The Importance of the Number

My arms rested on the edges of the tub as I continued to think. Nothing seemed to be fitting. What was really going on with the energy I had awakened? My thoughts became so cumbered that the joy of the bath was lost. So, I pulled the plug, dried off and dressed again before sitting at the desk in my room and pulling out a notebook and pen.

Kundalini Silvermist (aka Silver):

**Brown and/or Black clothes

**Meditates alone in the trees

**Dances naked in flame without being burned

**Bulge under her skirt

**Three roots/Five roots

**Holes in dirt beneath where she was kneeling

**Silver hair always braided

**Swims naked in mountain lakes

**Tree root birthmark

**Painful meditation (my own)

My pen hovered above the page as I tried to think if there was anything else that seemed out of place.

**Dad knew to bring the Sandalwood oil without her calling home

**Her sudden disappearance on Mt. Rainier

Nothing else was coming to mind, but even as I looked over everything, nothing about Kundalini seemed logical. Granted the birthmark and the color of her hair were because of genetics and the clothes and meditations a personal choice. But the rest of it? The more I thought about it, the more frustrated I felt. I dropped my pen and lay down on my bed. My tailbone had stopped burning and I was able to move normally. The Sandalwood did help. After a minute, I got up and worked on homework.

Two more days before the weekend would be here. My parents were working late, so I pulled a microwavable dinner from the freezer. I continued working on homework while I ate. Once homework was done, I returned to my puzzle. The bulge under her skirt kept attracting my attention. What was it? It wasn't there for very long.

'Tree roots,' she had said.

Actual tree roots? That was impossible. If they were actual tree roots then where did they go? They didn't just fall off or they would have been seen and for some reason the number three bothered me. Grabbing my pen, I circled it and above it wrote four. That fit Kundalini much better. After that, my mind didn't want to think anymore and I went to bed.

My dreams took me back to the Red Alder forest and my roots dove deep into the earth. The vibrating of the root chakra woke me up some and I rolled to my back. There was something between my legs and I woke more. Reaching behind me, I felt something long coming from my tailbone.

"What the…?"

Getting up, I turned on my light and saw five tree roots dangling from my tailbone through my pajama pants. They reached all the way to the floor and the vibrating continued. This couldn't be happening. How was I going to go to school with tree roots coming out my pants? There had to be a way to address this. Was there no way to make them leave and that is why Kundalini always wore a skirt? I paced. It was weird having tree roots hanging from my tailbone, and yet felt so natural. If the bulge he had seen was her tree roots, she was able to make them disappear.

I sighed then sat on my bed. My roots spread across my bed as I closed my eyes. I went back to the Red Alder forest, my roots were still in the ground and I pulled them back in. I felt a slight shift around my tailbone, but the vibrating continued until—in my meditation—the roots were completely drawn back in and I was free to leave. Opening my eyes once more, the roots were gone. The only thing that marked they had ever been there was the hole in my pants.

I moved the torn fabric of my pants and saw five tree roots as dark as the three on Kundalini. I'd have to ask her what the number meant. What meaning it had to her and her father. I lay on my back for several minutes before I dared attempt to sleep again.

When I woke the following morning to my alarm clock, a headache came with it. No roots came from my tailbone. Were it not for the hole in my pants, I would have thought it all a dream. The sky was cloudy, which meant it might rain. I changed clothes and pulled out my black trench coat. The last thing I wanted was to be laughed at should my roots randomly come out. I drank some water before finding a cereal bar to take with me. I didn't bother with the pain killers, but as I drank more water the headache started to fade.

The school seemed busier than usual this morning. I sat in class for a few minutes before Kundalini walked in. She was wearing all brown today, but was bent forward and using a silver and black cane. The circles under her eyes looked darker today. Her hair was in its typical braid and not pulled up in a bun as it had been the day before. Each step was taken with a wince and it took her a bit to sit fully in the desk next to mine.

"Are you okay?" I asked.

Kundalini shook her head and took a deep breath. "Rough night."

"I'm sorry."

"It's not your fault." Her hand covered her mouth and she closed her eyes.

"Is there anything you can take to feel better?"

She shook her head. "Only time and little meditations."

"Have you been this sick before?"

"It happens at the beginning of every school year."

"Why's that?"

"Different schools; different energies."

"How many schools have you been to?"

"I've lost count."

All throughout class, I kept my focus on my work since I knew Kundalini probably didn't want to talk about how she felt. After class I walked with her, each step looked painful, but I didn't know what I could do. Her skirt was short enough today that I could see her feet. They looked a little off color and swollen.

Our next class, the teacher had prepared a video for us to watch and take notes on instead of practicing our choir songs. Before we got started, Kundalini tore one page in half and wrote on it. This was passed to me halfway through the video and I read it. They were steps for another meditation. At the end of class, Kundalini stayed to talk with the professor, so I waited for her. The note had come at a timely manner since seeing the trees in the video reminded me of the Red Alder forest. They didn't talk long and soon Kundalini was ready. We walked to the hall our photography class was in and sat on the floor.

I walked through the meditation she had handed me. It was different from the grounding meditation. I wondered how it would affect me. Water surrounded me, filled my lungs, filled my soul. A bit of sensual passion stirred within me as I moved freely in the water letting it become a part of me as I became as fluid as the water around me. The meditation broke when I resurfaced. Kundalini's energy shifted, but something about it didn't feel right. I didn't get a chance to ask her about it because the bell rang. I helped her from the floor and held her until she was okay to stand on her own.

"How much longer will your pain last?" I asked, as we entered the classroom.

"Another week at most."

"Is this the worst it can get?"

"No, I've had worse. Every school is different."

"Is that why you won't call home?"

"Being home will only prolong the illness."

I nodded. "Can I ask what five means?"

"Are we talking roots or the number in general?"

"Roots."

"The more roots one has, the greater their power. When finding the one you'll remain faithful to, you will want someone who compliments you—a four or a six in your case."

"What about you?"

"A two or a four would better complement where I am at."

"I don't believe that."

"You should."

We finished our shoebox cameras and were sent about the school to take a picture of something. Kundalini didn't go far, but I went outside and took a picture of the trees. The water meditation and the shift in Kundalini's energy were still foremost in my mind and I wanted to stay close to her.

When I returned to the classroom, Kundalini was already in the development room, running her photo paper through the many trays of chemicals. Due to the lack of light, shadows were cast across her face and she looked like a zombie from an old black and white film. The edges of her mouth turned down as she moved her photo from the first solution to the second with her right hand. Her left gripped the head of her cane tightly. Despite the dark circles under her eyes and the seriousness of her expression, Kundalini was becoming beautiful to me.

"How are you feeling, Asahel?" she asked.

"Thirsty for more," I replied, standing next to her and placing my photo paper in the first solution.

She kept her gaze on her photo. "Drinking water will help with that," she said, moving the photo slightly in the solution.

"Alright." My photo was almost ready to move. "Are there any meditations that would help you get well, Kundalini?"

"No." She shivered and moved the photo to the last solution before the rinse. "Do you feel well enough to do a second meditation?"

"Today?"

She nodded.

"Don't you leave right after school?"

"Not today. I need to stay and catch up on some homework."

"What homework?"

"All the reading. I haven't done it yet. Do you feel up to it?"

"Sure."

"Okay." Kundalini rinsed her photo and hung it up to dry. Then she slowly left the room.

I longed to feel her lips against mine and her body close to me, but now was not the time for that.