Tiger Tracks

What is a name? A name is something people call you, a title relating to your personality, your soul. A name is something you will always have wherever you go, whatever you do and whomever you see. What if there was a boy who had no name, who had no title and no purpose, whose only hope was to follow in the footsteps of another. And what if that other wasn't even human. This is a story about that boy, the one he followed, and the journey he undertook to find a name.

The Chinese boy was only six years old when he lost his memory. On a chilly day, during the last week of winter, he had been climbing up the snow-covered hills with his friends. They had begun a daring war and it was his turn. The oldest of the children, Wu Tan, had dared him to climb to the very top of the hill, to the old tree and steal an egg from the eagle nest high in the branches. The elders had told the children of the village many times to respect nature in all of its many forms. This dare went against those teaching.

"I won't do it, Wu Tan. It's not right to steal, not even from the animals." The boy stated firmly.

Wu Tan laughed harshly, his white teeth showing as he jeered, "Chicken boy! Chicken boy!"

The raven-haired lad sighed sadly as a chicken ironically appeared on his head, sat down in his fluffy hair and squawked manically. He growled like an irritated kitten and swatted the bird away. With white feathers still stuck in his hair, he marched up the hill toward the eagle's nest. His flashing gold eyes noticed that the bird was absent and he felt relieved. Slowly, he latched onto the tree trunk and scaled the side like a monkey, carefully placing each foot upon the bark for maximum grip. His years of play had taught him many acrobatic and agile skills, but he never wished to use them to another's disadvantage.

He soon reached the high branches and climbed out onto the shaky bough. The tree was heavy with newly fallen snow, which made the bark slippery. Once he found his balance the boy slowly crawled out toward the nest and reached in to snatch an egg. What he found was a baby bird, no bigger than a wheat-basket with long gray feathers and beady black eyes. Its beak snapped at his hand and it started crying loudly in surprise, for it had been down low in the nest, hiding from the cold in a heap of shed down feathers.

The boy tried to escape before the mother came back but he was not quick enough. Out from the high canopy, a great black bird flew down toward the nest, glaring at the boy with a wild amber eye. The great ebony wings sent a typhoon of snow hurling at him, knocking him off balance. The boy slipped off the wet, snow-drenched branch and fell to the ground in a heap, buried by the snow from the tree.

Wu Tan laughed at the sight but the other children knew better than to laugh at such a time. They all ran over to the base of the tree and dug the boy out. He was so still that the children dashed back to the village and brought the adults to help, all worried that he might be seriously injured. They had been right. The boy's caretaker lifted him off the ground, his long black hair trailing out of the white hair wrap, drenched with blood. He had hit his head on a rock hidden beneath the snow and needed immediate help.

Wu Tan stopped laughing when he saw the snow had changed color and stood by the boy's side saying, "I'm so sorry, I never should have dared you. You're not a chicken. You're the bravest boy I've ever known." Then he went away with his parents weeping all the while.

Fortunately, the boy's injuries were not fatal, but there had been a near-deadly wound to his head and he lost all memory of his past life. When he awoke to the sunlight peering in through the window, he had no clue of where he was, what had happened, but most frighteningly...who he was. His caretaker, Jon Ku Sai, entered the room once he heard the anxious whimpers coming from the boy, and sat down next to his trembling form saying, "It's all right, you're going to be okay. Don't be frightened."

"W-who are y-you?" the boy squeaked, nervous, staring at him wide- eyed like he was a stranger, though he truly had known Jon Ku all his life.

"My name is Jon Ku. I'm your friend and I won't hurt you. You don't remember me do you?"

"I-I don't remember anything...not even my name."

Jon Ku's eyes lit up when he heard those words and immediately went to the village elders, seeking their wisdom on this matter. They told him that the cure for a lost past is to follow the path of another. The one who does not remember must choose what he will follow, whether beast or man, until he finds himself and all the things lost. Jon Ku thanked the elders, though he was slightly confused by their answer, and returned to his home. Yet, when he arrived, the boy had disappeared. Perhaps he has embarked on his journey by his own will, Jon Ku thought. I do hope he finds himself before too long.

The boy indeed had left the village, afraid of the many strange faces, and escaped into the deep forest. The sounds and smells comforted him; for it was the only thing slightly familiar to him. The raven-haired boy, long locks streaming behind him, skipped merrily along a trickling stream until he came upon an interesting sight. Marked down in the moist earth surrounding the stream were the footprints of a great animal. They stretched bigger than his foot, even his face, and led off in a circle toward the woods. Curious, he followed the tracks through the brush, swatting away the large flies buzzing about and ignoring the hard rocks he stepped on.

He soon came upon a clearing, beautifully lit by the sun, with butterflies fluttering about a patch of flowers nearby. The boy ventured out into the clearing and saw that the tracks had stopped just before a boulder jutting out of the ground. He looked up slowly and fell to his knees, for before him was a great beast, the king of the forest, and the ruler of every mountain, valley and grassy plain: a tiger. Its great head loomed over him, bright yellow eyes gleaming in the sunlight. The strong striped body stood motionless upon the stone, like a statue, a sacred creature to be respected and adored. The boy trembled in fear at the sight and whispered, "Great King of the forest, please do not harm me...I'm just a boy who doesn't remember his own name and I'm trying to find it. Please, don't hurt me."

The tiger proudly stepped off the stone and came up to the boy, softly purring to reassure him that no harm would come to him. It nuzzled its great head in the boy's soft hair and beckoned for him to follow the path he was about to show.

Relieved, he trailed the tiger down an ancient path until they reached a great temple, old and ruined, with vines creeping into every crevice and monkeys swinging on the stone sculptures. The tiger entered the gloomy building and led the way into a room surrounded by statues of tigers, all gold plated with ruby and emerald eyes, encircling a ray of light breaking through a hole in the ceiling. The King of the forest stood in the sunlight, summoning the boy to its side. When the boy was standing right at the shoulder of the great beast, the tiger let out a deafening roar, which echoed through the mouths of the statues, as if they were all real and alive. The noise was so great that the boy fell to the ground dazed and nearly unconscious. The tiger sniffed the boy and carefully licked his face. Once the boy had come to, he found himself in the great room with the tiger and the shaft of light pouring from the sky into every jeweled eye of the statues. The boy smiled as a wave of memories washed back into his mind and sighed with relief and happiness.

Around the time of sunset, the boy returned to the village, happy as the sun and rushed into his home, catching Jon Ku off guard in a bone- crunching hug. He hopped around the room merrily and said, "I remember! I remember everything now!"

"Okay then, boy, what is your name?" Jon Ku asked wisely.

"Rei..." he smiled. "My name is Rei."

What is a journey? A journey is a task of following a path from one place to another place in search of something, or someone. The boy found what he was looking for by a journey. He found his name, a precious thing that everyone has, even those who have not entered the world. Rei found his treasure by following the path of another, that of the wisest creature in the entire world. Rei followed...

...Tiger tracks.