Chapter 9 : Old Memories

Dharma returned from his 'little ride' outside to room in the temple...

His facial expression was strange... Strangely enough, his night tour to relax and get some fresh air had made Dharma even worse than before left. Now he was lying on the bed in the room, holding up the little Buddha figure and looking at it.

"Oh, great, Buddha. Is this all part of your testing?" He whispered with voice full of melancholy.

"If I keep getting news like this, I will lose my hair that the only difference between me and the other monks."

Then he put the Buddha figure back on the table and closed his eyes. He was lost in thought...

Dharma was thinking about what to do and what path to follow. But all his thoughts were not clear. For some reason, he couldn't quite put his finger on it; his thoughts kept getting interrupted. No, he was fooling himself... He knew exactly why.

Slowly, he lay down on her bed and hugged the duvet tightly.

"Helen... What are you doing here,"

Whispering, his voice trembled, carrying the echoes of a heartbroken past from a decade prior when he still resided in the main temple. With those words, memories surged back, flooding her mind with the distant echoes of time.

This was 10 years ago...

"..."

"Master Dharma! Please stand still."

The desperate cry of the temple servant for the boy she was chasing, echoed off the walls she passed.

But the little boy didn't seem to mind her words. In fact, he was doing the opposite. The boy grabbed hold of the trunk of the big old tree in the center of the garden and started climbing up. The poor servant could do nothing but ring the bell as the boy climbed the tree.

When the boy finally reached the top of the tree, he spoke triumphantly.

"HAHA, if you can catch me, I will do what you want, but if you can't catch me, stop imposing your ridiculous demands on me!"

The servant, watching the Dharma in the tree, was not surprised that there was trouble every time he had to deal with this mischievous brat.

'But not today!, every day but today, but not today!!!' thought the servant.

Just then, a man approached the tree in the garden.

It was a Buddhist monk. His face was full of wrinkles, the marks of deep thought. He was past middle age but still had that serene and wise look. His gray hair was combed back from his forehead, and you could see that some of it was graying. Every line of his face reflected the experiences life had given him. His deep brown eyes held an infinite peace and understanding.

The Buddhist was dressed casually, usually in a dark robe and simple trousers underneath. On his back, he carried a malas slung over his shoulder. When Dharma saw the approaching figure, his expression turned ugly. She tried to hide behind the tree's branches without making a sound. But the Buddhist had obviously already spotted him.

"My, what have we here... Little Master Dharma? May I know what you are doing up in the tree at such an important time?"

The man's voice radiated pure curiosity as if no truth could be hidden from his eyes. He had already realized that this mischievous brat was causing trouble again. The Dharma in the tree was quick to respond him.

"No, you won't, walking coffin. So get out of here." Dharma spoke without holding back. After making a 'shoo shoo' with his hand, he returned behind the tree branch where he had been hiding.

The servant watched in horror from around the corner. If anyone else had said that to the master before him, he would probably have died the same second. But it was the Dharma, and he was a familiar Buddhist who liked to mess with it. The servant decided to ask for help from this master so that this opportunity would not pass him by.

"M-master Zen!" she said, with eyes begging for help. "P-please help me. The guests are almost here, but Master Dharma is refusing all requests. At this rate, he won't even be able to attend his own celebration!"

She had used her last chance to get Master Zen to help her. If he couldn't get Dharma down from the tree... She didn't even want to think what would happen to him.

"Hmm." The old Buddhist stroked his beard as he thought.

"Well, then, I'll leave since it would insult the Buddha for me to stand where the young master doesn't want me to." The Old Master turned around as if his words were a direct order from the Buddha, obviously meaning that he was going to leave and let this little scamp do as he pleased

Dharma was surprised by this unexpected answer.

'Since when did this old bastard become so obedient? Anyway, victory is victory!' thought Dharma.

He watched the old Buddhist leave with a grin on his face. The servant collapsed on the floor, defeated by what he had just heard. Just then, he heard the old Buddhist's words as he turned away.

"Oh, what a pity. They came all the way here to see you," he said in a sad tone, stroking his beard again.

"I don't care who comes, you old fool. Stop talking nonsense and go away." Dharma's words were rather impulsive for his age.

The old Buddhist continued with a sad face. "In that case, I regret to inform our guests from the Rousseau Clan that they have no choice but to return."

'Huh?' Dharma shocekd but what he heard.

"Wait, who did you say?" Dharma spoke, but her words seemed to go unheard by the old Buddhist Zen.

The old Buddhist continued talking to himself in a sad tone. "Oh, poor girl, what was her name? Oh, Helen, that's right! How sad she will be when she finds out that she has come all this way for nothing. But there's nothing to be done. There's nothing we can do." He continued to mutter to himself in an exasperated tone.

'You bastard, you should have told me earlier that she was coming too.'

Dharma finally came out from behind the tree branch where he had been hiding. But as soon as he did so, the old Buddhist opened his closed eyes at the same time. From the Buddhist's back came a hand, cloaked in a spirituality that few can see, and grabbed the exposed Dharma in one fell swoop.

Thanks to Master Zen's superior skill and control, not a single leaf fell from the tree branch While he was doing all that.

At that moment, an agonized scream echoed through the air.

"AHHH! YOU OLD FART, YOU TRICKED ME. AND YET YOU CLAIM TO BE A BUDDHIST?"

He shouted violently as an unseen force pulled him towards Buddhist Zen.

But the old man ignored the sound, pretending to clean his ears.

"Well, after all, you were the first to use one of the sacred trees as a shield, little devil." Master Zen spoke indifferently.

"And who said I was lying?" There was mischief in his voice. 

Dharma seemed to have forgotten everything he had just said when he heard the old master's words.

He immediately asked, "So is she really coming?"

He was excited. How long had it been since he and his friend had last met? Three months? Well, it was like three years for someone as young as he was.

'Look at him; he is not happy that he is recognized by the clans because of his divine lineage, but he is happy that his playmate has arrived.'

The old master's thoughts were mixed. Yet that was one of the things he liked about this naughty boy. So he did not pursue the matter any further and spoke.

"Yes, as long as you prepare properly and represent us in a manner worthy of the temple," he said.

'You devil as if I had a choice,' he said inwardly, but it wasn't a bad deal.

Dharma nodded. "Okay, okay, fine," he said.

The old master smiled. 'It's good that we can finally come to a mutual decision.'

Then he gently put Dharma down, holding him with his skill. Dharma tried to straighten his clothes, wrinkled by the old master.

At that moment, hearing that his little master was finally willing to cooperate, the servant stood up with joy and gratitude.

Thank you very much, Zen Master!" and bowed deeply to the old master. Zen Master responded with a slight smile: "Then this old man will be the first to leave."

Then, passing by Dharma and the young temple servant, he entered the Temple.

"We should get ready too, Master Dharma! We are already behind schedule," She said as he helped Dharma to straighten his clothes with her hands. Dharma did not resist this time and went with the servant to one of the rooms in the temple to get ready.

'At least I will be able to see sister Helen... Finally, this boring temple can become a bit of fun,' were Dharma's thoughts as he held the servant's hand.