Chapter twenty two

Wolf

The next morning I woke up a little earlier than usual. I was excited to actually go surfing today for the first time. I got dressed in a wetsuit and left my room.

“Why you up Grandfather,” asked Wolf.

“I wanted to call my lawyer and make arrangements for me to sign my updated will. I didn’t go to bed so I would be able to watch you surf for the first time,” said Grandfather.

“So are we going because don’t forget you still need a surfboard,” said Grandfather as he got up and handed me a breakfast bar. With that we were out the door and headed to the surf shop to get a board.

As we were walking to the shop we saw it being opened up. We were that early.

“So what can I get you fine gentlemen,” asked the owner?

“I would like to purchase a board for my grandson,” Grandfather answered.

“Is this his first time surfing or has he surfed before,” asked the owner.

“This will be his first time,” answered Grandfather.

“Ok follow me. We need a board that is seven in a half feet long and about twenty two inches wide. This will provide the necessary mass to help your grandson balance,” said the owner.

As we followed the owner we passed by rows of surfboard’s. Plus other surfing equipment.

“Ok, here we are. Pick a board and let’s go ring you up,” said the owner

I picked out a plain white board. With the board in hand we went back to the front where Grandfather paid.

“If the board isn’t good you can come back and exchange it for a different one,” said the owner.

We left the store and went to the waves. Grandfather stopped a few feet from the water. I will wait for you here and enjoy the show,” said Grandfather.

I stepped into the water and walked a few feet in until the water reached my knees and just stood there. I felt the waves crashing into my legs and it was a very odd feeling. I got on my board and started paddling out to catch a wave. I saw there were a few other people there already. So I got in line behind the last person like the instructor taught me.

When It was my turn I paddled out and turned to catch the wave. Just as I felt the back of my board rising with the wave I popped up like the instructor taught me. Once standing I let the wave move the board and I could feel the water. It was just like when I was in the tub. Except this was so much stronger and lasted until I fell off the board from the shock of feeling the water. What the Wolf told me suddenly had a whole new meaning. I quickly got back in line as I wanted to feel the water again.

There I was waiting for my turn once again. When I felt there would be a big wave further out. So I started paddling out further than the rest of the surfers. Eventually I felt like I was in the right place and stopped paddling. I didn’t see anything and I couldn’t feel what made me come out here either. A few minutes later on the horizon I saw something coming and it was the biggest wave I have ever seen in my short time on the water. I turned around and got ready for the wave and when it hit the back of the board I popped up and let the water guide me. I felt the water that was part of this wave and it was magnificent. This time I didn’t lose focus and rode the wave till it broke down.

After that I got back in line as I didn’t feel anything out here any longer. I surfed for some time longer till I couldn’t stand on my board any longer. I paddled back to the beach and there was Grandfather with a smile on his face.

“So how was your first time on the water,” asked Grandfather?

“It was awesome. How long are we going to stay,” I asked?

“As long as you want,” said Grandfather.

Some time later. “Do you plan on getting up? You have been sleeping here for quite awhile,” said Grandfather.

“I’m sorry I was very tired from surfing. I must have fallen asleep.”

You don’t have to tell me you fell asleep. I was the one who was sitting here and watching you,” said Grandfather. “Come and I will get you something to eat. As for the rest of the day. How about I take you to a museum.”

We went back to our hotel room. I took a shower and got dressed in a colorful shirt that I learned was the style on this island. From there we went to lunch. I was starving from all the surfing and skipping breakfast. So I ordered two portions of food and wiped it clean.

“So which museum are we going to,” I asked?

“I want to teach you something that I see is missing in your education. There is a perfect place on this island where I can teach you. So we are going to go to the Hawaiian Museum Of Art. There I will teach you about art, it is something that you would have been taught soon. But I wanted to teach you more than you would have learned elsewhere.

“There is something very special about art; it depicts what the artist was feeling when they created the piece. The trick is to be able to understand what the artist was trying to say. With music it is easier as you have tempo and an assortment of other things to tell what the artist is feeling. But with paintings or sculptures it is a little more difficult. This is something I’m going to try to teach you to recognize. Through being able to recognize this in stuff that are inanimate you will be able to pick up on peoples moods and what they are feeling.

“Come let’s go in and you will tell me what you thought about everything that was displayed here,” said Grandfather.

The museum was trying out a new exhibit and to get people to look at it they placed it as the first exhibit. This forced everyone who came to the museum to walk through the exhibit. The exhibit was focused on knives.

Knives being a thing I was interested in for the purpose of cutting and stabbing didn’t understand how they could be art. But it was more than that I knew that knife makers took great pride in crafting excellent blades. But it was still just a knife meant to do what a knife is supposed to do not be in an art museum. So I was extremely interested in learning what made a knife art. As I looked at the knives all I saw were an assortment of finely designed killing utensils.

But the more I looked the weirder it got. Some of the knives present were clearly meant to be used for cutting food. So why did they all look like such fine weapons and why did people see them as art?

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This led me to reading the info plaque next to the knives. Still the only thing that stood out to me was that they came from all around the world. Some of them being hundreds of years old. I wanted to know why the ones that looked like knives to cut food looked like knives of death. The more I looked the less I saw and the less I understood.

So I decided to try what Grandfather told me to look at it as if it's art. Grandfather said sculptures are hard so maybe knives were harder to understand as art. This led me to looking at each of them again and I started focusing on the ones that were shorter. They were the ones that mainly looked like they should be used for food cutting but they looked deadly. I kept looking at them till I realized why they looked so deadly. They were meant to deceive. They were meant for ladies that were less powerful. So instead when the attacker came close they could kill him. They were commonly known as the Queen’s Blade. They were used by the queen if someone tried to kill her.

This let me see that they were built with purpose and concealment in mind. For the queen it looked like a fancy dagger that was a gift that she could never properly use. More for show than for killing. For a regular woman they were dual purpose whatever the lady used it for and protection.

With this understanding I focused more on the Queen's Blades. They were built and decorated with art in mind. I understood that I wanted one. I wanted a Queen’s Blade. They were all about subterfuge and looking like decoration for the queen. Not their real purpose which was to kill.

With this understanding about these blades I was able to compare them to all the other blades in the exhibit. Some looked like more for show and didn’t look like they would be useful in a fight. It was a shame since I noticed they were ceremonial blades. I was of the opinion in my limited knowledge that a ceremonial blade should just look nicer and fit with what you were wearing to the ceremony. Like the blade I had purchased to go to Rexa’s wedding.

“Are you with me Wolf,” asked Grandfather?

“What, what’s the problem,” I asked

“You have been out of it for close to four hours and it’s time to leave. What did you see while you were spaced out,” asked Grandfather.

“Nothing much. But I now know what you mean about being able to tell what the artist was feeling when he created his art,” I answered.

“Oh and how did you figure it out,” asked Grandfather?

“I know I didn’t see any traditional art. But I think there was a certain element of art in knives that I was looking at. In some of them you could see they were forged properly but they lacked any refinement. They were built to do a purpose and that’s it. But there were other ones that were built to be worn and the smith put his heart into it.

“So if I understood what you wanted me to see. Art is looking at what the artist was trying to convey,” I said.

“Yes you understood what I was trying to convey. Hopefully you will be able to use this knowledge in the future. So what do you want for dinner,” asked Grandfather?

“How about fish,” I asked?

“That’s a wonderful idea. We’ll ask the concierge at the hotel for a recommendation,” said Grandfather.

“What are you going to order,” I asked?

“Why don’t you order for me,” said Grandfather.

“Hi. What can I get you,” asked our waiter?

“Could we get for two. I would like scallops, Caesar salad, and pink snapper. Desert we will decide about after the entree,” I said.

We ended up having some chocolate cake for dessert. After that we went back to the hotel. I took a shower and went to bed. I had trouble falling asleep as I had something on my mind and I couldn’t place it. I tried clearing my mind and it didn’t work. So I was laying in bed thinking about what was bothering with the minutes ticking bye. I wanted to sleep so I decided to exhaust myself into sleeping.

To do that I started trying to feel what was going on around me. Or as the Wolf said, connecting with the world. It tired me out when I used it for surfing this morning. So I tried it now. I felt the room around me.

“Wolf you getting up,” asked Grandfather?

“What time is it?” l said as I rolled over because the sun was in my eyes.

“It’s twelve o’clock. You have to get up or you won’t be able to sleep tonight,” said Grandfather.

Wow, I must have fallen asleep right away, I thought to myself. Did I manage to connect to the universe? There were more important things to do and that was take a shower. But first was exercise and meditating. I got onto the floor in the pretzel formation and put my hands on my knees. With this done I started breathing deeply and slowing my breath. I meditated for an hour then did a few katas and took a shower.

“So what are we going to do today,” I asked?

“Let’s go see the USS Arizona,” said Grandfather.

“There is an important lesson to learn here. Would you like to guess what it is,” asked Grandfather?

“I don’t know what it is, would you tell me what it is,” l asked?

“The lesson here is a very simple one. But one that most people won’t do. That is to stand up for what you believe in. But it is more than that as you can see here. They stood up for what they believed and died because of it. There are a lot of people who stand up for what they believe in but most will not die for it.

“You think that all the police officers or members of the military will die for what they believe in? You would be wrong. There are a lot of members of these organizations that are just there to satisfy something in themselves. Whether that be control, power or anything else. So do you understand what was special about people back then? You won’t find as many of these people these days,” said Grandfather.

“Did you know someone who died here,” I asked?

“Yes I knew a few people. But you still didn’t answer if you understood the difference between people that I was trying to teach you,” asked Grandfather?

“Yes, you want people that are loyal to work for you. But for the stuff that is very important you want people who are willing to die for you. Like the militaries of old. But I think what you were really trying to convey is that you should try to know the motivation of all people that have an important role to play,” I said.

“Good, you understand. But there is something to know and that is you want someone who will always be able to have your back. Finding this person is very difficult and it’s a decision that should not be taken lightly,” Grandfather said.

This just reminded me about how I didn’t have Jacob to watch my back. But it was much more, he was always around for advice or to help me figure something out. I wanted this feeling again and that was a small problem. When you are looking for something this important you can’t be emotional and that is exactly what I was. But I needed someone but another problem was I was too young to hire someone myself. This didn’t really leave me with any options and it was something that would take a lot of time. Time which I felt I was sorely lacking.

The next morning Grandfather said he had something to take care of. So I went to the beach to surf while he took care of his business.

“I purchased the Astoria. It was added to the will with everything else you wanted in there. Most of your assets are going to your grandson Wolf. The rest is going to his mother to dispense as she sees fit. Also there is a bit of cash left over from the Astoria purchase. Is there something you want me to do with it,” asked Grandfather’s lawyer?

“Put it into short term bonds. Wolf may want to buy something with it. Let's leave it up to him,” said Grandfather.

“Ok, that concludes your will. There is nothing left except for you to sign it,” said the lawyer.

Grandfather signed the will hoping it wouldn’t be read for another few years. But knowing in his heart that it would be read sooner. All Grandfather could do now was make sure Wolf was prepared. But again knowing that Wolf would suffer and it would get bloody like the days of old. When whole villages would be killed at once and the blood would flow. Glad he wouldn’t be around to see the birth of what the world needed.

Grandfather being done with the will he got up and went out to the beach to check on Wolf. There Wolf was out on the water like it was where he was born. The board being an extension of his body. It was a beautiful sight to see.

I saw Grandfather on the beach so I paddled in. Picked up my board and walked over.

“You were great out there,” said Grandfather. “It looks like you found something new to do while we are here.”

We stayed for another two weeks in Hawaii. Spending the time like a tourist would except much more time on the beach surfing. All the time I would try to connect with the world. This usually left me wiped at the end of the day even though I barely connected with the world.