by Collen Houck
His voice was soft. “That was…excellent. I like this Shakespeare.”
“Me too.”
I was thumbing through the poetry book searching for another poem when Ren said, “Kelsey, perhaps I could share a poem of my country…with you.”
Surprised, I set my book down. “Sure, I’d love to hear some Indian poetry.”
He opened his eyes and stared up at the trees overhead. Capturing my hand, he twined my fingers through his and rested our hands on his chest. A slight breeze was blowing. It caused the leaves to dance and twist in the sun, weaving shadows and sunlight across his handsome face.
“This is an old poem of India. It’s taken from an epic story that’s been around for as long as I can remember. It’s called theSakuntala by Kalidasa.”
Thy heart, indeed, I know not:
but mine, oh! cruel, love
warms by day and by night;
and all my faculties are centered on thee.
Thee, O slender maid,
love only warms;
but me he burns;
as the day-star only stifles
the fragrance of the night-flower,
but quenches the very orb of the moon.
This heart of mine,
oh thou who art of all things the dearest to it,
will have no object but thee.
“Ren, that was…very beautiful.” His eyes turned to my face, and we looked at each other. He smiled and reached a hand up to touch my cheek. My pulse quickened, and my face felt hot where he touched it. I became suddenly aware that my fingers were still twined in his hair, and my hand was resting on his chest. I quickly removed them and twisted them in my lap. He sat up slightly, leaning on one hand, which
brought his beautiful face very close to mine. His fingers moved down to my chin, and he tilted my face slightly so that my eyes met his intense blue ones.
“Kelsey?”
“Yes…”
“I would like…permission…to kiss you.”
Whoa…red-alert! The comfortable feeling I was enjoying with my tiger just a few minutes before had disappeared. I became acutely nervous and prickly. My perspective swung 180°. I was, of course, aware that a man’s heart beat inside the tiger’s body, but, somehow, I’d shifted that knowledge to the back of my mind.
Awareness of the man burst into my conscious mind. I stared at him, astonished. He was…well, to be blunt, he was out of my league. I’d never even considered the possibility of a relationship with him, other
than friendship.
His question forced me to acknowledge that my comfortable pet tiger was actually a virile, robust example of masculinity. My heart started hammering against my ribcage. Several thoughts went through my head all at once, but the dominant thought was that I would very much like to be kissed by Ren.
Other thoughts were creeping around at the edge of my consciousness too, trying to wiggle into the forefront. Thoughts like—it’s too soon—we barely know each other—and maybe he’s just lonely—spun through my mind. But, I clipped the threads of those thoughts and let them blow away. Stomping down on caution, I decided that I did want him to kiss me. I’m not exactly sure what happened next, but it went
something like this…
He moved just a smidgen closer to me. I closed my eyes, took a deep breath, and then…waited. When I opened my eyes, he was still staring at me. He reallywas waiting for permission. There was nothing, and
I mean nothing I wanted more in the world at that moment than to be kissed by this gorgeous man. But, I ruined it. For some reason, I fixated on the wordpermission .
I nervously rambled, “What…umm…what do you mean you want mypermission ?”
He looked at me curiously, which made me feel even more panicky. To say I had no experience with kissing would be an understatement. Not only had I never kissed a boy before…I’d never even met a guy Iwanted to kiss, until Ren. So, instead of kissing him like I wanted to, I got flustered and started coming up with reasons to not do it.
I babbled, “Girls need to be swept off their feet, and asking permission is…just…just…old-fashioned.
It’s not spontaneous enough. It doesn’t scream passion…it screams old fogey. If you have toask then the answer is…no.”
And I went on like this. What an idiot I was! I sat there telling this beautiful, kind, blue-eyed, hunk of a prince that he was an old fogey.
He looked at me for a long moment, long enough for me to see the hurt in his eyes before he cleared his face of expression. He stood up quickly, formally bowed to me, and avowed softly, “I won’t ask you again, Kelsey. I apologize for being so forward.”
Then he changed into a tiger and quickly ran off into the jungle, leaving me alone to berate myself for my
foolishness.
I shouted, “Ren, wait!” But it was too late. He was gone.
I can’t believe I insulted him like that! He must hate me! How could I do that to him?
I knew I only said those things because I was nervous, but that was no excuse.What did he mean he would neverask me again? I hopehe asks me again.
I replayed my words over and over again in my mind and thought of all the things I could have said that would have given me a better result. Things like, “I thought you’d never ask” or “I was just about to ask you the same question.”
I could have just grabbed the man and kissedhim first. Even just a simple “Yes” would have done the trick. I could have said dramatically, “As you wish,” “Kiss me…kiss me as if it were the last time,” or
“You had me at hello.” He’d never seen the movies…so why not? But, no. I had to go on and on about permission . He left me alone the rest of the day, which gave me plenty of time to kick myself.
Late in the afternoon, I was sitting on my sunning rock with my open journal, pen in hand, staring into space,miserable , when I heard a noise in the jungle near our camp.
I gasped in shock as a large black cat emerged from the trees. It circled the tent and stopped to smell my blanket…then it walked to the fire and sat there for a moment not afraid of it at all. After a few minutes, it loped off into the trees, only to come back into the clearing from the other side. I sat still, hoping it hadn’t seen me.
It was much larger than the panther that had attacked me near the cave. In fact, as it came closer to where I was sitting, I made out jet-black stripes on a dark, sable coat of fur. Bright, golden eyes scanned the camp, sharply calculating. It was a tiger like Ren! I’d never heard of a black tiger. It must not have seen me because, after circling our camp and sniffing the air a few times, the tiger disappeared back into the jungle.
Still…just to be safe, I sat on my rock for a long time, just to be sure it was gone for good.
After hearing nothing for fifteen minutes, I decided it was safe to move. At the exact same second, a man
stepped out of the jungle nearby.
He boldly approached me, looked me slowly up and down, and said, “Well, well, well…we are full of surprises, aren’t we?”
The man was dressed in a black shirt and pants. He was very handsome, but in a darker, more swarthy way than Ren. His skin was antique-bronze, and his hair was ink-black, longer than Ren’s, but it was also swept back from his face and slightly curled.
His eyes were gold with specks of copper. I tried to identify the color. I’d never seen eyes like that before; they were like…like pirate gold, the color of gold doubloons. In fact,pirate was a good way to describe him. He looked like the kind of guy you might find gracing the cover of a historical romance novel, playing the part of a dark lothario. As he smiled at me, his eyes crinkled slightly at the corners.
I knew immediately who I was looking at. It was Ren’s brother. Both men were very handsome and had the same regal bearing. They were about the same height, but where Ren was tall, lean, and muscular…this man was heavier and brawny, with more powerful arms. I thought he might take more after their father. While Ren, with his more prominent Asi
an features—the slightly almond-shaped blue eyes and golden skin—surely took after his mother. Strangely, I didn’t feel any fear, though I recognized an undercurrent of danger. It was almost as if the tiger part of him had overtaken the man.
I stated, “Before you say anything else, I think you should know that I know who you are.And …I knowwhat you are.”
He stepped forward and quickly closed the gap between us, then cupped my chin, lifting my face for his perusal.
“And…who…or what…do you think I am,my lovely ?”
His voice was very deep, smooth, and silky like hot caramel. His accent was more pronounced than Ren’s. He hesitated as if he hadn’t used his voice in a long time.
“You’re Ren’s brother, the one who betrayed him and stole his fiancée.”
His eyes tightened, and I felt a twinge of fear.
He clicked his tongue, “Tch, tch, tch…now, now…where are your manners? We haven’t even been properly introduced yet, and here you are making wild accusations against me.”
He lifted a lock of my hair and rubbed it between his fingers, then he tilted his head. “I do have to give Dhiren credit. He always manages to surround himself with beautiful women.”
I was about to step away from him when I heard a tremendous bellow from the trees and saw Ren crash through the camp and leap, snarling into the air. His brother quickly moved me to the side and then leapt into the air, changing into the black tiger I’d seen before.
Ren was beyond rage. He roared so loudly that I felt the vibrations of it quiver through my body. The two tiger bodies smashed together in the air with an explosive clap and fell hard to the ground. They rolled in the grass, clawed at each other’s backs, and bit whenever and wherever they got a chance.
I moved as far off to the side as I could and ended up near the falls, behind some bushes. I tried to shout at them to stop, but the fighting was so loud that it drowned out my voice. The two big cats rolled apart and faced each other. They crouched close to the ground, tails twitching, ready to pounce. They began circling the fire, keeping it between them.
For the moment, they were growling menacingly and locked in a staring contest. I decided that this was the best time to intervene, when the claws were on the ground and not in the air. I approached the two tigers slowly, staying closer to Ren’s side.
I mustered my courage and entreated, “Please, stop it. Both of you. You’re brothers. It doesn’t matter what happened in the past. You need to talk to each other.”
I implored Ren, “You were the one who wanted to seekhim out. Now’s your opportunity to talk, to tell him what you need to say.”
I looked at his brother. “And you…Ren’s been a captive for many years, and we’re working on a way to helpboth of you. You should listen to him.”
Ren changed into a man. He said sharply, “You’re right, Kelsey. I did come out here to talk to him, but I
see that he still cannot be trusted. There’s no…vestige of consideration in him. I shouldnever have come here.”
“But, Ren…”
Ren moved in front of me and spat angrily at the black tiger. “Prastha!Durvrtah ! I’ve been circling you for two days! You had no right to come here when youknew I was gone! And you willnever touch Kelsey again…ifyou know what’s good for you!”
Ren’s brother changed to his man-form as well, shrugged his shoulders, and said casually, “I wanted to see what you were protecting so fiercely. You’re right. I’ve been following you for two days, getting close enough to see what you were up to, but staying far enough away so that I could approach you on my terms. As far as me staying here to listen to you, there isnothing you could say that would hold any interest for me whatsoever,Murkha .”
He touched his face and grinned as he traced long scratches left by Ren and then rubbed his jaw. He darted his eyes in my direction, and with a cursory glance at Ren, added, “Unless…of course, you’d like to talk abouther . I’m always interested in yourwomen .”
Ren moved me back and responded with an outraged roar. Morphing in midair, he attacked his brother again. The two rolled through the camp biting and scratching again, banging against trees and slamming down on sharp rocks. Ren lashed out with a paw aiming for his brother, but he hit a tree trunk instead, leaving deep, jagged claw marks in the thick trunk.
The black tiger took off running into the jungle, and Ren chased after him. Two angry roars echoed through the trees, and a flock of birds took off squawking unhappily. The fight continued as they moved from one part of the jungle to another. I could follow their path by standing on my rock and watching the
trees shake in the jungle and tracking the procession of irritated birds, rousted from their comfortable perches.
Ren finally barreled back into the campsite with his brother half riding his back, sinking in his claws and
biting his neck. Ren stood up on his back legs and shook his brother off, and then he leapt up onto a large rock overlooking the pool and turned to face him. The black tiger gathered himself and leapt on top
of Ren, who jumped up to block him. The move ended up pushing the black tiger into the pool of water instead, and Ren dove right in after him.
I stood at the side of the pool watching them continue to fight. One would explode from the water and pounce on the other, pushing him under. Claws raked faces, backs, and sensitive underbellies as the two large cats battered and mauled each other repeatedly. Neither one seemed to dominate the other.
Just when I thought they’d never stop, the fighting seemed to wane. The black tiger dragged his unwieldy
body up out of the water, walked a few paces away, and collapsed on the grass. Panting heavily, he rested for a minute and then began licking his paws.
Ren was next out of the water. He placed himself between the black tiger and me and buckled at my feet. Deep, bloody scratches covered his body, oozing blood that stood out sharply against his white fur.
A nasty one went from his forehead to his chin, slicing across his right eye and his nose. A large puncture
wound from a bite on his neck seeped slowly.
I stepped around him and quickly retrieved the backpack. I dug through the bag until I found the first aid
kit, popped it open, and pulled out a small bottle of rubbing alcohol and a large roll of gauze. My innate fear of blood and wounds was set aside, and a natural protective instinct kicked in. I was more scaredfor them thanof them and knew they needed help. Somehow, I found the courage.
Moving to Ren first, I flushed rocks and dirt out of the wounds with clean bottled water, and then I poured the rubbing alcohol on the gauze and pressed against the worst of them. He didn’t seem mortally wounded, as long as I could stop the bleeding, but there were several deep rips. On his side, the shredded skin was torn so badly it looked like it’d been through a meat grinder.
He softly growled as I moved from his back to his neck and cleaned the puncture wound. I took a large padded bandage from the kit, sprinkled rubbing alcohol on it, then pressed it over the badly shredded section, and put pressure on it to stop the bleeding. Ren softly roared at the sting while I grimaced in sympathy. I left the pad there for the time being. Last, I worked carefully on his face and murmured reassuring words as I worked on his forehead and nose, careful to avoid the eye. It didn’t look as bad as it did the first time I saw it. Maybe I was imagining it was worse than it was.
I did the best I could, but I was worried about infection, and I was seriously concerned about Ren’s side and eye. A tear fell down my cheek as I pressed gauze against his forehead.
He licked my wrist as I worked. I stroked his cheek and whispered, “Ren, this is awful. I wish this hadn’t happened. I’m so sorry. It must hurt terribly.” A tear dropped and splashed on his nose. “I’m going to go take care of your brother now.”
I wiped my eyes and retrieved another roll of gauze. I went through the same process with the black tiger. A particularly bad, gaping tear started at his neck and went down to his
chest, so I spent a lot of time on that area. A bite on his back was deep and full of dirt and small pieces of gravel. It was bleeding profusely at first, which was probably a good thing because it helped to flush it out. I applied pressure for
a few minutes, and it slowed enough that I was able to clean it. His back quivered, and he growled when I put rubbing alcohol on it.
I held the gauze over the wound, and more tears dribbled down my chin. I sniffed, “You could probably use stitches on that one.”
Addressing both tigers, I scolded softly, “You two will probably get an infection and your tails will fall off.”
The black tiger made a huffing noise that sounded suspiciously like laughter, which made me stiffen and
get a little angry.
“I hope you both appreciate the fact that cleaning your wounds freaks me out. I hate blood. Also, for your information,I will decide who will or won’t be touching me. I’m not some ball of string that gets tossed between you two cats. I’m alsonot the person you’re really fighting about either. What happened between you two is long over and done with anyway, and I really hope you can learn to forgive each other.”
I addressed the black tiger, “The reason we came here is because Ren and I are trying to find a way to break the curse. Mr. Kadam’s been helping us, and we have a good idea of where to start. We’re going to be looking for four gifts to offer Durga, and, in exchange, you both get to be men again. There, now that you know why we’re here, we can get back to Mr. Kadam and be on our way. I think both of you may need to go to a hospital.”
Ren rumbled in his chest and started licking his paws. The black tiger rolled to his side to show me a long scratch that went from his neck down to his belly. I cleaned that one too. When I finished with him, I
walked back to my bag and placed the bottle of rubbing alcohol inside. I wiped my eyes on my sleeve and jumped when I turned back around. Ren’s brother was standing behind me as a man.
Ren got up, alert, and watched him carefully, suspicious of his every move. His tail twitched back and forth, and a deep grumble issued from his chest.
“Please allow me the opportunity to introduce myself properly. My name’s Kishan, the unfortunate younger brother of this one.” He looked down at Ren, who had crept even closer to keep an eye on him, then looked back at me.