“Ren, stop! The branches are scratching us. They have needles underneath that follow our movements. They’re the thorny grasping dangers!”
When he stopped, feathery branches slowly slithered down from above and wrapped around his neck and tail. He jumped away and tore them viciously from the tree.
“We’ll have to run or they’ll ensnare us!” I shouted.
He doubled his effort to break through the undergrowth. I jogged after him. The forest seemed to go on forever with no sign of the trees thinning. After another fifteen minutes, I slowed, feeling extremely tired. I just couldn’t run anymore.
Panting, I wheezed, “Ren, I’m slowing you down. Go on ahead without me. Break through the tree line. You can make it.” He stopped, turned around, and raced quickly back to my side. The branches started snaking down and began to wrap their curly tendrils around his body.
He roared and rolled, then slashed at the branches with his claws, which made them retreat for a moment. I felt one twisting its way around my arm and knew that this was it for me. Tears welled up in my eyes, and I knelt to stroke Ren’s cheek.
I begged, “Ren, go. Please leave me.”
He shifted form and placed his hand over mine. “We have to stay together, remember? I won’t leave you, Kelsey. I’ll never leave you.” He smiled sadly.
I swallowed and nodded as he gently removed the curly branch from my arm and batted away another one that was reaching out for my neck.
“Come on.”
He grabbed the gada out of my hand and started beating it against the branches, but they just tried to wrap their sharp green fingers around the weapon, unaffected by its power. Then he moved to a trunk and beat it severely.
Immediately, the tree gathered into itself. Branches folded inward and wrapped around the trunk protectively. Ren stepped in front of me and cautioned me to wait by the injured tree. He walked ahead a few paces and swung the gada.
He thrashed the tree trunks, leaving gaping, pulpy wounds as he went. I followed a length behind as he made slow progress through the forest. The branches seemed to know what he was up to and tore at him viciously, but Ren seemed to have an endless amount of energy.
I winced as I watched the cuts and scrapes appear across every bare patch of his skin. His back was soon lacerated, his shirt torn and bloody. He looked like he’d been brutally whipped with a cat-o’-nine-tails.
At last, we reached the edge of the needle forest and stopped in a clearing. He pulled me out of the reach of the branches and allowed his body to collapse to the ground. He bent over, sweating and winded from his exertion. I took some water out of my backpack and offered it to him. He drank the entire bottle in one gulp.
I leaned over and inspected his bloody arm. His body was slippery with blood and sweat. I got out another water bottle and an old T-shirt and began cleaning the dirt from his cuts and bruises. I pressed the cool, wet cloth to his face and back. He started to relax and breathe slower as I continued my ministrations. His cuts quickly began to heal, and as my worry over Ren diminished, I realized something.
“Ren! You’ve been a man now for much longer than twenty-four minutes. Are you okay—well aside from the scratches?”
He rubbed his hand on his chest. “I feel . . . fine. I don’t feel the need to change back.”
“Maybe this is all we need to do. Maybe we’ve broken the curse!”
He considered for a minute. “No, I don’t think so. I have a feeling that we need to move on.”
“Why don’t you test it? See if you can become a tiger or not.”
He changed into a tiger and back and his bloody torn clothes were immediately replaced with clean white cloth.
“Perhaps it’s just the magic of this place that allows me to be human.”
My face must have appeared crestfallen. Ren laughed and kissed my fingers.
“Don’t worry, Kells. I’ll be fully human soon, but for now I’ll take this gift as long as I can keep it.”
He winked at me and grinned, and then he leaned over to pull me closer so he could have a turn at examining my injuries. He inspected my arms, legs, and neck. He swiped the wet cloth down my arms and cleaned my cuts with healing tenderness. I knew that his injuries were much more severe than mine, so I tried to dissuade him, but he wouldn’t have it.
He declared, “Everything checks out okay. You have one wicked scratch on your neck, but I think it’ll heal fine.” He bathed the back of my neck with the towel and pressed it there for a moment. Then he tugged at the collar of my T-shirt with his finger. “Are there, ah, any other places you want me to check out for you?”
I batted his hand away. “No, thank you. Those other places I can check for myself.”
He laughed good-naturedly, and then stood and helped me up. He slipped on my backpack and hefted the gada over one shoulder. After offering me his hand, we began walking.
We passed more of the needle trees, but they were spaced much farther apart and were mixed in with some normal, non-killer types of trees, so we were able to stay out of their range. Ren twined his fingers through mine.
“You know, it’s nice just to walk with you and not be worried about how much time I have left.”
“Hmm, yes,” I agreed shyly.
Ren seemed happy despite our situation. I thought about how hard it must be for him, knowing that he had very little time each day to be a man and trying to make the most of each and every minute. He felt like this creepy place was a gift. His cheerful mood eventually affected me too.
I knew that worse challenges probably awaited us, but walking alongside Ren, I didn’t care. I let myself enjoy my time with him.
We found a dirt path again and started to follow it. The path led toward some hills and a large tunnel that we assumed led through them. There was no other place to go, so we entered slowly, keeping a careful watch of our surroundings. Lit torches lined the stone walls, and many other tunnels led off from the main one. I jumped as I saw something pass by in a side passage.
“Ren! I saw something in there.”
“I saw something too.”
It seemed we were in a vast honeycomb of tunnels, and figures kept appearing at the edge of our vision. I pressed my body close against Ren, and he draped an arm around my shoulders.
I heard a voice, a woman’s voice, cry softly, “Ren? Ren? Ren? Ren?” It echoed from tunnel to tunnel.
“I’m here, Kells! Kells! Kells!”
Ren looked at me apprehensively and squeezed my shoulder. The voices were ours. He let go of me and pulled the gada out to a ready position in front of him. Walking warily in front, he watched the other tunnels very carefully.
I heard screams and running footsteps, growling tigers, and screeches. I stopped walking for a moment and stood in front of one of the tunnels.
“Kelsey! Help me!” Ren appeared in the side tunnel. He was fighting a group of monkeys that were scratching and biting him. He changed to a tiger, sunk his teeth into them, and ripped them apart. It was gruesome!
I took a step backward, feeling afraid. Then I froze and remembered Durga’s warning about staying together. I turned around and saw two other tunnels that hadn’t been there before. Two Rens were walking straight ahead with the gada in front, one in each tunnel. Which was the main tunnel? Which one was the real Ren?
I heard running footsteps behind me and hastily chose the one on the right. I hurried to catch up to him, but it seemed the closer I got, the farther away he was. I knew I’d chosen the wrong path. I called out to him, “Ren!”
He didn’t turn toward me. I stopped and looked in two other tunnels for a sign of him. I saw Kishan and Ren fighting as tigers in one tunnel. Mr. Kadam was in a swordfight with a man who looked like my nightmare guy in another.
I hurried from tunnel to tunnel. Several passageways flashed scenes of my life. My grandma beckoned me to help her plant flowers. My high school teacher was asking me questions. There was even one with my parents. They were calling out to me. I gasped, an
d tears filled my eyes.
I screamed aloud, “No, no, no! This can’t be happening! Where’s Ren?”
“Kelsey? Kelsey! Where are you?”
“Ren! I’m here!” I heard my voice, but I hadn’t said anything.
I looked in another tunnel and saw Ren running up to approach . . . me. Only it wasn’t me. I was me. Ren came close to the thing that looked like me, and stroked her face.
“Kelsey, are you okay?”
I heard it respond, “Yes. I’m fine.” It turned its head and looked straight at me while Ren kissed its cheek. The image morphed, and with a sharp, shattering noise, the face melted into death. It smiled insidiously, and I shivered with revulsion as I looked at a smiling corpse pulsating with maggots.
I approached the tunnel entrance and yelled at Ren to stop, but he couldn’t hear me. There was some kind of barrier blocking me so I couldn’t enter. The corpse snickered at me and waved a hand. The image became obscure, and I could no longer make out its form.
Infuriated, I pounded on the barrier, but it had no effect. After a few moments, the barrier disappeared, and I was staring into a long black tunnel lit with torches, just like the dozens of others that I’d passed by before.
I gave up and moved on. I passed a Ren who was cowering on the ground, forlorn and self-deprecating. He was sobbing and bemoaning his losses. He spoke of all the mistakes he’d made and how wrong he’d been about everything. He begged for forgiveness, but he could find no absolution. The things he mentioned having done were awful, ineffable, horrible things. Things that I knew Ren had never done and couldn’t even imagine doing. His body was angular and broken, and it was indescribably heartbreaking.
I was indignant. This was too much! It was so awful to see someone I cared about broken down into nothing that I became furious. Someone or something was playing games with us, and I hated it. What was worse was knowing that the same things were happening to Ren somewhere in these tunnels. Who knew how they were representing me!
I moved on to another tunnel and saw an upright and proud Ren with his back turned to me. I called out cautiously, “Ren? Is that really you?”
He turned around and smiled his beautiful smile, and then he held out his arms to me and beckoned me closer.
“Kelsey! Finally! What took you so long? Where have you been?”
With great relief, I wrapped my arms around him as he pulled me close. He held me and rubbed my back.
Puzzled, I inquired, “Ren? Where’s the backpack and the gada?” I pulled back and looked up into his handsome face.
“We don’t need them anymore. Shh, now. Just stay here with me for a minute.”
I moved back quickly and took a few steps away.
“You’re not Ren.”
He laughed. “Sure I am, Kelsey. What do I have to do to prove it to you?”
“No. Something’s wrong. You’re not him!”
I ran out of the tunnel and kept running until my lungs were about to explode but I got nowhere. I just passed tunnel after tunnel. Slowing to a stop, I breathed hard, trying to think about what I should do. Ren had the gada and the backpack. He would never discard them. So he still had them somewhere, and I had nothing. No, that wasn’t true. I did have something! I pulled the paper out of my jeans pocket and read through the warnings again.
If for some reason you get separated, there will be great danger. She also said do not trust your eyes. Your hearts and your souls will tell you the difference between fantasy and reality.
Do not trust my eyes? Well, that was obvious at this point. So my heart will help me tell the difference. Okay, follow my heart. How do I do that?
I decided to just continue walking and keep an open mind. At each tunnel, I stopped to watch for a minute and then closed my eyes and tried to feel if it was right. Usually, whatever or whoever was in there doubled their efforts. They talked and cajoled, trying to tempt me to go in after them. I continued in this way, passing several tunnels, and none of the places where I stopped felt right.
I came to another passageway and paused to examine the scene. I saw myself dead and lying on the ground with Ren kneeling beside me. He leaned over my inert body investigating. I heard him whisper, “Kelsey? Is it you? Kelsey, please. Talk to me. I need to know if it’s really you.”
He picked my body up and cradled it lovingly in his arms. I checked to make sure he had the gada and the backpack, which he did, but I’d been fooled before. Then he said, “Don’t leave me, Kells.”
I closed my eyes and listened to his voice begging me to live. My heart started thumping wildly, a different reaction than I’d had in the past visions. I took a step closer and hit a barrier again.
I spoke to him softly, “Ren? I’m here. Don’t give up.”
He raised his head as if he heard me.
“Kelsey? I can hear you, but I can’t see you. Where are you?” He lowered me, or the body that looked like me, to the ground, and it disappeared.
I told him, “Close your eyes and feel your way to me.” He stood slowly and closed his eyes.
I closed my eyes too, and tried to focus not on his voice but on his heart. I imagined my hand on his chest, feeling the strong thump of his heart beneath my fingers. My body seemed to move of its own volition, and I took several steps forward. I concentrated on Ren, his laugh, his smile, how I felt being near him, then, suddenly, my hand touched his chest, and I could feel his heart beating. He was there. I opened my eyes slowly and looked at him.
He reached out a hand to touch my hair, but then he pulled it back. “Is it really you this time, Kells?”
“Well, I’m no maggoty corpse, if that’s what you mean.”
He grinned. “That’s a relief. No maggoty corpse would be that sarcastic.”
I countered, “Well, how do I know it’s really you?”
He considered my question for a moment and then ducked his head to kiss me. He tugged me flush up against his chest, pulling me closer than I even thought possible, and then his lips touched mine. His kiss started out warm and soft, but quickly turned hungry and demanding. His hands ran up my arms, to my shoulders, and then cupped my neck. I wrapped my arms around his waist and luxuriated in the kiss. When he finally pulled back, my heart was pounding in response.
When the power of speech returned, I quipped, “Well, even if it isn’t really you, I’ll take this version.”
He laughed and relief flooded both of us. “Kells, I think you’d better hold my hand the rest of the way.”
I smiled gaily back at him. “No problem.” Thrilled to have my Ren back, I was able to ignore the calls and beseeching inquiries coming from the side passages.
A light appeared at the far end of the tunnel, and we made our way there. Ren held my hand tightly until we emerged from the opening and stood well away from it. He stopped next to a meandering creek that curved off behind some trees.
It felt like noon here, wherever here was, so we decided to take a break and eat.
Munching on an energy bar, Ren said, “I’d prefer to avoid the trees and stay closer to the creek bed. I’m hoping that if we follow it a little farther, it’ll lead us to Kishkindha.”
I nodded in agreement and wondered what else was waiting for us around the next bend.
Feeling refreshed after our brief rest, we pushed on and followed the creek. The water was running ahead of us, which, according to Ren, meant we were walking downstream. The bank was pebbly and full of smooth river rocks.
Picking up a gray stone, I tossed it up and down as I walked and lost myself in thought. The weight and feel of the rock changed. I opened my hand and peered at it. It had transformed into a smooth, sparkling emerald. I stopped and looked down at the rocks underfoot. They were still gray and dull, but as they disappeared under the water, I saw shimmering jewels instead.
“Ren! Look there. Under the water.” I pointed out the jewels glittering below. The farther out in the river I looked, the bigger the jewels were. “Do you see that? There’s a ruby the siz
e of an ostrich egg!”
I had just leaned over to pluck a large diamond from the water when I felt Ren wrap his arms around me from behind and pull me back several feet.
He whispered against my cheek while pointing to the river, “Look over there. There, out of the corner of your eye. What do you see?”
“I don’t see anything.”
“Use your peripheral vision.”
Right next to the diamond, an image glimmered slightly beneath the water. It looked like a white monkey, but hairless. Its long arms were stretched up, reaching out toward me.
“It was trying to grab you.”
I quickly tossed the emerald into the creek. The water swirled and hissed where it hit, then it quieted and calmed again to become as smooth as silk. When I looked directly at the jewels, that’s all I could see, but when I looked out of the corner of my eye, I could see water monkeys everywhere, floating just under the surface. It looked like they used their tails to anchor their bodies to tree roots and underwater plants, just like sea horses.
Ren mumbled, “I wonder if they could be Kappa?”
“What are Kappa?”
“A demon from Asia my mother used to tell me about. They lurked in water, waiting to catch children and suck their blood.”
“Vampire sea horse monkeys? Are you serious?”
He shrugged. “Apparently, they are real. Mother told me about them when I was young. She said that children in China were taught to show respect for their elders by bowing. They were told that if they didn’t bow, the Kappa would get them. The Kappa have depressions on the tops of their heads that are full of water. They need water on their heads in order to survive. The only way to save yourself if one comes after you is to bow.”
“How does bowing save you?”
“If you bow to a Kappa, it will bow back. When it does, the water spills out of the top of its head, which leaves them defenseless.”
“Well, if they can come out of the water, why haven’t they attacked?”
He pondered thoughtfully. “They usually attack only children, or so I was told. My mother told me that her grandmother used to carve the children’s names into fruit or cucumbers and then toss them into the water before bathing. The Kappa would eat the fruit and be satisfied enough that they wouldn’t hurt the bathing children.”