Post by Pistachioto on Jun 3, 2017 5:16:59 GMT
Pistachioto sat in a small hut on Mount Paouzu, meditating, her grandfather across from her, doing likewise. Both were calm, with slow breathing, and closed eyes. They filled their minds with the thought of clearing their minds; they focused on not focusing; all contradictions were possible, yet none were true. No truth seemed to be found; they were at peace, and nothing would stop that, no thoughts, nothing to focus on. In this way they remained, their minds clear, for several hours-the passing of time was irrelevant to them-when Pistachioto's grandfather stood up, walking quietly towards the small room that served as a kitchen in their house. He tried to balance his feet as much as possible to negate sound, but it was no use. Pistachioto had already broken her concentration, her attention back to reality. She stretched out, beginning to speak,
"Grandpa? What are you doing?" she inquired.
"Hush, child, I'm off to make tea. You should have continued your meditation, but now that you've awoken, I suppose you should continue practice. Begin practicing your practical applications of ki," her grandfather replied. His tone was primarily assertive, but there was something else; perhaps like regret, but different: a strange feeling, as though he knew something bad were to happen, but could do nothing about it. Pistachioto gave a slight sigh, but complied; she had done this many times before, and saw little point in continuing, but knew her grandfather was likely correct in saying she should practice. As her grandfather walked into the kitchen, she readied herself, getting into a stance, her left arm outstretched and her right arm bent, her hand next to her stomach with her elbow sticking out backwards, and her palms facing outwards. Letting out a small sound, she swapped the position of her arms, pushing out her right arm and, with it, a wall of pure ki. The wall of energy rapidly charged towards the back wall of the room Pistachioto was practicing in, and she charged ki into her legs, forming a translucent yellow layer of ki around her leg, spanning from her knee to her ankle. Just before the ki wall she initially fired hit the wall, she jumped over in front of it, forming another ki wall which the other one slammed into, causing a slight recoil, but Pistachioto maintained her position by forming ki chains around her ankles to the ground. She then formed the two ki walls into one purple ball of ki, which she bounced around her hands like a beach ball. She then volleyed it into the air, jumping up and forming a large pole, which she used to bounce herself up to the ball, grabbing it and reabsorbing the ki within, only to then soar into the air and... smack against the ceiling...
"Ow..." she exclaimed, falling to the ground. The child then got up, trying to withstand the pain. She was strong, she repeated to herself, she could make it. But the pain was too great, seemingly. Soon after, her grandfather came into the room, carrying a tray of tea. Seeing her face, he raced over, setting the tea down on the ground.
"Pistachioto? Are you alright?" he asked, feeling her head. There was a slight blotch of blood on her head, and he rushed back into the kitchen, grabbing a rag and getting it wet. Pistachioto's grandfather pressed the rag onto her head, before taking it off and inspecting the wound again. Seeing it was still in poor condition, he rushed out of the room, grabbing several senzu beans off of a plant he had growing outside of the house. He crushed two up and placed the dust into one of the cups of tea, stirring it with a spoon he had left on the tray.
"G..grandpa? Is it gonna be okay?"
"Of course, Pistachioto. Just drink the tea, and I'll be back soon." The small girl complied, beginning to drink the tea. Almost immediately the senzu beans took effect, easing the pain from the wound. Meanwhile, in the kitchen, Pistachioto's grandfather was crushing up the remaining senzu beans, mixing them with herbs and water, forming a salve. He walked back into the main room, along with a small rag. Dipping the rag into the salve, he applied it to her wound, causing it to instantly begin to seal. He patted Pistachioto's back, setting the rag and salve down. He enveloped Pistachioto in a hug, slightly tearing up at the idea of what he would need to do later.
Several hours later, Pistachioto and her grandfather sat down, cross legged on the ground with a tray full of food in front of each of them. They were piled high with all varieties of food: meat, vegetables, and fruit all adorned the plate, and each was cooked simply yet in a way that valued flavour. Pistachioto bowed her head, and her grandfather did likewise, both expressing gratitude for the food. Shortly after, it was time to eat. And eat Pistachioto did. She dug into the food, eating ravenously, her eyes darting around the tray with each bite, looking for the next dish to devour. It had been a year, now, since she had come to her grandfather's to live, and still his cooking amazed her. Somehow he managed to pack a great taste into every dish, even though it was made with simple ingredients, nothing more than herbs, meat, vegetables, and fruit.
"I sprinkled some senzu beans into the food, hopefully it'll help with your head," Pistachioto's grandfather said, shifting awkwardly.
"Mhm," Pistachioto responded, her mouth still full of food.
"Listen, Pistachioto," her grandfather began, letting out a small sigh. "I've been meaning to talk to you about something."
"Yeah?" she responded, actually remembering to not chew while talking, a massive feat for her.
"Well... you see... when someone like me gets old, well we... we uh... we need to leave."
"What are you talking about? Are you going on a trip or something?"
"It's not exactly leaving like that. It's more of a permanent leave; we have to leave this world, this plane. Well, I suppose you could say it's time for me to... er... move on." Pistachioto dropped a spoon she had been holding, her mouth wide with shock.
"Do you mean you're gonna... d..die?" she asked, stuttering with fear. She had lost too much already, she couldn't lose her grandfather too.
"Listen to me, Pistachioto. You may think it's bad, that I'm dying, that I'm going to leave this world. But it isn't permanent; I'm moving on, to the next life, the next stage, and, well, one day, I think you'll come too, wherever I'm going. Really, it's not a bad thing."
"No!" Pistachioto said, the volume of her voice rapidly escalating. "When Mom and Dad died, I was devastated! It made me feel horrible, like I would never see them again! And n..now you're leaving too! I... I just..." Pistachioto broke into tears, pushing her face into her palms. "I'll miss you..." Her grandfather put his arms around her, enveloping her in a hug.
"I know, I know. Just remember, I'll always be watching you, I'll always be there, even if sometimes it doesn't seem like it. Just please, promise you'll make the right decisions, and I'll always be proud of you. Now, do you wanna see something?" He pulled her up, taking her hand and leading her to a wall. He pushed it out, revealing it to be a door, and inside of a room was a small chest. "All those senzu beans we've been using? They'd been diluted, their effects weakened by years of cross-pollination with other plants. But here, this is a special one, purely senzu bean, for you." The old man opened up the box, revealing a shiny lime green bean, handing it to Pistachioto.
"F...for me?" she asked, flustered.
"Yes. For you. I trust you can do the right thing with it. Now, please, leave this place. I don't want you to see me any longer, for I'm close to death now. Go, and do what you wish with the world, and be sure to be kind to others, and help when you can."
"I will Grandpa. I will." she then rushed out of the house, the door closing behind her with a slight bang. The child clutched the senzu bean close to her chest, and began walking down a dirt trail leading away from the mountain. She would carry on her grandfather in her heart. That she knew, for certain.
"Grandpa? What are you doing?" she inquired.
"Hush, child, I'm off to make tea. You should have continued your meditation, but now that you've awoken, I suppose you should continue practice. Begin practicing your practical applications of ki," her grandfather replied. His tone was primarily assertive, but there was something else; perhaps like regret, but different: a strange feeling, as though he knew something bad were to happen, but could do nothing about it. Pistachioto gave a slight sigh, but complied; she had done this many times before, and saw little point in continuing, but knew her grandfather was likely correct in saying she should practice. As her grandfather walked into the kitchen, she readied herself, getting into a stance, her left arm outstretched and her right arm bent, her hand next to her stomach with her elbow sticking out backwards, and her palms facing outwards. Letting out a small sound, she swapped the position of her arms, pushing out her right arm and, with it, a wall of pure ki. The wall of energy rapidly charged towards the back wall of the room Pistachioto was practicing in, and she charged ki into her legs, forming a translucent yellow layer of ki around her leg, spanning from her knee to her ankle. Just before the ki wall she initially fired hit the wall, she jumped over in front of it, forming another ki wall which the other one slammed into, causing a slight recoil, but Pistachioto maintained her position by forming ki chains around her ankles to the ground. She then formed the two ki walls into one purple ball of ki, which she bounced around her hands like a beach ball. She then volleyed it into the air, jumping up and forming a large pole, which she used to bounce herself up to the ball, grabbing it and reabsorbing the ki within, only to then soar into the air and... smack against the ceiling...
"Ow..." she exclaimed, falling to the ground. The child then got up, trying to withstand the pain. She was strong, she repeated to herself, she could make it. But the pain was too great, seemingly. Soon after, her grandfather came into the room, carrying a tray of tea. Seeing her face, he raced over, setting the tea down on the ground.
"Pistachioto? Are you alright?" he asked, feeling her head. There was a slight blotch of blood on her head, and he rushed back into the kitchen, grabbing a rag and getting it wet. Pistachioto's grandfather pressed the rag onto her head, before taking it off and inspecting the wound again. Seeing it was still in poor condition, he rushed out of the room, grabbing several senzu beans off of a plant he had growing outside of the house. He crushed two up and placed the dust into one of the cups of tea, stirring it with a spoon he had left on the tray.
"G..grandpa? Is it gonna be okay?"
"Of course, Pistachioto. Just drink the tea, and I'll be back soon." The small girl complied, beginning to drink the tea. Almost immediately the senzu beans took effect, easing the pain from the wound. Meanwhile, in the kitchen, Pistachioto's grandfather was crushing up the remaining senzu beans, mixing them with herbs and water, forming a salve. He walked back into the main room, along with a small rag. Dipping the rag into the salve, he applied it to her wound, causing it to instantly begin to seal. He patted Pistachioto's back, setting the rag and salve down. He enveloped Pistachioto in a hug, slightly tearing up at the idea of what he would need to do later.
Several hours later, Pistachioto and her grandfather sat down, cross legged on the ground with a tray full of food in front of each of them. They were piled high with all varieties of food: meat, vegetables, and fruit all adorned the plate, and each was cooked simply yet in a way that valued flavour. Pistachioto bowed her head, and her grandfather did likewise, both expressing gratitude for the food. Shortly after, it was time to eat. And eat Pistachioto did. She dug into the food, eating ravenously, her eyes darting around the tray with each bite, looking for the next dish to devour. It had been a year, now, since she had come to her grandfather's to live, and still his cooking amazed her. Somehow he managed to pack a great taste into every dish, even though it was made with simple ingredients, nothing more than herbs, meat, vegetables, and fruit.
"I sprinkled some senzu beans into the food, hopefully it'll help with your head," Pistachioto's grandfather said, shifting awkwardly.
"Mhm," Pistachioto responded, her mouth still full of food.
"Listen, Pistachioto," her grandfather began, letting out a small sigh. "I've been meaning to talk to you about something."
"Yeah?" she responded, actually remembering to not chew while talking, a massive feat for her.
"Well... you see... when someone like me gets old, well we... we uh... we need to leave."
"What are you talking about? Are you going on a trip or something?"
"It's not exactly leaving like that. It's more of a permanent leave; we have to leave this world, this plane. Well, I suppose you could say it's time for me to... er... move on." Pistachioto dropped a spoon she had been holding, her mouth wide with shock.
"Do you mean you're gonna... d..die?" she asked, stuttering with fear. She had lost too much already, she couldn't lose her grandfather too.
"Listen to me, Pistachioto. You may think it's bad, that I'm dying, that I'm going to leave this world. But it isn't permanent; I'm moving on, to the next life, the next stage, and, well, one day, I think you'll come too, wherever I'm going. Really, it's not a bad thing."
"No!" Pistachioto said, the volume of her voice rapidly escalating. "When Mom and Dad died, I was devastated! It made me feel horrible, like I would never see them again! And n..now you're leaving too! I... I just..." Pistachioto broke into tears, pushing her face into her palms. "I'll miss you..." Her grandfather put his arms around her, enveloping her in a hug.
"I know, I know. Just remember, I'll always be watching you, I'll always be there, even if sometimes it doesn't seem like it. Just please, promise you'll make the right decisions, and I'll always be proud of you. Now, do you wanna see something?" He pulled her up, taking her hand and leading her to a wall. He pushed it out, revealing it to be a door, and inside of a room was a small chest. "All those senzu beans we've been using? They'd been diluted, their effects weakened by years of cross-pollination with other plants. But here, this is a special one, purely senzu bean, for you." The old man opened up the box, revealing a shiny lime green bean, handing it to Pistachioto.
"F...for me?" she asked, flustered.
"Yes. For you. I trust you can do the right thing with it. Now, please, leave this place. I don't want you to see me any longer, for I'm close to death now. Go, and do what you wish with the world, and be sure to be kind to others, and help when you can."
"I will Grandpa. I will." she then rushed out of the house, the door closing behind her with a slight bang. The child clutched the senzu bean close to her chest, and began walking down a dirt trail leading away from the mountain. She would carry on her grandfather in her heart. That she knew, for certain.