Ash sat at the dinner table chewing a tortilla and studying Grandpa Pine, looking for the effects of Bruja’s magic. His grandpa looked young for his age, easily passing for someone in their fifties despite being at least a decade older. He still had his hair although it had turned white, which made his brown skin look even darker.
“What?” Grandpa Pine asked catching Ash’s stare.
Ash looked away. “Sorry, you just look—I don’t know—rested, I guess.” His grandpa’s cheeks flushed, and Ash hurriedly continued. “No, I’m not giving you a hard time. I mean it. You look good. That’s all.”
“Thanks, I do feel better. How did the morning go?”
Ash pinched the last of his beans with a tortilla while he thought of the best way to respond.
“Something a little weird happened, actually. My Root meditation sucked me so deep I lost track of time.”
Grandpa Pine raised his eyebrows. “That’s new. What changed? Did you try for once?”
Ash ignored the poke at his work ethic and then realized maybe the question had more merit than he thought. He’d wanted to impress Elder Phoenix and had given the meditation his whole focus and effort.
Ash recognized the trap he’d just stepped into all on his own. He couldn’t lie because his Grandpa had awakened his Throat chakra and would know instantly.
With a long sigh, Ash answered. “Yes, I gave it more effort this morning.”
“Which means you’ve been slacking for months, maybe years.”
Ash wished he had another tortilla to shove into his mouth and settled for finishing a cup of water. His grandpa’s words made him angry, and the truth of them only made it worse. Today had proved his nagging grandpa was right. He considered throwing one of his grandpa’s own sayings about focusing on the past in his face but decided to take the lecture. Ash’s world had changed, and he needed to take things more seriously.
Grandpa Pine studied Ash, obviously expecting a response.
“You’re right. I need to try harder.”
Grandpa Pine’s eyes widened, and he leaned back in his chair. After three seconds he stood and leaned across the small table to touch Ash’s forehead.
“I’ll call the doctor,” Grandpa Pine said.
Ash smiled despite himself and slapped his grandpa’s hand away. “Knock it off. Have you ever heard of a poor winner?”
The old man returned to his chair, smiling. “This really is my lucky day. Not only has my grandson gained a speck of self-awareness, but I received a reply from a request I made almost a year ago.”
“What request?”
“I’ll explain after you tell me about this morning.”
Ash picked his words carefully. “I wanted to make extra sure this morning that I did everything correctly. Then I started with Root and I guess the extra focus pushed me deeper because my awareness spread into the ground and trees. When I finally stopped hours had passed. It scared me a bit honestly.”
“That is great progress, Ash. To push a newly Awakened chakra into the surroundings is not easy. Next time leave an anchor in your body so you can easily return. The further you travel from your body the greater the chance you’ll not make it back.”
“Anchor how?”
“The easiest way is to incorporate another chakra. Take a thread with you. Not only will it enhance the focus of your Root, but it also offers a lifeline back to your body. The further you travel the more chakras you should anchor yourself to.”
Ash considered the information. “My Root and Third Eye mingle a lot. I’ll use them both next time.”
“An excellent combination for danger. Combine your Root and Sacral to get positive energy from the surroundings and quickly recharge your body and mind. In fact, do you remember when you were little and you wanted to know why your mom and I never slept? Why all we did was meditate? This is the answer you weren’t ready for. Using your Root and Sacral together removes your need for sleep. Your mom could meditate for fifteen minutes and feel like she’d slept for six hours.”
The mention of Ash’s mom caused his grandpa to go silent as he reminisced.
After ten seconds of awkward silence, Ash spoke, choosing his words carefully again. “Ever since the Pit appeared the Step meditation made me dizzy.” He quickly continued knowing not telling his grandpa sooner was another opening for a lecture. “Anyway, I found a solution today that I’m studying but it seems to solve the problem. You breathe like this—”
Ash demonstrated the odd breathing technique three times, and his grandpa mirrored Ash on the third.
Grandpa Pine touched his chest. “This is interesting. I’ll study it too.”
Ash buried his happiness as best he could, although his grandpa’s Throat chakra would undoubtedly pick up on the fact he hid something. If Elder Phoenix had told the truth, then if his grandpa did this, it should extend his life, even if he never formed a Core.
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Another silence fell between them as Grandpa Pine turned serious, and with a visible effort he met Ash’s eyes. “It’s no secret I can’t keep up with you anymore. Not for the last two years. It’s shameful it took me so long to ask for help, but my health has overcome my pride and embarrassment. I wanted to apologize for my delay, and I’m truly sorry, Ash.”
Ash shook his head, uncomfortable with this kind of talk. In fact, he almost blurted out that the disease had already disappeared, but that would reveal Bruja, so he remained silent.
Pine cleared his throat. “I contacted our Step Clan last year, and they’ve responded. They’re sending another Master to finish your Step training.” Pine raised a hand as Ash complained. “It’s done. I know you think you have nothing left to learn, but that is my fault as well. The bar you have measured yourself against is painfully low.”
Ash started to argue again, and Pine shook his head.
“No, child, I know you love me, but,” Pine turned his gaze to the table near the window and the picture Ash had drawn. He studied the drawing, his face growing solemn, before meeting his grandson’s eyes again. “I witnessed true greatness, and that is what I want for you. I pray our Step Clan sends someone with even a fraction of the skill I observed.”
Ash respectfully stopped arguing. A week ago, he would’ve inwardly laughed at his grandpa. The idea that their Bamboo Viper Step Clan existed across the Universe was ridiculous on its face. Yes, Ash admitted his family’s martial art made him unbeatable in a fight, and that included the three times the cartel had sent trained assassins to kill them, but to claim the system came from aliens only confirmed Grandpa Pine had lost his wits.
The Bamboo Viper Steps had no equivalent. Ash had watched thousands of videos online, but all those styles appeared like fragmented reflections of Ash’s techniques. Styles like kung-fu, karate, and Krav Maga each showed glimpses of the Viper Steps, but paled when compared to the Viper’s complete and integrated forms. The Bamboo Steps had a similar relationship with aikido, Brazilian jiu-jitsu, kung fu, and even tai-chi.
Ash admitted the fact his family had this martial art handed down for hundreds of generations and that it originated in the mountains of South America made it unique and maybe weird, but that didn’t equal a vast Step Clan spanning the Universe, as if aliens practiced martial arts on far flung planets.
Grandpa Pine had confirmed long ago, that only the two of them knew this technique on Earth, which meant his grandpa’s revelation heralded the imminent arrival of a kung-fu alien.
The recent number of changes in Ash’s life threatened to overwhelm him, and he wondered how much more he could take. That’s when his grandpa dropped the second bomb.
“Ever since the Pit appeared, I’ve kept something from you. That it took a week to have this conversation reveals the hypocrite that I am, and I hope you can forgive my weakness.”
Ash frowned at this type of talk. His grandpa didn’t hide his feelings, but he certainly didn’t normally speak like this. Sleeping in probably made him think his health had taken another turn for the worse, when the opposite was actually the truth, but once again, Ash kept that knowledge a secret, exactly the type of thing his grandpa now confessed to.
“Before I tell you, I want you to know why I delayed. Obviously, the main reason is I love you and I want you to stay safe, to experience a life of boredom and simplicity. A life of happiness.” Pine choked up, but recovered and spoke with an effort, as if every word cost him a piece of his life. “The disappearance of your mother broke my heart, and you know what it did to the alignment of my chakras. I never recovered. And now, after everything, that terrible prophecy has arrived.”
Ash remained silent. As much as he internally berated his grandpa for being senile or crazy, he deeply respected the man who had raised him, taught him, and loved him.
“Traditionally I should have told you about this last year on your sixteenth birthday—that’s when I told your mom, but I didn’t. I convinced myself it could wait another year, and the delay was harmless. Now, with the Pit appearing, it’s as if the gods themselves mock me, and I’ve realized the massive risk I’m taking not only with my own life, but yours. So now, instead of waiting for your birthday, I’m revealing this now, like some sort of early cursed birthday gift.”
“Does this mean I’m not getting the motorcycle?” Ash asked with a small grin, trying to break the oppressiveness of the conversation.
Pine laughed, and Ash smiled in success as his grandpa spiraled into a lecture.
“You and your stupid motorcycles,” Pine said. “Why not welcome death into your home, serve it cake, and maybe offer it a beer. That would be safer than flying around on two killing wheels, a simple patch of gravel ending your life. What a terrible, and yet completely avoidable, death.” Pine saw Ash’s grin and shook his head. “You got me. What was I talking about?”
“I think we ended on cursed-birthday-gift.”
“Right, that awful thing. It’s a prophecy handed down from the beginning. It predicts the apocalypse and how we might survive it.”
“I’m all for surviving the apocalypse,” Ash responded trying to keep the skepticism out of his voice. “How do we do that?”
Pine rubbed his face before locking eyes with Ash. “You.”
“Me? How can an old prophecy predict that?”
“It came from the sky god who shaped our family’s path.”
Relief flooded Ash. Those stories, despite current events, were clearly pure fantasy. “Okay, I’m sure I’ll figure it out.”
Pine frowned. “I know you don’t believe, so after the visiting Step Master leaves, I’m driving us to the Sun and Moon. The time for doubt has passed.”
The Temples of the Sun and Moon sat north of Mexico City. Ash had gone a few times, his grandpa always pointing out the portions of Aztec culture adopted from their family’s influence. More insanity and wish fulfillment.
Ash already dreaded the eight-hour trip as he knew Grandpa Pine would stretch the three hundred fifty miles into a slow and casual drive even though it traveled through many cartel strongholds.
“I’ll drive,” Ash said immediately.
“Nonsense, you’ll be working on your chakras. The time for goofing off is over. If you want to survive what’s coming you need to get them awakened.”
Ash frowned.
Pine sighed. “I shouldn’t have said goofing off, and I’m sorry. You work hard, and I see it. It’s just, you know, I, I couldn’t bear it if I lost you, too.”
Ash’s frustration evaporated immediately at hearing the words. His Heart chakra resonated with the love that clearly filled the words, while his Throat chakra had detected nothing but complete honesty.
Standing, Ash stepped around the table, putting a hand on his grandpa’s shoulder and kissing his forehead. “Don’t worry about me. If I’ve learned one thing from you, it’s that I’m going to die on a motorcycle, not from an old prophecy.”
Pine laughed and patted Ash’s hand.
The lower section of Ash’s spine tingled, as if he’d sat too long on a hard chair. It meant trouble. “If that Step Master shows up it will put me even further behind in my pruning. I better get started.”
“I’ll clean up the lunch dishes and head to town for a bit. Don’t work too long.”
The danger Ash sensed came from the opposite direction of town, making the trip for his grandpa no more risky than usual.
“Be careful,” Ash said. “Something doesn’t feel right.”
Ash strode to the door, slipping outside and sprinting across the open area between the house and shed, the sound of his bare feet imperceptible on the dirt and gravel.