A Scent of a Woman

by Shaolin Kitten

Part 5

Kwai Chang turned up the road that led to the Temple. He had spent a few days helping Laura Carradine unpack and making arrangements for her parents' memorial service. One of the hardest tasks, however, was still to come, that of cleaning out her parents' belongings. Both her father's and mother's old clothes, their important papers, and other items that she knew she would not need, would all have to be dealt with. Kwai Chang had promised that he would return and at least assist her with some of those items, including making repairs to the house that her father had not had time to do. Why he had promised this, he did not fully understand. It was a feeling that he could not shake. More and more he did not want to leave this woman. It was as if she held a piece of him that had yet to be revealed.

When Kwai Chang arrived, preparations were underway for the festival. More monks were arriving and Kwai Chang greeted friends that he had not seen in many years. One such friend came as a great surprise. He was wearing the robes of a full Shaolin.

"Michael, my old friend. It is good to see you. You were just a student when I left."

"I am now a Master and Teacher. It is good to see you Kwai Chang. So that is the color of your hair. I have always wondered. Ever since I saw what your father's looked like, I was curious. But it looks like you are getting some gray. You're too young for that. Come I would like you to meet someone. Do not be concerned if he seems rather solemn and serious. He came to the Temple two years ago. He has been a brilliant teacher in helping the students to improve their skills in weapons. You remember how the Temple was lacking in some of the more exotic understandings of weapons such as the three-sectional staff, the nine sectional staff, the wide swords, and the staff? Well, he brought an understanding on how those weapons could be used together and what they represented. Knowledge that had been lost has been regained."

Kwai Chang listened with great interest. He remembered being trained in the use of those same weapons by his father. He also remembered seeing his father practice with another monk using all four weapons when he was much younger. His father had explained it to him as being a form of ritual combat. When all four weapons were placed in their proper order, along with a monk's torn robe facing down, it was a challenge. When that challenge was made, no monk could refuse. This information had not been new to him when he lived in China, but in America, such knowledge had not been known.

"Master Dao, a moment of your time? I would like you to meet an old friend."

Master Dao approached the two priests, his arms hidden deep within his robes. Kwai Chang bowed to the Master, giving him the hand to fist greeting. Master Dao, however, did not return the greeting. Both Kwai Chang and Michael were puzzled by this.

"Is something wrong, Master? Why do you not show respect to a guest?"

"I see you have returned. I had heard rumors that the line of Caine had died out. It would seem I was mistaken. You should not be here. No descendant of the murderer of the Emperor's nephew should have ever been allowed within these walls. You are not welcome, even now."

A look of puzzlement came over Michael's face. How was it that Dao knew Caine? Michael was also confused at what Dao had said. Caine's ancestor a murderer? Then anger took its place at the rudeness of a fellow Shaolin.

"Master Dao, you are not the Master of this Temple. We do not judge another's worthiness based on his family's deeds. You know that all are welcome who enter in peace. This is Kwai Chang Caine's home. He has every right to enter."

"I beg forgiveness for my rudeness." Master Dao bowed to Michael but still refused to bow to Caine. His feelings towards the young Shaolin were clear. It was his opinion that no Caine had a place here and he would see that this Caine's stay would not be a pleasant one.

"Come, there are others who will be happy to see you."

Kwai Chang watched as Master Dao left. He could not help but feel that something about the priest was not right. His spirit was dark, and he carried the cloak of violence around him. Someday, he knew that Master Dao would be trouble for the monks. He hoped that Master Kwahn was strong enough to face the challenge that Master Dao would bring.

Laura Carradine opened the final box. It had been far more difficult to unpack her things than it was to begin packing her parents' belongings. She thought about moving into her parents' bedroom but decided against it. It just did not feel right. She wasn't ready to make that step from child to adult, even though she was no longer a child. Right now, she felt like a lost child. Laura's thoughts drifted to the Temple and to the priest. He was a good man. He was the kind of man that all women would hope to find in this day and age. She had been lucky to have found him twice, or at least, to have been saved by him twice.

As she brought his face in the forefront of her mind, she suddenly realized why he felt so familiar to her. Quickly she went to her father's study and pulled down one of the old church directories. Her father took pride in working on a new directory every five years. He kept the old ones to look at and remember the friends who had died or left over the years. Laura pulled the one that her father had been working on the year they'd had their special visitors. Laura flipped through the pages and stopped. She could not believe what she was seeing. The eyes were the same, even the face appeared to be the same with the exception of the absence of hair. Then her eyes drifted down to the names below the photo. So, it was him after all these years. She finally got to meet Matthew Caine's son, Kwai Chang.

As she stared at the photo, Laura remembered their conversation back at her old apartment. He had told her that his father had been lost in an accident in the Himalayas 15 years ago. Laura looked over the photograph and found the date. That had been about three years after this photo had been taken. Laura tried to figure out just how old Kwai Chang might have been then and, by extension, how old he was now. He could not be more than three years older than her though she had noticed the gray in his hair. At first, she would have believed him to be older but his face looked pretty young.

'It really doesn't matter how old he is,' she thought. 'He's still as handsome as he was when he was a kid. I can't wait to see his face when he discovers we've met before.' Laura's heart gave a flutter at that thought and she realized she was looking forward to when Kwai Chang would return.

End of Part 5