He stood right across from it. He moved his right hand, touching its wood and roots. It looked ancient, with fresh blossoming pink flowers.

Strong breezes came toward him, filled with the heavy fresh smell of cherry blossom; he closed his eyes to feel the smell run across his lungs, making his skin shiver.

Someone put their hand on his hand. He opened his eyes and was startled a little; his hand was still on the same tree, but he wasn’t in the market anymore. He looked around and found himself in the white void.

The person who was holding his hand was standing right behind him. It took him several seconds to understand where he was. He looked back to find the old lady smiling fondly at him. She moved her hand, tapped on his shoulder, and walked to the other side of the enormous tree. He followed her, saying nothing.

The old lady stopped and sat on the floor where there was a small table with two teacups and two plates with dessert on them. The lady waved her hand for Eisai to sit across from her, which he did after hesitation. “I searched for your shop, but it was gone,” he said. The old lady didn’t respond; she nodded and smiled. “I went to Nebuaui. He did not help me at all.” Eisai sounded disappointed.

“He helped you,” she said and took a sip of her tea.

“No! he told an unnecessary story and then threw me back to my time.”

“Not any story. He told you the origin of everything.”

“How is it going to help me with anything? I do not know how to use my powers! He said I may not use them to change anything!”

“You can do anything you want with your powers,” she said and handed him his cup to drink. “Learn how to master them… you can change the world.”

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“He said I cannot change anything… he said time and destiny unchangeable,” Eisai said and took a sip of his tea and looked at the endless space beside him.

“Nebuaui told you what you must know. He told you what he was told. He is a great man from a magnificent land, but these people control people like us; stealing their free will to choose what path they want to cross. Your powers are strong; they can make our world a paradise.” She moved one of the dessert plates closer to him to eat. “Control your emotions to control your power. If you use it depending on your emotions, you will destroy everything. Do not let it take control over you.”

Eisai looked at the lady deeply. He believed her words. His other power made him more aware of everything, but his heart was having a tough time processing what was happening. “It’s hard to take it all in,” Eisai said and took a deep breath. “There is a whole other world, that man and his people, how it all started and—” Eisai stopped; his mind was building up much information as his power was getting stronger by the minute.

The lady looked at him and smiled. “I know how hard your powers are. Take your time to calm down and live your life to help others who need you,” she said and got a book from under the table and gave it to Eisai.

He noticed nothing under the table; he took the book from her hand and looked at it. “This will help you; another great man who had powers similar to yours wrote it,” she said and stood up. “do not be afraid son, you can control it.” she left him and walked away.

Eisai looked at the book; its cover was empty, nothing on it to inform him what was inside. He opened the book and read. It was loads of sentences from the first page to the last one, telling the same story Nebuaui told him.

It had information about every power in this world. Eisai was reading calmly; his mind already knew all of that; it felt like he was reading some old book he had read before.

Time passed by; minutes, hours, Eisai was still reading the book. When he finished his tea and dessert, he was already on the last page. He closed the book, placed it on the table, and took a deep breath.

He looked at the other side of the tree and saw the old lady standing next to it. He got up, holding the book, and walked to her. “You understand now?” the lady asked without looking at him.

“Yes, I wish I did not have such tremendous responsibility,” Eisai said and looked away.