Post by Liang on Feb 8, 2015 21:53:59 GMT
The sound of a hammer driving nails into wood echoed throughout the halls of an empty and dark dojo. A young man wiped some sweat from his brow as he admired the bit of replaced flooring he'd been taking on as a project for some time now; while it was somewhat difficult to see, his eyes had begun to adjust well to the darkness and the accompanying rays of sunlight that broke through cracks in the shoddy dojo walls. Part of him felt terrible for not fixing the place up while his master was still alive, but in the current case later was at least better than never. Li had made a promise; one he fully intended to keep, as could be judged by the heavy dent he'd put in repairing the structure surrounding him. He nailed the last board of the flooring into place then sat for a small break, taking a large gulp of water bottled from a nearby spring. For a moment his thoughts began to drift and his mind wandered through memories and flashbacks, his eyes glazing over as they absently rolled around the room slowly taking everything in again. A slight frown appeared across his face, and before he could get too wrapped up in his thoughts a sudden knock came at the door. ''Come in!''
The door slowly slid open and a man in his middle-thirties entered, dressed in a martial arts gi and carrying a heavy-looking bag on his back. Li quirked an eyebrow at first curiously, then quickly settled into a slight smile as the man shut the door and sat down across from him. ''Good to see you, Li. I like what you're doing with the place! It looks great. You must be working very hard.'' The young man nodded back in response. ''I mean it's the least I could do after, well, you know...'' The man raised his free hand. ''Say no more. I understand completely. He would have been very proud, i'm sure of it.'' ''Thank you. That really means a lot...it seems like it only happened yesterday. I just can't get over it.'' ''Death is never going to be an easy thing to accept. The Master was a great man, as you of all people know. I came here to have a discussion with you, though.''
Li blinked as he watched his former teacher pull out a bottle of hot tea and cups, along with a hot meal and dishes. Li smiled; it had been a long time since he'd had a freshly cooked meal as he was never that great of a cook, so he often relied on easy to make but less healthy foods. He poured his teacher's tea first, and then his, before taking a warm sip. ''You know, Li; you have come a very long way. I can see it bright as day when I look at you now. I came here to make you a request.'' ''A request? What kind of request?'' ''You see, ever since you've cooped yourself up in here, I feel like you're putting a curb on your goals. I remember the days where you told both of us how strong you wanted to be, and your desires to be the best student your Master had ever trained.'' Li nodded along, taking a few bites of food. He chewed slowly as he listened, nodding along.
''I suppose what i'm trying to say is, your Master cared about you very much. He wouldn't want you to spend all of your waking hours here trying to repair this dojo. Even as he watches you from afterlife, he still knows you will bring this fine place back to what it once was, or maybe even better. But what he truly wanted was for you to travel the land and discover your buried potential. He wanted you to learn and experience, not tuck yourself away in these hills. It has been months now, and I know you've been keeping up on your training. I know you are still grieving, and so am I; but staying in this place endlessly isn't going to help you accept his passing.'' For a moment, Li almost wanted to glare but he realized he couldn't. His former teacher had basically said everything he'd been thinking over the past couple of months.
''No. No, you're right. I'm doing all of this work to keep my promise and try and keep my mind off of the subject, but it's like everywhere I look I feel like he should still be there. Just give me a few weeks, okay? I at least want this place in decent condition before I go taking off somewhere.'' The older man chuckled. ''There you go making excuses. Look, Li; I know how you feel. This place will always be your home, and it still is. Every night you can come back and rest here. All i'm suggesting is that you see what life can show you, as experience is the best teacher. Go ahead and keep repairing the place. In fact, I encourage it. But it hurts to see you so absorbed into it. You have to achieve your own goals as well as keep your promises to become stronger. I don't want to see you burn out by letting this promise of yours consume you.
''Alright, I understand. I'll rest up tonight and do a little traveling tomorrow. You're right though. I think it'll be good for me to take in a little bit of fresh scenery.'' ''I'm glad I could make some sense out of my concerns. For now, let's enjoy the meal before it gets cold. It sounds like you have a big day coming tomorrow, after all.'' They shared a mutual smile as Li reached for a small framed picture of his Master, setting it beside the both of them as they finished eating in silence. Replacing the picture back on a shelf after cleaning up, the older man spoke up once again. ''Li. Don't worry yourself over this place while you're out, either. Stay focused. I'll take care of the upkeep around here, only because if I did any more than that i'd likely get a lecture from you.'' He smiled widely, causing Li to laugh at his remark. Li then advanced toward the back room where he kept his bed roll, and curled up under the blankets. He soon turned onto his back and his mind began to wander, staring up at the ceiling blankly.
His mind was flooded with the memories of the days of his training, where he and his Master would spend hours out in front of the dojo sparring in the field. He never could best him, but it never stopped him from trying. He remembered the training to toughen his body, striking his limbs against poles, trees, and rocks until he left broken and bruised. The stamina training in which he was forced into weighted clothing and then ran dozens of laps around the dojo with a time limit. The ki training, where he slipped into a deep enough meditation to lift small rocks with merely his energy, even if the lift provided only consisted of a few inches. He let out a deep sigh; he had indeed come a long way, but the one thing that mattered more than anything else had nothing to do with training.
Dwelling upon that, his thoughts finally fell upon the matter at the root; his first days of training at this dojo, when he showed up fresh from the martial arts club and warranted a laugh out of the old Master. He remembered how hard he tried to prove himself in a sparring match, and the flashbacks began to speed by. Their first arguments flashed through his mind, as did their opposite attitudes and differing personalities. He remembered his first small successes, and the first time that they actually began to get along. What hurt him the most, though, is that it never came out into words how their master and disciple relationship had become one of friendship, and at the end, a father to a son. He moped on the fact for a while and took solace in knowing they hadn't needed to say anything at all. He kept the earlier conversation at the forefront of his mind, and the work of the day finally took its toll as he drifted away into a deep sleep.
He awoke the next morning to find his club master gone, leaving a note promising to return with groceries but not to wait up. With a small smile and nod, Li intended to follow through with his expressed will of the day before and grabbed a bag, loaded it up with some supplies, then tied it shut and slung it over his shoulder for his first day out in a very long time. He walked outside and sat by the grave of his master to watch the sun rise, keeping his mind clear and enjoying the moment. He finally turned to look over his shoulder at the dojo, taking a good long look at his comfort zone he was now suddenly leaving for a while for the first time in a long, long while. ''I'll be back to take care of the place in a day or two. Don't worry, I won't forget.'' He smiled at the grave, then turned on his heel slowly and set off across the grassy hills, taking no mind to pay attention to his direction.
There was a big world out there Li had shut away for quite some time, and it was time to get reacquainted.
The door slowly slid open and a man in his middle-thirties entered, dressed in a martial arts gi and carrying a heavy-looking bag on his back. Li quirked an eyebrow at first curiously, then quickly settled into a slight smile as the man shut the door and sat down across from him. ''Good to see you, Li. I like what you're doing with the place! It looks great. You must be working very hard.'' The young man nodded back in response. ''I mean it's the least I could do after, well, you know...'' The man raised his free hand. ''Say no more. I understand completely. He would have been very proud, i'm sure of it.'' ''Thank you. That really means a lot...it seems like it only happened yesterday. I just can't get over it.'' ''Death is never going to be an easy thing to accept. The Master was a great man, as you of all people know. I came here to have a discussion with you, though.''
Li blinked as he watched his former teacher pull out a bottle of hot tea and cups, along with a hot meal and dishes. Li smiled; it had been a long time since he'd had a freshly cooked meal as he was never that great of a cook, so he often relied on easy to make but less healthy foods. He poured his teacher's tea first, and then his, before taking a warm sip. ''You know, Li; you have come a very long way. I can see it bright as day when I look at you now. I came here to make you a request.'' ''A request? What kind of request?'' ''You see, ever since you've cooped yourself up in here, I feel like you're putting a curb on your goals. I remember the days where you told both of us how strong you wanted to be, and your desires to be the best student your Master had ever trained.'' Li nodded along, taking a few bites of food. He chewed slowly as he listened, nodding along.
''I suppose what i'm trying to say is, your Master cared about you very much. He wouldn't want you to spend all of your waking hours here trying to repair this dojo. Even as he watches you from afterlife, he still knows you will bring this fine place back to what it once was, or maybe even better. But what he truly wanted was for you to travel the land and discover your buried potential. He wanted you to learn and experience, not tuck yourself away in these hills. It has been months now, and I know you've been keeping up on your training. I know you are still grieving, and so am I; but staying in this place endlessly isn't going to help you accept his passing.'' For a moment, Li almost wanted to glare but he realized he couldn't. His former teacher had basically said everything he'd been thinking over the past couple of months.
''No. No, you're right. I'm doing all of this work to keep my promise and try and keep my mind off of the subject, but it's like everywhere I look I feel like he should still be there. Just give me a few weeks, okay? I at least want this place in decent condition before I go taking off somewhere.'' The older man chuckled. ''There you go making excuses. Look, Li; I know how you feel. This place will always be your home, and it still is. Every night you can come back and rest here. All i'm suggesting is that you see what life can show you, as experience is the best teacher. Go ahead and keep repairing the place. In fact, I encourage it. But it hurts to see you so absorbed into it. You have to achieve your own goals as well as keep your promises to become stronger. I don't want to see you burn out by letting this promise of yours consume you.
''Alright, I understand. I'll rest up tonight and do a little traveling tomorrow. You're right though. I think it'll be good for me to take in a little bit of fresh scenery.'' ''I'm glad I could make some sense out of my concerns. For now, let's enjoy the meal before it gets cold. It sounds like you have a big day coming tomorrow, after all.'' They shared a mutual smile as Li reached for a small framed picture of his Master, setting it beside the both of them as they finished eating in silence. Replacing the picture back on a shelf after cleaning up, the older man spoke up once again. ''Li. Don't worry yourself over this place while you're out, either. Stay focused. I'll take care of the upkeep around here, only because if I did any more than that i'd likely get a lecture from you.'' He smiled widely, causing Li to laugh at his remark. Li then advanced toward the back room where he kept his bed roll, and curled up under the blankets. He soon turned onto his back and his mind began to wander, staring up at the ceiling blankly.
His mind was flooded with the memories of the days of his training, where he and his Master would spend hours out in front of the dojo sparring in the field. He never could best him, but it never stopped him from trying. He remembered the training to toughen his body, striking his limbs against poles, trees, and rocks until he left broken and bruised. The stamina training in which he was forced into weighted clothing and then ran dozens of laps around the dojo with a time limit. The ki training, where he slipped into a deep enough meditation to lift small rocks with merely his energy, even if the lift provided only consisted of a few inches. He let out a deep sigh; he had indeed come a long way, but the one thing that mattered more than anything else had nothing to do with training.
Dwelling upon that, his thoughts finally fell upon the matter at the root; his first days of training at this dojo, when he showed up fresh from the martial arts club and warranted a laugh out of the old Master. He remembered how hard he tried to prove himself in a sparring match, and the flashbacks began to speed by. Their first arguments flashed through his mind, as did their opposite attitudes and differing personalities. He remembered his first small successes, and the first time that they actually began to get along. What hurt him the most, though, is that it never came out into words how their master and disciple relationship had become one of friendship, and at the end, a father to a son. He moped on the fact for a while and took solace in knowing they hadn't needed to say anything at all. He kept the earlier conversation at the forefront of his mind, and the work of the day finally took its toll as he drifted away into a deep sleep.
He awoke the next morning to find his club master gone, leaving a note promising to return with groceries but not to wait up. With a small smile and nod, Li intended to follow through with his expressed will of the day before and grabbed a bag, loaded it up with some supplies, then tied it shut and slung it over his shoulder for his first day out in a very long time. He walked outside and sat by the grave of his master to watch the sun rise, keeping his mind clear and enjoying the moment. He finally turned to look over his shoulder at the dojo, taking a good long look at his comfort zone he was now suddenly leaving for a while for the first time in a long, long while. ''I'll be back to take care of the place in a day or two. Don't worry, I won't forget.'' He smiled at the grave, then turned on his heel slowly and set off across the grassy hills, taking no mind to pay attention to his direction.
There was a big world out there Li had shut away for quite some time, and it was time to get reacquainted.