybe he’s dead. Let’s go save mom.”
“He’s not dead.” said Diego angrily. “What are you, blind? Look, he’s hiding there behind the trees. And we can’t save mom, okay? It’s against the rules of this place. We can’t tamper with the past.”
Diego tried pulling Sierra towards the portal but the latter wouldn’t budge. He was watching the Yeti with a contemplative frown.
“Why isn’t it chasing us?” he wondered aloud.
Diego looked towards the sky, raking a hand through his hair and letting out a sigh of irritation. He was about to lift Sierra and carry him when a figure dashed out of the cave, distracting him.
Stal was running for all he was worth, carrying one woman in his arms and one clinging to his back. He was also running into the woods, straight towards the hiding Yeti.
“Holy crap! D, he’s going to catch out parents and eat them. We’ll never be born!”
Sierra lunged forward but Diego pulled him back holding his shoulders in an iron grip.
“We. Have. To leave.” he gritted out, eyes flashing urgently.
“But mom and dad …”
“We were born, right? That means Dad somehow saved himself and Mom. Now quit struggling, damn you!”
The Yeti jumped out from its hiding place, startling Stal into almost dropping the limp figure in his arms. Stal changed tracks at the last instant, and somehow seemed to pick up even more speed. Sierra and Diego watched the animal pursue their parents madly.
“Let’s leave, Sierra.” Diego implored this time, letting go of Sierra and getting to his feet.
“Just a sec.” said Sierra, whipping out a slingshot from his belt.
“What the hell do you think you’re doing?” barked Diego. But before he could comprehend what was happening, Sierra had loaded his slingshot with a chunk of ice and let it fly towards the animal’s exposed behind. The chunk of ic
e hit its mark squarely, disappearing within the animal’s buttocks. The Yeti keeled over with a deafening roar.
“You idiot! What have you done!? We’ll never get out of here now.” shouted Diego, slapping sierra on the head.
“Yes, we will!” cried Sierra, returning the head slap, “I did the right thing. I slowed it down so mom and dad could get away.”
“We weren’t supposed to mess with the past!” Diego landed another slap on Sierra’s head.
“And I didn’t! I just gave them time to get away. They must have done that already if you and I are standing here, isn’t that what you said?” argued Sierra furiously. “I didn’t change any event of the past. I didn’t kill the Yeti.”
A rolled up piece of parchment flew out of the portal and hit Diego on the head. Diego lifted it form the snow where it had fallen and opened the scroll. Sierra scrambled to stand behind him in order to be able to read the note simultaneously. It contained a short message in an almost illegible scrawl. It was written in obvious haste. It read;
The portal is going to close in exactly five minutes.
Diego and Sierra exchanged a glance.
“Shit!” they exclaimed in unison, sprinting towards the portal. Diego jumped first, but his body hit a solid wall and he tumbled back.
“What the hell just happened?!” cried Sierra.
“How in hell am I to know? I couldn’t get through!” replied Diego. He then turned an accusing glare towards Sierra. “See? I told you not to mess with the past! Now we’re stuck here and all because of you.”
“Let me try.” said Sierra, making a dash for the portal while Diego let loose a steady stream of curses aimed at him.
The portal was flickering and beginning to fade. Picking up momentum, Sierra jumped – and went right through, landing on the other side at Master Shengdu’s feet. A second later, Diego followed. Stephanie, who was looking much better now, squealed in relief.
“Sierra! Diego! Thank goodness you’re back! Did you get my note?”
Sierra nodded, getting to his feet.
“What happened back there? Diego couldn’t get through.” He said.
“Yeah.” said Diego, “I thought we were screwed for sure.”
“Oh, that. Well, with the time almost running out, Master Shengdu decided to go get the two of you. He was that worried.”
She glanced sheepishly at Master Shengdu and both Sierra and Diego’s gazes followed suit.
“I don’t understand.” said Diego, noting then that Master Shengdu’s left eye was bruising in addition to the right one. “And what happened to Master’s good eye?”
“Well, the wall you crashed into was kind of … well, not a wall. It was Master Shengdu, trying to go through the portal.”
“Oh.” Murmured Diego, “And the second black eye?” he asked with a jerk of his head, though he already knew the answer.
“Head butt.” said Stephanie, pointing to his forehead.
Master Shengdu spoke then in a voice tinged with latent anger, breaking up their little reunion party.
“The three of you may visit the nursing station, if you require. After that, head straight to your rooms. You are all grounded for the entire week. You will not leave your dorms except for meal times … and once every morning to report to Mrs. Will in the discipline room. Am I clear?”
The three of them nodded, shifting uneasily on their feet. Master Shengdu continued;
“Disobedience must be discouraged with punishment, or it will set an unhealthy precedent. When I am no longer looking like an owl, I will summon all of you to my office. Then, I will hand out your real punishment.”
All three paled at this news but decided it was wisest to keep shut and not anger Master Shengdu any further, lest their statements be increased.
“You may leave.” said Master Shengdu, and the three of them filed out of the room in silence.
A depressing week later, they were called to Master Shengdu’s office as promised and handed out their final punishment. They were informed by Master Shengdu that because of the enormity of their actions and its possible consequences, they would be barred from attending the Naming Ceremony and in effect, from receiving either their Core Names or their Geeya. The punishment was harsh to the degree that it was completely unexpected. They were truly sorry for their actions now but nothing could be done about it. As the days rolled by, other sequestors could be seen laughing, joking or excitedly discussing the upcoming ceremony while the three of them sat separated form the rest, huddled in a corner with long faces. News of their punishment had spread fast and they were not oblivious to the looks of sympathy their fellow sequestors constantly threw at them. In addition to the sense of humiliation it brought with it, to have been barred from the most important part of training at the Sighing Mountains was almost too much to bear. One day before the ceremony, the three of them decided they couldn’t just sit around doing nothing and risk missing the biggest event that was going to happen in their three years here. They located Master Shengdu to his office and went there to request him to change his mind, to express their sincerest regrets, begging him to allow them to take part in the ceremony. At least, Sierra and Stephanie begged. Diego just concentrated on frying the marble floor with his scowl. But he did admit to being sorry for his actions, which was more than what Sierra and Stephanie had expected him to do. Master Shengdu heard them all out patiently and in ambiguous silence. When they were done, he removed his glasses, set them down on his desk, and regarded them gravely.
“Who said the three of you are barred from the Naming Ceremony?” he asked with a twinkle in his eye. Three faces stared back at him in stunned silence. Was he offering them some kind of a loophole? If so, they weren’t going to ruin their chances by opening their mouths. They waited for Master Shengdu to go on.
Seeing that he had rendered them speechless, Master Shengdu smiled.
“I couldn’t bar you from the Naming Ceremony if I wanted to. The Naming Ceremony is where you will all receive your Core Names. Without that, you cannot go into Quniverse. Your whole purpose for coming here will be nixed and your journeys aborted at the very beginning. So, no, I couldn’t do that. I couldn’t keep you from the Naming Ceremony.”
Stephanie spoke hesitantly;
“But then … why did you say earlier that you would bar us from attending it?”
“That, my dear, was your punishment. I never actually intended to stop the three of you from attending. Wouldn’t dream of it, in fact.”
“When were you planning on telling us this?” burst out Sierra, “Tomorrow is the day of the ceremony!”
“I’ve been waiting for the three of you to show up at my office this entire week. Expecting it, pretty much. You’re late by five days.”
“You were waiting for us?”
“Indeed. If you had come earlier, you’d have been off the hook earlier.”
“Oh …”
Well, that was that. Assured now that they would miss out on nothing, the three of them felt a mixture of frustration and relief. All that agonizing over nothing! At least the burden was off their minds now. Thanking Master Shengdu for his time the three of them hurried out of his office. Sierra and Stephanie whooped and high fived each other as soon as they were out the door while Diego just smiled and carried on.
Sierra had a grin plastered on his face that entire day. Now, finally, life could begin. The only thing puzzling him was the calm with which Diego was handling this news. Surely it meant more to him than what he was expressing? Wondered Sierra, as he checked Diego’s impassive face, buried inside a book, for the umpteenth time that night as he lay on his bunk. Finally, he couldn’t take the suspense anymore.
“D, aren’t you totally psyched about being able to attend the Naming Ceremony tomorrow?” he asked.
Diego gave a non-committal shrug and Sierra’s eyes widened with disbelief. No.effin’.way. This had to be tested, Diego’s outer cool. Lifting his pillow, Sierra threw it at an unsuspecting Diego, getting hi
m square in the face and knocking the book out of his hands. Oh, yeah! Sierra grinned as his target threw his book aside and stopped to flash him an irritated glare. In a flash, Diego was off his bed and had pulled Sierra down, too. A pillow fight ensued, liberally interspersed with laughing kicks and punches and Sierra finally had his answer. Diego was super psyched about the ceremony. Only, Sierra hadn’t asked him yet in the language that his brother understood. When the next pillow came thumping down on him, in retaliation, Sierra lifted a protesting Ashitaka from the study desk and hauled the stunned fellow towards Diego. Taking advantage of Diego’s momentary surprise, Sierra pummeled him and Ashitaka with pillows, sending feathers flying everywhere. He was happy man tonight, so might as well spread the joy.
*****
CHAPTER 13
When the day finally dawned, the halls of the monastery were buzzing with enthusiasm and energy. Everybody was busy packing their belongings, exchanging farewell notes or gifts and memorabilia to remember each other by. Some of them were exchanging real world contact details incase they ever had the opportunity to meet again. The atmosphere was a positively charged one, with most sequestors raring to go into Quniverse, barring one or two that had grown too comfortable with life at the monastery. Everyone, however, was unanimously dying with curiosity to find out their Core Names and receive their Geeya.
The Naming Ceremony was to be held outdoors in the evening. All through the day, Sierra had been going around happily thumping the backs of anyone he spotted, wishing them luck or giving them a quick embrace. He got slapped once or twice by girls who weren’t very familiar with him, but that didn’t seem to dampen any of his spirits.
At the designated hour, Diego and Sierra were still in their room, squabbling over a shirt that Sierra was trying to get Diego to wear for the ceremony.
“Just wear it, D! It’s the Naming Ceremony! You’re not honestly planning to wear the ceremonial robes over your bare body, are you?”
