The PureLights of Ohm Totem

by Brandon Ellis

  “We're here,” said Chev.

  “And you are,” replied a calm, wise voice.

  Coda dipped his head in greeting. He hadn't seen Honani since last night and his mood lightened a bit when he saw the peaceful badger. Honani stood at the entrance with his head bowed. “It's good to see you Chev, and you, Coda.”

  Chev patted Coda affectionately. “I'll see you later, okay?”

  Coda faked a smile. His heart felt heavy, but he couldn't understand why. Was he mad at what happened to his sister?

  As Chev walked away, the badger turned and slowly walked down the tunnel. Coda took a step inside, placing his paw on cold, dry soil. A much different feeling than the grass. He noticed that instead of soothing his feet, each step felt like pinpoints of pain. Every step was accompanied by a small pebble pain here, and a tiny dirt clod stab there.

  Honani counseled, “Fully allow each step to take its course. If you step on a rock, the rock is there to mend a wound in your body, whether that be in an organ, muscle, or vein. There are thousands of nerve endings in paws. Each nerve that receives pressure will send a signal to a corresponding point in your body and relax that area.”

  Coda's mind wasn't on Honani's instructions. He just wanted to get to his bed and rest. He wanted to fume over the unjustified actions that the Dims inflicted on his sister. The last thing he wanted to worry about were these pebbles under his paws or any nerve endings in his feet. He simply nodded and did his best to maneuver around any hard objects.

  Then something occurred to him. Why was he so mad at the Dims? He loved his sister, but he'd never reacted this way before. She was annoying for sure, but he wanted to protect her more than anything. He now felt that he needed to be by her side at all times. Why was that?

  For a while, there was silence between them as they padded down the tunnel. This didn't help matters any. Coda was imagining throwing Dims across the forest, or sending them hard against the grassy meadow. That'll teach them to put their filthy claws on my sister!

  “Coda?” Honani's voice was soft, easing Coda back to reality.

  Coda looked at Honani. The badger's eyes mirrored his soft voice. “When you look at things from a higher perspective, you can see the whole picture. Right now you're seeing just a sliver of the picture.”

  Coda's whiskers twitched. Sliver? “What picture?”

  “The pictures and images you hold in your mind right now are just a sliver. This sliver, or piece of the picture, is what angers you. The sliver in your mind takes you away from what's real.”

  Coda looked up at the ceiling highlighted by the zytes that lined the walls. He looked at Honani, almost forgetting about his anger. “Oh? Well, what's real then?”

  The badger stopped and slapped the ground with his right forepaw. He twisted his foot left and right, making a small impression in the ground. He pointed to the ground, then looked around, pointing to everything around them, then pointed back at the impression. “This point in the ground is what you're focusing on. But look around. There's more to this dirt than just this point.” They continued walking in silence. “Do you understand, Coda?”

  The only thing Coda understood is how different they talked here compared to where he came from. They talked of moments and of the heart, and other things like that. Coda shook his head, “I don't know.”

  “I'll make it a little easier,” said Honani. “If you were swimming in the River Ohm and you saw the rapids in front of you, then what do you see?”

  Coda thought for a moment, “I guess I see the rapids.”

  “Correct,” replied Honani. “If Nova lifted you out of the rapids, carrying you high above the land, looking down, what would you see?”

  Coda pictured himself high above the rapids. He saw the River Ohm below. He saw the Large Boulder. He saw Deer Meadow. He saw as much as he could remember in his short stint here in Ohm Totem. He glanced down at the impression in the dirt. “I’d see a lot more.”

  “Right. You see, Coda?” Honani pressed his paw against Coda's chest. “You saw more than just the rapids. There was an entire life going on around you. If there was a waterfall just beyond those rapids, you'd see the waterfall. If there was a widening in the river, you'd see that as well. You'd see that there's more to the river than just the rapids.”

  Coda nodded. He understood the point of Honani's example. This didn't soften his anger any, but it made sense.

  Honani smiled. “When you drop into your heart and replay what you're angry about, you see more than what you're currently focusing on.” Honani shifted on his paws. “You're angry about what happened with your sister, aren’t you?”

  Coda's eyes raged, his fur prickled with anger.

  “I see,” said Honani. “Perhaps your sister needed this lesson as part of her training. And, if she learned from the lesson, then it advanced her experience in some way.” He paused, taking in a long breath. “When you can see beyond your anger, then the anger slowly recedes into something a little more tangible and helpful. You see the big picture. You see the lesson in all of this.”

  Coda absently kicked a large rock in front of him to the side as his pace quickened. “Tangible?” He'd never heard that word before.

  Honani hurried to catch up. “Yes, tangible. It means 'real'.”

  Coda walked even faster. He didn't necessarily want what's “real”. He wanted to help his sister, here in Ohm Totem—to be by her side at all times so she'd never be hurt again. But why do I suddenly feel that way?

  Honani tried again. “When you go into your heart, you'll see the bigger picture. You'll understand that everyone has something important to learn. Your anger about your sister tells you that you love your sister so much that you don't want anything to happen to her. Perhaps protecting her is your goal in life, I don't know. However, your anger isn't helping her any. It's creating the opposite effect. That's just how life works. You're whipping up more drama, like a whirlwind, by fuming over her lesson.” Honani suddenly stopped, making Coda skid to a halt. He was surprised and a little impressed that Honani could stop so fast. “Has Nova shown you how to go into your heart?”

  “The Snow Tree did,” replied Coda.

  “Yes,” nodded Honani. “The Snow Tree is a very reliable source. A master teacher. When you go into your heart, you might see the lesson in your anger and what you're truly angry about. So, it's a good idea to practice as much as you can. Your heart holds all the answers. I'd suggest that you go to a silent place, bring that anger into your heart, and cover it with love. Then rise above the image and look around. You might see something you need to know.”

  Coda was too tired to practice, and simply nodded his head. He just wanted to go to sleep. Maybe that would help him let go of being angry. It usually did.

  ∞

  The number nine glowed on the disc door to his room. The door quietly opened with a blow of his breath, revealing the soothing light of the zytes. Skint was there, lying down, seemingly in deep thought. He glanced up as Coda walked in, then resumed his ruminating

  “Hi Skint,” greeted Coda, walking over to the right side of the room. He elegantly collapsed on his bed, curling his tail around his forepaws.

  “Hi C-coda.” Skint looked disinterested. Or, rather peeved that Coda was there.

  Coda was ready for sleep, but then remembered a question he wanted to ask Skint. “Hey Skint?”

  Skint turned, placing the left side of his face in his paws, facing away from Coda. He faintly replied, “Y-y-yes?”

  “Where did you go last night?”

  There was a long pause, then Skint turned his head in Coda's direction. His eyes betrayed a mysterious and firm displeasure. “W-w-hat do you mean?” His ears perked in alertness, waiting for the answer.

  “Oh,” Coda replied casually, looking at his paws in front of him and twitching his ears. Should he not have asked that question? “I thought I heard you leave last night.”

  The squirrel lifted himself up with both front legs and remained silen
t for a moment. He looked at the door. “R-r-really? I was here all-all-all night. You m-must have d-dreamed it.”

  Coda narrowed his eyes in thought. Why is Skint lying? Still, Coda didn't want to make Skint feel any more awkward. Maybe he had to use the restroom, wherever that was, and was embarrassed? Closing his eyes, Coda mumbled, “Yeah, I must have been dreaming.” He took in a deep breath. “Good night, Skint.”

  “Y-you too.”

  He heard Skint rustle with the bed for a moment, then felt himself drifting off into a welcome, deep sleep.

  ∞

  The sound of small feet slowly pattering across the dirt floor woke Coda. He opened one eye, making it a tiny slit. Skint stood across the room near the disc door. His pale outline was very discernible in the darkness. His bushy tail wiggled back and forth, as if waiting for Coda to wake up. Coda almost opened his eyes in surprise. The tail! The tail in the grass today looked just like Skint’s!

  “C-coda?” whispered Skint.

  Coda could clearly see Skint now, but he could tell Skint didn't have the same ability with night vision as he did. Coda remained silent, faking sleep.

  Skint whispered his name again. Coda didn't respond. He kept one eye open, doing his best to push the heavy, sleep-deprived eyelids from shutting.

  “He's asleep,” said Skint, as if talking to somebody else in the room, but like the last night, no one else was there.

  Skint faced the door and quietly blew on it. Coda saw the door open, but fell asleep before he could see it close.

  ∞

  Then, again, something startled him, waking him up. How long had he been asleep? He looked up. Standing over him was Skint. He was snarling, peering closely into Coda's eyes. His eyes revealed a hatred Coda hadn’t seen before.

  Skint's red forehead crystal changed into gray and started to fade in and out. For an instant, Coda felt peculiar, as if a heavy weight was descending on him. Then Coda felt a stir in his heart, and almost instantly, Coda felt peaceful. It was as if Coda had somehow flipped a light switch, changing his fear into something else.

  Skint's eyes widened in alarm. Coda lifted his head. He somehow knew what Skint was doing and words came out of his mouth that he'd never said before. “Your Dark Arts don't work on me and never have, Skint.”

  Skint backed up slowly toward his nest. He trembled in fear, wondering why his trick didn't work. He kept his eyes fixed on Coda until he reached his bed. There he relaxed. His frown melted. “I-I'm sorry, Coda. I-I still h-have s-some D-d-dim left in me.”

  Coda nodded with understanding, then closed his eyes, knowing he needn't worry about Skint the rest of the night. Sleepy thoughts drifted through his mind. Dark Arts? What in the world was I saying? Was he the one who hurt my sister? Coda fell fast asleep before he could think about it any more.

  Chapter 19

  “Knock-knock,” said a voice, waking Zoey from a heavy sleep. Opening her eyes, she saw San sitting in her nest, smiling at her. “I've never seen someone sleep so long, and so deep. You've been asleep since I got back from training yesterday...” San lifted her wings in the air, “and the moon wasn't even up yet!”

  Zoey rubbed her eyes with her wings and yawned. She was still drowsy. “What time is it?” She stretched her wings out and stood up.

  “Time?” replied San. “What does that mean?”

  Zoey cocked her head. “You don't know what time means?”

  San shook her head. “No, I've never heard of it.” San hopped out of her nest, gently landing on the wood floor. “But, you should have seen me yesterday. I wish you had stayed.” Her red crystals glowed brightly as she exclaimed, “I was brilliant!”

  San spread her wings and imitated flying. “I was coming this way,” she said as she quickly ran toward the window, then stopped, “and he—my opponent—was coming this way.” She turned around, acting as if she was 'him' flying toward her from the opposite direction. She turned around and twirled. “I spun in a circle and he whizzed right by me! He twisted around and I was ready for him.” Her eyes widened. “Then he tricked me.”

  She turned, facing Zoey, who was watching intently. All of this looked exciting, or was it just that San was exciting? Either way, Zoey was rather enjoying the display before her, even though she was still waking up from her long night of sleep.

  San put her wings out in front of her. She wiggled the left wing, “This is me.” She wiggled the right wing, “This is him.” Then she brought both wings slowly together and dipped the right wing and said, “He acted as if he was going to go down, so I fell for it.” She dipped the left wing, quickly bringing up the right wing. “He went really high after he faked me out and attempted to come down on me from above.” She shook her head, narrowing her eyes, “I knew what to do, though. I faked him out by making him think I wasn't too sure where he was, but when he was about a wing’s length from me I did a somersault and he missed me again!” She imitated her words with the movements of her wings. She was now above 'him' and her left wing came down on top of her right wing.

  Her eyes lit up. “I ended it by landing on top of him and stunning him.” Laughing, she said, “He fell to the ground like a lump of dead leaves.”

  “Was he okay?” Zoey asked, with concern.

  “Oh yeah. I actually didn't stun him. We haven't learned that yet. He acted as if he was stunned, and he did fall, but landed on his feet just before he hit the ground.”

  “Well,” responded Zoey. “Great job, San!” She clapped and San danced in a circle in the middle of the room.

  Three abrupt taps at the door stopped the dance cold. They looked at each other as if someone suspicious was about to intrude.

  “We don't have all day, children.” It was Taregan’s voice. Zoey realized that they were supposed to be going to training and jumped out of her nest and opened the door. No one was there.

  She peered around the doorway, looking at the balcony, thinking that Taregan would be walking around the railing or knocking on someone else's door. He wasn't there. Was it really Taregan, or another spirit animal wanting to drop off another mysterious scroll? She looked to the floor and peered around.

  “Remember, Zoey, I can fly. I swooped down here after I knocked. I don't have all day to wait all day and I don't want to be saying this every morning.”

  She peeked over the railing. Taregan stood with both wings folded, tapping that foot again. “Let's get going, you two.” He touched his head with his wing. “Is your brain in there or do I have to flap your wings for you?” He gave a wink, but his tone was flat serious.

  Huh? thought Zoey.

  San walked over to the railing. “Sorry Taregan, I was just telling her how I beat my opponent yesterday.”

  Taregan put both wings on his hips. “You beat someone?”

  “Yeah,” her eyes gleamed with pride, “I stunned him.”

  “We'll have to define 'beat' when you get down here. Which, by the way, I’m still waiting for!”

  Zoey and San looked at each other. San shrugged and hopped onto the railing, then glided down, landing next to Taregen. Zoey followed, landing beside the two. San and Taregan were already in a deep conversation.

  “But I did,” said San.

  Taregan shook his head, his indigo crystal brightened. “You aren't in the Art of Beating, San. You're in the Art of Defense.” He sighed. “I'm getting very impatient with you and I don't understand why.”

  He said to Zoey, “When you get to know me, you'll know that I'm usually a pretty patient bird.” And just as he said this, his expression changed from perturbed to peaceful.

  Zoey looked at San. Her expression did the opposite of Teragan's. She went from happy to sad. Her wings drooped. “But I did, though. I beat him.”

  Taregan took a deep breath. “I'm sorry, San.” He patted her back. “I lost myself for a moment there.” She lifted up, resuming her usual happy manner. He continued, “The Art of Defense doesn't deal with beating anyone. Beating implies several things such as punishing, viol
ence, forcing something or someone against their will. Now, the Art of Defense,” he leaned in, “which you're taught here in the PureLight Lands, deals with defending your space, your life, and your friends. You do so with the utmost compassion and understanding that you don't hurt, beat, or win anyone or anything.” He nodded to Zoey, and then at San. “You use your opponent's own force against them. Do you both understand?”

  Nodding their heads, Zoey and San agreed with the white crane. The lesson over, he called out to everyone, “Okay! Get going!”

  Dozens of students stood around. They were waiting to exit the tree. Zoey didn't know how she missed them or missed their chatter. She must have been too focused on Taregan and San.

  As they flocked out, Taregan tapped on Zoey's wing. Looking over her shoulder, she saw Taregan mouth the words, “Be careful,” as he indicated to San with his eyes. San's back was to them, so she didn't see Taregan's warning.

  Be careful with San? Does he want me to stay away from San? Be careful about what?

  Shaking the thought away, Zoey spread her wings and jumped into the air. San was already many yards in front of her, so she flapped hard, doing her best to catch up. When she did, San had her attention on the Snow Tree way up ahead. She was ready for training, seemingly wanting to get to the Deer Meadow as soon as possible. She looked determined.

  Zoey was about to say something, but noticed Chev and Coda walking to the meadow. She veered off course, leaving San without a word, gliding just over the top of a pine tree. Its glowing green needles tickled her toes as she eyed her brother and friend below. She smiled as a breeze swept against her feathers, bringing her back to the joy and freedom of flight. It felt so good to fly. For the first time that morning, she saw the blue sky and the sun shining its warmth upon the land. Glancing north, she saw the gray clouds beyond the Fog's borders. You'll never catch me over there.