Page 32 of Tiger's Dream
Chapter 7
A Tiger’s Tale
Moving through time and space, I decided the safest way to track down Kadam was to find Phet. I knew the date that Ren and Kelsey entered my forest, seeking me out to help them break the first part of the curse, so I headed to Phet’s…er…Kadam’s hut, hid in the trees, and let time flow backwards until I saw Kelsey and Ren. Power rushed over me in a whoosh as I stopped time and let it progress normally again.
Kelsey and Ren, in his tiger form, exited the hut and headed off through the jungle as Phet waved good-bye and encouraged them on their journey in his singsong voice. Smoke drifted lazily from the small chimney in the roof as he stared after them. When they were gone, the strange half smile melted off his face and he straightened his back until he looked more like Kadam wearing Phet’s face.
Even though he was still donning the disguise of the little shaman, I recognized the tired expression. It was how he’d looked the last few weeks before he died. I swallowed a lump in my throat as I remembered the final days of my mentor. How alone he must have felt as he carried on with his work without having anyone to confide in. He headed back inside, and I moved from my hiding spot, careful to be quiet lest Ren hear me and turn back.
Phet reappeared at the door with a cage and opened it, encouraging the little bird inside to fly back into the trees, but the bird wouldn’t budge. He hadn’t noticed me.
“Looks like he prefers to be caged,” I said quietly from the side of the hut.
Phet, no…Kadam turned wide eyes in my direction. “What are you doing here, son?”
“Looking for you. I need your help.”
He glanced at the trees where Ren and Kelsey had just left. “Come inside then,” he said. “Quickly. I don’t want them to overhear.”
I ducked, following him into the hut, and sat in a familiar chair. “So,” I said, not really knowing how to begin. “Was this building always here or did you create it?”
After setting down the cage with the bird and leaving the door open so it could move about freely, he closed the flimsy curtains and lit a second candle. It wasn’t long before I heard the whisper of fabric. When he sat down, the monk had disappeared, and in his place was the man with more secrets than anyone should have to bear.
“A man did live here at one time. The frame was intact,” he said. “I just added enough so it would appear lived in.” He reached behind him for a kettle and poured me a mug of fragrant tea, then set a plate of rustic cookies between us, crumbling the end of one and sprinkling it on the table. The bird hopped down and pecked at the food. “How can I help?” he asked.
Kadam looked like he needed more help than I did. “You’re tired,” I said, perhaps too bluntly.
“There is much to do before my bones can rest.”
“How much time do you have left?” I asked softly.
He chose not to answer my question. Instead, he lifted his cup to his lips and sipped thoughtfully, glancing at me briefly over the brim. Finally, he set it down and said, “Time is a funny thing, isn’t it, Kishan?”
“Yes,” I admitted, drinking from my own cup. “I sense your remaining hours are few.”
“You would be correct, which is why you should tell me what you’ve come to say.”
I let out a weighted breath. “Very well. We’ve captured Ren. The second item on your list.”
“Is he in good health?”
“He is unharmed.”
“Then what is the issue?”
“We just don’t know where to have the hunters take him. That information was not included on your list. I suggested to the men that a wealthy merchant named Anik Kadam might be interested.”
“And so he would be.”
I nodded stiffly. “Then we’ll go when you are ready.”
“You misunderstand me.” Kadam set down his cup, lifted a spoon, and stirred the remaining liquid slowly. He looked so old in that moment. I wished more than anything that he would confide in me. That he would let me help relieve his burden. “I cannot accompany you,” he said.
“Then…then what would you have us do?”
He looked up and in his eyes I saw the reflection of the eternities. “It is not my place to instruct you,” he said.
Confused, I asked, “But isn’t that what you’ve been doing all along?”
