Title: Mercury
Author: Brad C
Disclaimers: Kazuya Minekura
Descriptions: The mind observes and wields these thoughts. The intellect deciphers and make connections.
The night came, blackening the afternoon skies with complete darkness. There was no sign of the moon. The skies were completely covered by large thick gray clouds, blocking out the moon's warm glowing light. The air was damp and moist; a thin lair of fog covered the path from the small woods. Ukoku walked out quietly from the small woods, glancing around looking for someone. He sighed subtly, hanging his head and standing very still; and began waiting patiently. Ukoku waited for several hours, but still no sign of the other priest. He then began walking down the trail at slow and steady, kicking tiny fragment of pebbles on the ground with his sandals, pacing towards the temple.
The young brunette priest reached the foot of the temple. Ukoku observed the surroundings of the temple, noting every disciple were already fast sleep and candles were gone out completely. The young priest padded his way around the other side of the temple, and noticing the light still on from an isolated room apart from the rest of the temple. He walked over curiously; walking up the steps, and sliding the door open quietly as possible. "I have been expecting you, Ukoku..." Said the familiar warm and tranquil voice. The elder high priest turned around from his seat, smiling gracefully and calmly. Ukoku bursted out laughing nervously while shaking his head in disbelief.
The younger priest walked further into the room, closing the door of the retreat room behind him. "Where were you?" Ukoku asked with a curious note in his voice. Koumyou glanced at the younger priest, placing down his cup of green tea and the burning cigarette into the ashtray. "Hiding..." The elder priest answered with a warm light-hearted voice. "Hiding from who?" Ukoku questioned again, gazing at the older priest curiously, walking over to the small table and taking his seat with his legs crossed under his creamed white robes. "You..." Koumyou replied, stifling into a playful giggle with a light-hearted childish smile reaching his eyes. "I should have known..." Ukoku answered with his hand covering his face, and still stifling into couple of small laughs to himself.
Ukoku paused for a moment, slowly removing his hand from his face and finally noticing the elder priest with his long light blonde hair down to waist like a warm glowing radiant light like form of the moon itself. He stared at the elder priest quietly and admirably with a small faint smile across his face. Koumyou glanced at the young priest with amused smile on his face. "Ukoku, come over here..." The elder priest said in warm subtle voice. Ukoku pushed himself up from his seat and walking over to the elder priest, and seating down on the floor again in the same position. He stared curiously at the elder priest, but unable to figure out what was going on around him.
Koumyou stood up from his seat, padding over to a table and opened the draw, and then taking out a small box. He grabbed the box, walking to his original spot and placing the small box next to the younger priest. Ukoku glanced up at the elder priest dumbfoundedly, slowly opening the box with one hand and the other holding the wooden box in place. He opened the lid carefully, peering inside the small wooden container. Inside it contained; a medium thick wooden hairbrush, and a thin white hair tie looping around the end of the brush handle. The elder priest sat there without sign of movement, and eyes closed as he waits patiently for the younger priest to take action.
Ukoku took the thick brush slowly, removing the thin hair tie from the brush and settling the wooden box onto the side of the floor beside him. The young priest then looked at the elder priest hesitantly without moving a muscle. Koumyou remained still, simply nodding his head with warm smile on his face, and noting the young priest's movements. Ukoku bring the brush up to the elder priest's light golden hair, combing in very soft strokes. He continued brushing the long hair, using the end of the brush and separating strands of hair into three columns. Only the sound of silence exchanged between the two priests.
The young priest used the two strand of hair in-between his two fingers, crisscrossing over and under by using the extra strand of hair, and passing them between his fingers. "Ukoku... Have you heard of the story of Chandra and Budha?" Koumyou asked, breaking the silence, and feeling the young priest fingers working with his hair. "I heard the Budha is the illegitimate son of Chandra," The young priest paused, and then answered the elder priest. "Sometimes he is called father of Budha," Koumyou added with a smile reaching his eyes.
"Ah... But there is more..." The elder priest continued with grinning behind his unchanging warm smile, "Chandra is symbolically known as the innocent moon in its observation and the mind that wields the mind when it receives light of the soul," Koumyou finished quietly, both arms tucked underneath the sleeves of his white creamed robes he sat there patiently, waiting for his hair to be finished. "Budha is mercury, the intellect of the mind that evaluates and discriminates based on the moon's observations forming judgment," Ukoku answered quietly, finishing weaving the three strands of light blonde hair into a braid, then using the thin white hair tie tying up the elder priest's hair.
Ukoku sat very still with both hands place atop of his knee, lowering his head staring quietly at the wooden floor. He breathed in deeply, feeling rather uneasy with his heart beating rapidly and hands somewhat trembling. "Is almost dawn," Ukoku croaked, glancing at the door; he could already feel the warm moisture in the atmosphere, and darkness slowly getting brighter and lighter in colour. The elder priest nodded his head, "Would you like to join me for tea?" Koumyou asked delightfully through his soft smile even with his back facing the young priest. "Perhaps another time..." Ukoku answered smiling faintly, getting up from his seat prodding away to the entrance and sliding the door open halfway. "There is always room for late night snacks..." The elder priest stifled into a playful giggle with a small grin across his face. Ukoku simply laughed and walked out bowing his head, and sliding the door to a close.
The young priest padded out of the retreat room, settling down on wooden step of the temple. Ukoku sat down and began staring quietly at his own hands from the touch of the light golden blonde hair from the elder priest. He could feel his own heart still beating at irregular pace, hands feeling cold and clammy; and nervousness churning, twisting and gutting inside his stomach. Ukoku sighed with content undertone in his voice, lifting his head up slowly, and gazing fondly at the warm glow of the full moon.
Ukoku stood up from his seat, leaving the temple and before the arrival of morning.