by Iram Dana
“Who did you choose to be?” he asked, trying to touch the tendrils of hair surrounding her face. She quickly flitted away, out of his reach.
“Azalea. She was a Greek queen who lived two thousand years ago.”
“Are all Geeya females?”
“Yes. We are all females and all of us take the human form. Taking the form of an animal would be beneath us.”
“So you have adopted the form of a woman who lived two thousand years ago? Man! They had some good stuff back then.”
“It’s not like you would know the difference...”
“I guess.” he admitted with a dry laugh, reaching inside his belt for another roll.
“Are you done eating?” she asked after a while.
“Yes.” he replied, getting up and lifting his backpack, “Shall we continue onwards?”
She nodded and fell into step beside him, gliding along peacefully.
“Tell me again, where am I, exactly? I mean, why here, in the forest of … Al- whatever? Is it because everyone first lands here to begin their Quest?” asked Rain.
“You are at the origin- the beginning of your Quest in Quniverse.” She replied, laying emphasis on the word ‘your’.
“So Quniverse is basically a forest?”
“Quniverse is a forest, a desert, a mountain, an ocean, the past, the present …. It is everything it needs to be. There are no limitations.”
“Cool … so, when are you going to tell me what my Quest is?” he asked her, ducking in order to avoid a low branch.
“Whenever you want to know.”
“Okaaay … tell me now, then. What is my Quest?”
“You have to collect eleven wisdoms. That is your Quest.”
“Eleven wisdoms …” he repeated. Not having the slightest clue as to what that meant or how he was going to achieve what he was supposed to. “Can you tell me what those wisdoms are?” he asked cautiously.
“No. A Geeya is forbidden from solving her sequestor’s Quest. I can only inform you of what your Quest is, not solve it for you.”
“Do you know which wisdoms I have to collect, though?”
“No.”
“What if I guessed them?” he challenged.
“You could try.”
“Where there is a will there is a way … Look before you leap …” recited Rain.
Nothing happened.
“How will I know which eleven wisdoms I am supposed to collect?” Rain asked with a frown. “There are hundreds of wisdoms in the world.” he protested.
There was a loud crack as he stepped on a snail, squishing its shell under his foot.
“Yuck!” he exclaimed, quickly stepping away from the gooey mess.
“Master Shengdu’s gift will help you there.” said his Geeya.
She looked down at the chain on his neck with its eleven claws and he followed her gaze.
“How?” he asked, lifting the chain and fingering it lightly.
“When the time has arrived for you to collect a wisdom, it will begin to glow. Once you have collected the correct wisdom one of the claws will disintegrate. In this way, it will help you to not only collect the right wisdom, but also to keep track of how many you have collected. So do not worry yourself.”
“What happens once I’ve collected the eleven wisdoms?”
“Once you have completed the eleven mini-Quests, you will have to wait for the chain to snap. Wherever the chain snaps, there you will find your last and final Quest. Your Master Quest.”
“Hmm …”said Rain, falling into thoughtful silence.
He spoke after a while.
“Nobody but a sequestor’s Geeya knows what his Quest is. Then how does Master Shengdu know what to gift us? I mean, we didn’t all receive the same gift. All of us got something different. And I’m sure the gifts are all very Quest-specific. Like, I got a chain with exactly eleven claws. How does Master Shengdu know what gift to give, and to which sequestor?”
“Master Shengdu has no idea what your Quest is. Before the Naming Ceremony, he pulls the gifts out of the Well of Origins each year. Once the gifts are out, Master Shengdu uses the knowledge he has to find out which gift belongs to which sequestor and then hands them out accordingly.”
“How does Master Shengdu know all this?” asked Rain, feeling baffled by Master Shengdu’s extraordinary abilities.
“Master Shengdu was a sequestor, too.” replied his Geeya.
“Really?!” exclaimed Rain.
“Yes. Everyone at Mt. Chimpu was a sequestor. Dr. Hope, Charity … Master Shengdu’s Core Name is Knowledge. That is how knows so much.”
“What about the name ‘Shengdu?’”
“That is just an adopted name.”
“Wonder why he never told us that …”
“Probably because he wanted to avoid being buried under the obvious deluge of questions that would follow the announcement?” she mused aloud, smiling at him. Rain smiled back, forgetting what he wanted to ask next because of the sheer glamour of it. Then a thought struck him. “Hey … no wonder everyone there used to wear those large gold bands on their right hand. They were hiding their Geeya marks, right?”
His Geeya nodded. Rain shook his head in bafflement. “All this intrigue, just to avoid being questioned by curious youngsters. Are we that annoying?” he looked at his Geeya, waiting for an answer. It never came, and that was answer enough for Rain, who frowned and decided to keep silent thereafter.
As night fell, Rain decided to call it a day and sat down to have dinner. He ate a few more snack items that he had carried and then lit a fire even though it was not cold, because he wanted to keep wild animals at bay. He removed his sleeping bag and settled into it for the night. Sleep was slow in coming because of the change in environment and the momentous events of the day. His very first night in Quniverse. He was really here. This was it, the real deal. Rain let out a breath, his chest churning with both, worry and excitement. Realizing that he would have to calm himself down if he ever dreamed of sleeping, Rain turned to his side so he could gaze into the flickering flames, wondering what Diego, or rather Star, was doing now. Would he ever get used to calling his brother anything else but ‘D’? Probably not.
His Geeya flitted about, hiding behind the broad barks of trees, appearing and disappearing occasionally. He looked at her moving about gracefully and wondered whether she was tired.
“Do you … er … need to go rest?” he asked her, pointing towards the Geeya mark, indicating that he would dismiss her if she required it.
“A Geeya never tires. So, no, I do not need to retire and would prefer to stay here in the forest with you, if you don’t mind.”
“Okay.” nodded Rain.
Mind? Why would he mind? She could be wherever she wanted with him. In the forest, in his sleeping bag …
He turned around with such pleasant thoughts in his mind and resumed gazing into the fire, which was down to its last embers by the time he finally managed to drift off.
*****
CHAPTER 2
Rain awoke the next morning to find his Geeya sitting on a rock, staring at him.
“Good morning.” she sang in her balmy voice. “Why don’t you eat breakfast? Then we’ll continue on our way.”
Rain stretched and yawned and then proceeded to exactly as she had suggested. Before long, they were on their way again. Rain, who was feeling chatty this morning, decided to engage his Geeya in another session of questions and answers.
“Yesterday, you said that a Geeya is there to provide answers to her sequestor, right?”
She nodded. “And advice, whenever needed and possible.”
“Possible? Why is that? Are there some questions you cannot answer, or do not know the answer to? Besides information about another sequestor’s Quest, of course.”
“True … a Geeya cannot access information about a sequestor whose Quest is still active…” she trailed off, floating ahead of him.
“What all do you know?”
&n
bsp; “Everything that has taken place in the past… right up to the present.”
“That’s a lot of information for one Geeya to hold. Or is it that you have unlimited memory?”
“I do not hold the knowledge. It is in the pool of knowledge. I simply dip inside for the answers.”
“Oh, yeah... I forgot about the ‘pool of knowledge.’” said Rain with a roll of his eyes, and then shot a quick look towards his Geeya to ensure that she hadn’t seen him do that. “So tell me more about this ‘pool of knowledge.’”
His Geeya shot him a sidewise glance but obliged nonetheless. And they continued on their way, stopping for lunch once the heat became unbearable.
Rain sat under the shade of a huge jackfruit tree and helped himself to some more items that he had stored away. He had with him about a week’s supply of food. After that, he would have to begin surviving on whatever the forest had to offer. But he was not overly worried about that. He knew how to hunt and it didn’t look like there was any dearth of things to eat in the forest.
Freed from the bonds placed on him at Mt. Chimpu, Rain would frequently practice the art of mastering control over his powers. He was rickety in the beginning, when it would straightaway start to pour heavily each time he wanted to make it rain. He started to put in lots of hours into practice until he could control the intensity of the rain. Soon, it rained gently when he wanted it to and at other times, poured so heavily that it was like standing under a waterfall. Afterwards, it neatly halted when he willed. Rain then moved on to practicing making it rain on specific spots but found it very difficult to stay focused long enough to get that right. He kept on at it though, certain it wouldn’t take him long to master this as well.
With each passing day, Rain found that he was getting more and more infatuated with his Geeya. He kept her around constantly, either engaged in conversation or just flitting about freely around trees. Wherever she was, he found he could not help staring at her and admiring the beauty that was on abundant display. One night, fifteen days into his arrival at Quniverse, the forest was shrouded in darkness due to the heavy cloud cover even though it was a full moon night. Rain was lying on his side, pretending to enjoy the peace and tranquility of the forest, but secretly admiring the form of his Geeya who was nearby, playing with a few fireflies. The night wore on and before long, the clouds cleared from the sky and the moonlight shone down through the gaps between trees. As it did, something strange seemed to come over his Geeya. She floated out from behind two trees, heading for the small patch of grass awash in pale white light. Her face was turned up to the moon and the minute she entered the light-filled patch, she began to glitter like a diamond under a spotlight. She closed her eyes as if in a trance and started to sway. Slowly at first, and then faster with each passing minute. She danced with abandon, moving to her own silent rhythm, unaware of anything or anyone else. Rain watched her in an almost trancelike state himself, as she flitted in and out of the moonlight, mesmerized by the fluidity of her motions and the grace with which she was dancing. Any part of her that was touched by the moonlight would glitter like a diamond, adding to her fascinating appeal. That whole night, she danced. And Rain stayed awake, glued to her moving form, unable to drag his eyes away. Shortly before daybreak, her tempo increased into a heightened whirl until finally, she went down on her knees, fluttering her skirts about her and coming to a halt.
Rain rubbed his eyes and pinched himself lightly twice, not sure whether he had fallen asleep and dreamed the whole thing up.
“Wha … what was that?” he croaked through a throat that felt like it was coated with sand.
“That was the Geeya dance!” she explained, looking fresh and excited and not tired in the least. “Geeya love the full moon… and when a Geeya is happy, she sparkles. Dancing in the moonlight makes a Geeya very happy.”
Rain tried to sleep after that, but found it to be an impossible task. Eventually, he gave up. At breakfast, he decided that it was time to speak to her about the way he felt.
“Hey Geeya …,” he began, and she was instantly in front of him, waiting. “I was wondering … once a sequestor has successfully completed his Quest, what happens to his Geeya?”
“Our work here is done, and we leave.” she replied.
“Leave? Is that like a death?”
“It’s close.”
“Do you have to go? I mean, can’t you just stay with your sequestor?”
“No. It is the natural order of things. Death must come to all who live.”
“Where does a Geeya go after death?”
“Back to where we came from. We become a part of the clouds floating above earth. If you look carefully, you will see our faces as we float by.”
“Wow … how many clouds must be just Geeya.” he mused. “Would I be right if I guessed that to be the reason why many sequestors do not complete their Quests? On purpose, so that they can stay forever with their Geeya?”
She sat staring at her feet in silence for a while.
“Yes … and it would be very foolish of you to decide to do the same.” she said finally. Her eyes were unfocussed as though she was looking somewhere far away.
Rain froze. She knew! She knew where he was going with this.
“Why?” he hedged cautiously.
“Take this advice from me. Never make the mistake of falling in love with one who is not your kind. And I don’t mean this only as a Geeya. You will get nothing but sorrow from such a pursuit.”
“Don’t Geeya want to stay with their sequestor? Don’t they … get attached?” said Rain, unable to say the words ‘fall in love’. What he actually felt for her was obsession, but he could not disclose the depths of his feelings to her. Not when she obviously did not feel the same. But maybe, just maybe … she liked him a little bit in that way.
“Do you like me at all?”
“I like you very much, Rain.”
His face lit up. “Really? Does that mean that sometime in the future, maybe …”
“Geeya never get emotionally involved with their sequestor, Rain, if that is what you mean.” said his Geeya, killing the little spark of hope that was kindling in his chest.
“Never?”
“Never.” she repeated with finality in her tone.
He had been prepared for this, even expected this to be her response. Yet, he could not stop his heart from plummeting to his stomach when she explained about the way she felt for him- or rather- did not.
He sat there quietly, feeling awkward. Like a schoolboy whose romantic advances had just been thwarted. Slowly, he rose and hauled up his backpack.
“You’re right,” he nodded to her after traveling some distance, “love cannot be forced. If you feel it will be best for us to remain friendly companions, then I won’t spoil what I have by hankering after that which I cannot have.”
“That would be the wisest thing to do. For a Geeya never falls in love with her human companion.”
“Yeah, I got that the first time.” said Rain morosely and sighed.
He wanted to change the topic of conversation now, since there was nothing to be had here and he was not one to dwell on a lost cause.
“Where am I headed, anyway?” he asked her, effectively putting an end to their previous strain of conversation.
“In search of your destiny.” she replied.
There was a crack and Rain gave a disgusted groan. He had stepped on a snail again. He wiped his foot on a rock and proceeded more carefully, watching out for more of the slugs.
“What if I decide to stop right here and continue no further, then what?”
“Then, your destiny will find you. You cannot stop it. You can only accept it. It would be best though, to face it like a man rather than sit like a coward, waiting for it to surprise you.”
He gave a short laugh.
“No way is that going to happen. No destiny’s going to surprise Rain. Watch out destiny, I’m comin’ to getcha!” he warned the air around him.
He
picked up his pace then and started to recite more wisdoms in the hope of hitting on the correct one by fluke.
*****
It was almost a month and a half into the forest for Rain and so far, nothing extra-ordinary had happened. Rain told himself to be patient but found himself rejecting his own pleas. By now he had accepted the way things were going to be between him and his Geeya. She was pleasant company and his source of sanity in this strange, lonely world and nothing more. But if he was honest with himself, this much was more than enough.
That same night, as he lay on the forest floor fingering his chain and wondering when something would happen, the chain began to glow. He sat up with a start.
“It’s glowing! Hey Geeya, its glowing!” he called. “What should I do now?” his asked, his pulse beginning to hammer.
“First, you calm down. And then, you wait.”
“I have to wait some more? Why!”
“Because you do. That’s why.” She said with a gentle shrug of her shoulders, making Rain’s excitement turn instantly into irritation. She sighed at the scowl on his face. “Soon, you will face the first of your mini-quests. Have patience.”
“How long do I have to wait?”
“There is no fixed amount of time.”
Rain’s face fell. What did she mean by no fixed amount of time? Would it start just suddenly? If it did, then how was he supposed to prepare for anything that way?
He fidgeted restlessly, knowing he would never be able to sleep as long his chain continued to glow. He looked at the calm figure of his Geeya floating about peacefully and gave a frustrated sigh. A second later, his chest began to compress with an invisible weight. The ground disappeared from underneath him and the air whooshed by his ears. The forest around him began to zoom away in a blur. Moments later, he landed somewhere with a soft thud, without any of his belongings.