Chapter 19
“What if we are all just turtles?
A mother turtle lays her eggs on the beach and then swims away. Soon after, the hundreds or thousands of eggs hatch and the baby turtles begin their struggle to survive. First they have to fight their way up from under the sand. Some do not make it. Next they race towards the water while predators swoop down to eat them. They are defenseless, slow, and tiny and many of them do not survive this stage. They aren't safe even once they reach the water. Different predators are waiting for them there, snatching them up in the shallow waters and eating as many of the baby turtles as they can. The few who remain head towards deeper water, a bit safer, but it will be many years before they are grown enough to have a chance of living a long life in the sea. Of the thousands of turtles that hatch and begin their struggle for life, only a very few of them will make it. It is the same with the millions of souls born into human bodies. Just like turtles, most of them are lost along the way. Only a few rare souls will learn their lessons and evolve. Until they evolve, they are reborn again and again to play the game of life.”
Excerpt from Earth book called ‘The Game Is Life’
George Knight (avatar)
Trew Radfield, age 9
We wait for our turn to get up and show our stuff. They go through the younger belts first, which takes about an hour. My friends lean over and whisper to me every once in a while, not loud or often because we’re supposed to be polite and quiet. The whole time all I can think about is Danielle sitting beside me. I try not to stare at her, but I don’t think I’m too good at hiding it. I pretend to look at the wall beside her, but she catches me every time and just smiles. I smile back.
“What do you think so far?” I ask her.
“It’s as boring as testing back home,” she says with a grin. Her eyes are a really cool ice blue colour, and her hair is long and black, tied up in a ponytail. “Soon it’s our turn. Are you nervous?”
I shake my head. “No, I don’t get nervous much. It’s pretty fun getting up there.”
“You’re not worried about getting beat by a girl during the sparring?”
I shrug. “Not really. Dad says we can learn more from failing than succeeding. So if you beat me, then I guess you’ll be doing me a favour by teaching me something new.”
“Yep.” She nods seriously. “All part of the game.”
“What game?” I ask.
Danielle spreads her arms wide, I’m not sure what she’s pointing at, but it seems like she means everything in the world. “The only game that matters, Trew. Life. Everything we do. It’s all just a game.”
“I kind of said the same thing to my Mom earlier,” I say.
“Well then, you’re kind of smart,” she says.
When it’s time for the blue belts to perform, we start off as a group and go through the kata for our level. There are about 20 of us; Danielle and I are the youngest. Usually a kid is around 12 or 13 to be at the blue belt level, but I practice a lot and Sensei says that I earned the early advancement. Danielle must have done the same. I go through my forms, watching her out of the corner of my eye. She’s good. Very good. Strong, crisp, also relaxed in her style. It looks like she’s been doing karate her whole life. She told me she’s only been at it for two years. I've been practicing four years.
We form a ring around the outside of the mats, waiting for our turn to spar. At this level, we don’t need the headgear. Head contact isn’t allowed and we all know how to make sure the punches don’t connect. Watching the little ones spar is cute. Watching us spar is better. Not as good as the highest level belts, but I’ve sparred with brown and black belts and even won, so the parents will get a good show.
Danielle and I go last. I walk to one side of the mat and she goes to the other. We face each other and bow. She looks very intense. I have a sudden feeling I might lose. Locking eyes with her, I quietly use my imaginary power and whisper, ‘You can’t win this match, Danielle.’
Her eyes squint and she freezes in place. She quickly looks around then her gaze snaps back to me. “Hey, what did you just do?” she asks seriously.
Stephanie
“Hey!” Raphael exclaims in a loud whisper. “Did you just see that?”
“Yes,” I say.
“How long has he been able to do that, Stephanie?”
“Couple years. But you know how it works, Raph. Most kids can do it when they’re young. Life and experience eliminates the Talent soon enough. He thinks it’s just his imagination.”
Raphael laughs, keeping his eyes on the kids as they get ready to spar. “It is just his imagination!”
I scowl. “You know what I mean. He doesn’t believe in it, so soon it will fade, same as always.”
“Maybe,” Raphael sounds doubtful. “But Danni just spotted it, and that’s likely going to be a problem for me.”
“Why?”
“Because she can do it too. And I don’t know how she actually recognized Trew doing it just now, but I know her. There’s no way she’s going to stop believing in it after this.”
Trew Radfield, age 9
“I didn’t do anything,” I say.
“Yeah, you did.” She shrugs, “Okay, don’t tell me. I’ll figure it out soon enough. Let’s rock.”
I get into a guard stance and she does the same. We circle each other for a couple of seconds, neither of us retreating or giving ground. I’m usually the more aggressive one in a match, which often forces my opponents to take a few steps back. Danielle must play the same way, because we both stand our ground and take small steps forward, waiting for the right opening to attack.
She drops her shoulders and makes it look like she’s going to throw a right punch straight to my stomach, I step sideways and block downwards; it’s actually her left foot that kicks out and I gently push it aside. She’s very fast.
The match is two 90 second rounds and it goes by so quickly that I can’t seem to remember it. I’ve practiced so much that I can let my mind relax and just feel my way through the sparring.
She attacks, I defend.
I attack, she defends.
I watch the video later and can’t believe how good she is!
It’s a close match, but I manage to win by one point. I guess I must be pretty good too. The person on the video looks like me, but I’ve never seen half the moves that either of us use.
That happens to me sometimes. Sometimes I’m there, then a bit of time passes and I’m not really present. Suddenly I’m back. I’m not sure how it works, but it’s very cool.
I do remember bowing to her after the match, and her saying, “Well, that was awesome!”
We all go back to our spots on the mat, and about an hour later the testing is done. Kids go to their parents and I quickly run over to ask mine a question.
“Hey, guys, there’s a girl from the States here and she’s pretty nice. Can we ask her to come have ice cream with us, please?”
“Which girl would that be, love?” Mom asks with a smile. She knows, she’s just messing with me.
I play along. “Um… that one over there. I think she’s a blue belt too.”
Dad laughs. “Sure, pal. Ask her to come along.”
I quickly run over to find Danielle and she’s standing with the group of ten American students who made the trip. “Hey, today’s my birthday and we’re going around the corner to have cake and ice cream. Is there any way you might be able to come join us for an hour?”
“Let me ask my Sensei.” She walks over and talks quietly with her Sensei, who looks over at me and nods with a smile.
“They will be here for another two hours before we go home. So if you can have me back here before that, then Sensei says I can join you!”
“Okay, come on, then,” I say and lead her towards my family. My Sensei is standing with them and she smiles when we come over.
“Well done, Trew,” Sensei says. “Your kata was clean and very powerful. The sparring…” She looks at me and Danie
lle and just shakes her head.
“Was the sparring not good, Sensei?” I ask.
“The sparring between you two was like watching magic,” Sensei says. “If someone had told me two children your age could put on such a display of martial arts I wouldn’t have believed it. It was incredible, Danielle and Trew. Thank you for allowing us to witness it.” Sensei bows formally, and we both bow back.
“Mom and Dad, this is Danielle.”
My parents smile and both say how nice it is to meet her. Then they tell her how well she did today. Danielle turns a bit red and says thank you. Everyone seems to be getting along just fine.
“Well, we are glad you can join us for ice cream, Danielle.” Mom says.
“I’m happy to be invited,” Danielle says.
“Don’t worry about not bringing a gift for me,” I say as a joke. “Since we just met, I’ll forgive you.”
Danielle looks hurt. “But I did bring a gift for you.”
“Really?” I ask.
“Oh, yes. I let you win that sparring match. Happy birthday, Trew!”
Everyone laughs and we leave the Dojo to go for ice cream.