Chapter 4
To Raj's consternation, Adam cut short their conversation to go to his normal morning training session. Raj watched him from the house as he did his katas, mirrored by about 20 boys with sticks instead of swords. Somehow he thought that Adam's "death" in his house would make him alter his routine, but after a while he reflected that Adam must have "died" countless times before, and that it was as normal to him as waking up in the morning. This did not, however, take away Raj's feeling that Adam ought to do things differently after the night's revelations.
He wondered what Adam had meant by 'oldest'. Even one thousand years was inconceivable to Raj; Adam had implied several times that. Watching him, Raj marvelled at the grace and strength of his movements. Raj's preconception of the gurus from the legends was always that they were immensely old and powerful, but they were old men. Capable of amazing feats using the brahman power, for sure, but old men. And here was Adam ... Methos ... thousands of years old, looking like a man in his early thirties. Using the brahman power to revive from death. Raj did not know what to think. All this was impossible, but the irrefutable fact remained that Adam had died on his floor, and had revived without a mark to show where the knife wound had been.
Raj was so engrossed in watching Adam, that he did not even notice Narayan Shankar come in and join him at the window. When Shankar touched his arm, it still took him a moment to turn and focus on this distraction. Then he realized that Shankar must have wondered where he was, and suddenly could not think of a thing to say. Bowing in a silent namaste, he left the window and walked indecisively towards a chair, unable to face Shankar's questioning gaze. Finally he turned. "Do you believe in miracles, Babuji?"
"I don't have to believe," Shankar said softly. "I look around me every day and I see one."
Raj smiled, and then wondered at how stiff his face felt, as if he had not smiled in years. "I mean real miracles, Babuji. Something impossible."
"Aren't all miracles impossible?" Shankar asked. "What happened, Raj? What is bothering my son today?"
Asked like that, there was no way Raj could not answer, so he sat down and told Narayan Shankar everything.
The two of them looked up guiltily when Adam walked through the door; Raj because he was not sure Adam would be pleased that he had told Adam's secret, and Shankar because he was not sure he ought to have heard it. And Adam's reaction, seeing them together, left no doubt that he was upset. He watched them silently for a moment, his face a cold mask. Then he relaxed, laughed, and assumed his normal expression of slight amusement.
"Namaste, Shankarji, Raj," he greeted them cheerfully.
Raj got to his feet. "Adam, I'm sorry..."
"Don't worry, Raj," Adam assured him. "I'm not mad at you." He looked around for something, and finally found his coat hanging over the back of a chair. It was crusted with dried blood and had a slash where the knife had gone through. He fingered the slash with irritation. "Do you have a needle and thread that I could use?"
"Why?" Raj asked involuntarily.
"To mend my coat, of course," Adam replied testily. "What I hate most about this silly Game I've been forced to play, is the number of good sweaters and coats that have been ruined through the years."
Raj and Shankar exchanged a look. "But Adam," Raj started hesitantly. "Can't you use the brahman power to mend anything?"
To their surprise, Adam started laughing loudly. In between fits of laughter, he managed to gasp out "Brahman? You think I'm ..." He finally got his laughter under control. "Ah, that was good. No, my friends, I'm no brahmarishi, I'm sorry to say." He looked at them curiously. "What made you think that?"
Raj felt guilty again. "When you lay dead on my floor, I saw the blue energy healing your wound. And your age..."
Adam shook his head. "You saw the Quickening, Raj."
"The what?"
"Quickening. It's our life force, I suppose. It's what makes us Immortal," Adam explained.
"But isn't brahman life force as well?" Raj asked, confused.
Adam sighed. "Well, yes. But I don't think it's the same thing. Your brahmarishis could control brahman. We have no control over the Quickening. When an Immortal loses his head, the Quickening escapes from the body and transfers into the nearest live Immortal ... didn't you see the lightning last night?"
He seemed a bit disappointed when they said they had not. "Anyway, the Quickening contains the memories and experiences of the dead Immortal, and some believe taking a Quickening increases one's own power." He could see they didn't really grasp what he was talking about, but you really had to experience a Quickening to understand what it was like, and since neither of them were Immortal, they never would.
An awkward silence ensued, while they watched him timidly. Adam rolled his eyes. "I should have known..." He sat down facing them. "Look, I'm just a guy. If I could use brahman to do magic tricks, I'd have made you forget what you'd seen. No, not even that. I'd just have magicked that stupid knife from my back and you wouldn't have seen me again." He indicated his backpack still lying in a corner. "As you can imagine, I'm not in the habit of sharing my little secret with the world, and Raj, you have a way of getting me to confess way too easily."
Raj stirred at that. "So you're leaving?"
"No," Adam said after a second. "I would if I could, but things are a bit complicated right now."
"Why?"
"I think," said Adam. "That my secret is out anyway. There's a group of head hunters in the area, and they're waiting for me to leave here. I got away last night because I came across only two, and not the whole group." He smiled. "So you're stuck with me rather indefinitely, I'm afraid. I'm not leaving with them out there... and they are Immortal, so they have all the time in the world."
Narayan Shankar, who had been listening patiently all this time, raised an eyebrow at that. "Why would they wait so long for you? Would they not fight each other, if what you told us is true?"
"Good question," Adam said. "I don't know what bargain they've struck with each other. In the end, there can be only one. But they are waiting for Methos, because the one who takes Methos' head will probably win the Game. I've survived all these years by not being Methos, but somehow in the last few months the rumour has been going around that Methos had been found. I thought I could evade them here. Should have gone to Bora Bora instead."
"But if you're so powerful, why don't you win the Game?" Raj asked.
"Because I don't believe in the Game, Raj. And because you've seen how I handle being a killer." He shook his head. "Three thousand years ago I might have thought it would be a good idea. But that was then. Now, I want to be just a guy." He looked at them almost imploringly. "Can't you just pretend nothing happened? I'll teach, grow stronger and live to fight another day. Nothing will happen while I stay on Holy Ground, I promise."
"I don't think I can forget," Raj said. "But you are welcome to stay, Adam. For as long as you need to." He smiled when he saw Narayan Shankar nod as well. "There, it's unanimous."
Adam looked at them for a long moment. "Thank you," he said simply, then scowled. "But don't ask me for words of wisdom or any of that "sage of ages" stuff. I don't do that."
"Whatever you say, Adam," Raj laughed.
Raj could not tell why, but Adam seemed happier and more at peace in the days following the harrowing events. Perhaps because he had unburdened himself to Raj, he could deal better with his bitterness and sorrow; or perhaps he had just managed to hide it away again as he must have done for centuries. Raj did not know, but it eased his mind to hear Adam laughing, and he hoped that this extraordinary man would have the opportunity to heal at Gurukul.
One morning after sword practice, Raj came across Adam and his students, sitting on the steps of the pavilion. Adam was speaking earnestly, and the boys were listening intently. Raj stopped to hear what words of wisdom Adam was imparting, for despite Adam's claim to the contrary, Raj was convinced that Adam must have the wisdom of ages.
"An old man lived alone in Darjeeling. He wanted to spade his potato garden, but it was very hard work. His only son, Rohit, who used to help him, was in Bombay Prison. The old man wrote a letter to his son and described his predicament."
Adam paused to open an imaginary letter and started reading from it. "Dear Rohit, I am feeling pretty bad because it looks like I won't be able to plant my potato garden this year. I'm just getting too old to be digging up a garden plot. If you were here, all my troubles would be over. I know you would dig the plot for me. Love, Papa."
Adam closed the imaginary letter. "A few days later he received a letter from his son. 'Dear Papa, for heaven's sake, Papa, don't dig up that garden, that's where I buried the BODIES. Love, Rohit."
Adam looked meaningfully at his audience. "At 4 A.M. the next morning, the local police showed up and dug up the entire area without finding any bodies. They apologized to the old man and left. That same day the old man received another letter from his son."
He opened another imaginary letter. "Dear Papa, go ahead and plant the potatoes now. That's the best I could do under the circumstances. Love Rohit."
Amidst laughter, Adam got up to come greet Raj, smiling widely. "Good morning, Mr. Aryan."
"No words of wisdom for your students?" Raj teased.
"Nope," Adam replied blithely and winked.
Raj could not help but laugh. Things were looking better.
The sun still rises every day
And the brightly glowing dawn
With all her doors unopened
Lights my never ending way
The steep and rocky upward slope
Of that long and winding road
Redefines with every step
My unblemished sense of hope
Rainy days and rainy nights
Purifies the smoky air
To show my wond'ring eyes a feast
Of new and far beguiling sights
Every bird in every tree
Adds song to a growing sound
That gathers as I make my way
Ever nearer to the sea
As I see the endless bay
All of nature seems to rise
To join me on my journey
To that long-awaited joyful day
Then I recall that all my days
Had left me stranded here and now
But still my steadfast sense of hope
Will lead me on to brighter ways
To Raj's consternation, Adam cut short their conversation to go to his normal morning training session. Raj watched him from the house as he did his katas, mirrored by about 20 boys with sticks instead of swords. Somehow he thought that Adam's "death" in his house would make him alter his routine, but after a while he reflected that Adam must have "died" countless times before, and that it was as normal to him as waking up in the morning. This did not, however, take away Raj's feeling that Adam ought to do things differently after the night's revelations.
He wondered what Adam had meant by 'oldest'. Even one thousand years was inconceivable to Raj; Adam had implied several times that. Watching him, Raj marvelled at the grace and strength of his movements. Raj's preconception of the gurus from the legends was always that they were immensely old and powerful, but they were old men. Capable of amazing feats using the brahman power, for sure, but old men. And here was Adam ... Methos ... thousands of years old, looking like a man in his early thirties. Using the brahman power to revive from death. Raj did not know what to think. All this was impossible, but the irrefutable fact remained that Adam had died on his floor, and had revived without a mark to show where the knife wound had been.
Raj was so engrossed in watching Adam, that he did not even notice Narayan Shankar come in and join him at the window. When Shankar touched his arm, it still took him a moment to turn and focus on this distraction. Then he realized that Shankar must have wondered where he was, and suddenly could not think of a thing to say. Bowing in a silent namaste, he left the window and walked indecisively towards a chair, unable to face Shankar's questioning gaze. Finally he turned. "Do you believe in miracles, Babuji?"
"I don't have to believe," Shankar said softly. "I look around me every day and I see one."
Raj smiled, and then wondered at how stiff his face felt, as if he had not smiled in years. "I mean real miracles, Babuji. Something impossible."
"Aren't all miracles impossible?" Shankar asked. "What happened, Raj? What is bothering my son today?"
Asked like that, there was no way Raj could not answer, so he sat down and told Narayan Shankar everything.
The two of them looked up guiltily when Adam walked through the door; Raj because he was not sure Adam would be pleased that he had told Adam's secret, and Shankar because he was not sure he ought to have heard it. And Adam's reaction, seeing them together, left no doubt that he was upset. He watched them silently for a moment, his face a cold mask. Then he relaxed, laughed, and assumed his normal expression of slight amusement.
"Namaste, Shankarji, Raj," he greeted them cheerfully.
Raj got to his feet. "Adam, I'm sorry..."
"Don't worry, Raj," Adam assured him. "I'm not mad at you." He looked around for something, and finally found his coat hanging over the back of a chair. It was crusted with dried blood and had a slash where the knife had gone through. He fingered the slash with irritation. "Do you have a needle and thread that I could use?"
"Why?" Raj asked involuntarily.
"To mend my coat, of course," Adam replied testily. "What I hate most about this silly Game I've been forced to play, is the number of good sweaters and coats that have been ruined through the years."
Raj and Shankar exchanged a look. "But Adam," Raj started hesitantly. "Can't you use the brahman power to mend anything?"
To their surprise, Adam started laughing loudly. In between fits of laughter, he managed to gasp out "Brahman? You think I'm ..." He finally got his laughter under control. "Ah, that was good. No, my friends, I'm no brahmarishi, I'm sorry to say." He looked at them curiously. "What made you think that?"
Raj felt guilty again. "When you lay dead on my floor, I saw the blue energy healing your wound. And your age..."
Adam shook his head. "You saw the Quickening, Raj."
"The what?"
"Quickening. It's our life force, I suppose. It's what makes us Immortal," Adam explained.
"But isn't brahman life force as well?" Raj asked, confused.
Adam sighed. "Well, yes. But I don't think it's the same thing. Your brahmarishis could control brahman. We have no control over the Quickening. When an Immortal loses his head, the Quickening escapes from the body and transfers into the nearest live Immortal ... didn't you see the lightning last night?"
He seemed a bit disappointed when they said they had not. "Anyway, the Quickening contains the memories and experiences of the dead Immortal, and some believe taking a Quickening increases one's own power." He could see they didn't really grasp what he was talking about, but you really had to experience a Quickening to understand what it was like, and since neither of them were Immortal, they never would.
An awkward silence ensued, while they watched him timidly. Adam rolled his eyes. "I should have known..." He sat down facing them. "Look, I'm just a guy. If I could use brahman to do magic tricks, I'd have made you forget what you'd seen. No, not even that. I'd just have magicked that stupid knife from my back and you wouldn't have seen me again." He indicated his backpack still lying in a corner. "As you can imagine, I'm not in the habit of sharing my little secret with the world, and Raj, you have a way of getting me to confess way too easily."
Raj stirred at that. "So you're leaving?"
"No," Adam said after a second. "I would if I could, but things are a bit complicated right now."
"Why?"
"I think," said Adam. "That my secret is out anyway. There's a group of head hunters in the area, and they're waiting for me to leave here. I got away last night because I came across only two, and not the whole group." He smiled. "So you're stuck with me rather indefinitely, I'm afraid. I'm not leaving with them out there... and they are Immortal, so they have all the time in the world."
Narayan Shankar, who had been listening patiently all this time, raised an eyebrow at that. "Why would they wait so long for you? Would they not fight each other, if what you told us is true?"
"Good question," Adam said. "I don't know what bargain they've struck with each other. In the end, there can be only one. But they are waiting for Methos, because the one who takes Methos' head will probably win the Game. I've survived all these years by not being Methos, but somehow in the last few months the rumour has been going around that Methos had been found. I thought I could evade them here. Should have gone to Bora Bora instead."
"But if you're so powerful, why don't you win the Game?" Raj asked.
"Because I don't believe in the Game, Raj. And because you've seen how I handle being a killer." He shook his head. "Three thousand years ago I might have thought it would be a good idea. But that was then. Now, I want to be just a guy." He looked at them almost imploringly. "Can't you just pretend nothing happened? I'll teach, grow stronger and live to fight another day. Nothing will happen while I stay on Holy Ground, I promise."
"I don't think I can forget," Raj said. "But you are welcome to stay, Adam. For as long as you need to." He smiled when he saw Narayan Shankar nod as well. "There, it's unanimous."
Adam looked at them for a long moment. "Thank you," he said simply, then scowled. "But don't ask me for words of wisdom or any of that "sage of ages" stuff. I don't do that."
"Whatever you say, Adam," Raj laughed.
Raj could not tell why, but Adam seemed happier and more at peace in the days following the harrowing events. Perhaps because he had unburdened himself to Raj, he could deal better with his bitterness and sorrow; or perhaps he had just managed to hide it away again as he must have done for centuries. Raj did not know, but it eased his mind to hear Adam laughing, and he hoped that this extraordinary man would have the opportunity to heal at Gurukul.
One morning after sword practice, Raj came across Adam and his students, sitting on the steps of the pavilion. Adam was speaking earnestly, and the boys were listening intently. Raj stopped to hear what words of wisdom Adam was imparting, for despite Adam's claim to the contrary, Raj was convinced that Adam must have the wisdom of ages.
"An old man lived alone in Darjeeling. He wanted to spade his potato garden, but it was very hard work. His only son, Rohit, who used to help him, was in Bombay Prison. The old man wrote a letter to his son and described his predicament."
Adam paused to open an imaginary letter and started reading from it. "Dear Rohit, I am feeling pretty bad because it looks like I won't be able to plant my potato garden this year. I'm just getting too old to be digging up a garden plot. If you were here, all my troubles would be over. I know you would dig the plot for me. Love, Papa."
Adam closed the imaginary letter. "A few days later he received a letter from his son. 'Dear Papa, for heaven's sake, Papa, don't dig up that garden, that's where I buried the BODIES. Love, Rohit."
Adam looked meaningfully at his audience. "At 4 A.M. the next morning, the local police showed up and dug up the entire area without finding any bodies. They apologized to the old man and left. That same day the old man received another letter from his son."
He opened another imaginary letter. "Dear Papa, go ahead and plant the potatoes now. That's the best I could do under the circumstances. Love Rohit."
Amidst laughter, Adam got up to come greet Raj, smiling widely. "Good morning, Mr. Aryan."
"No words of wisdom for your students?" Raj teased.
"Nope," Adam replied blithely and winked.
Raj could not help but laugh. Things were looking better.
The sun still rises every day
And the brightly glowing dawn
With all her doors unopened
Lights my never ending way
The steep and rocky upward slope
Of that long and winding road
Redefines with every step
My unblemished sense of hope
Rainy days and rainy nights
Purifies the smoky air
To show my wond'ring eyes a feast
Of new and far beguiling sights
Every bird in every tree
Adds song to a growing sound
That gathers as I make my way
Ever nearer to the sea
As I see the endless bay
All of nature seems to rise
To join me on my journey
To that long-awaited joyful day
Then I recall that all my days
Had left me stranded here and now
But still my steadfast sense of hope
Will lead me on to brighter ways