Page 110 of Tiger's Quest
I considered, “No. It’s just an exceptionally large snake with a job to do. I know how to get there. Follow me, and we’ll figure out what to do on the way.”
“Right. Before we get underway though, would you mind?”
He held out the salve and I began smoothing the substance on his neck. He removed his shirt so I could reach the raised red stings on his upper chest and back. I quickly moved behind him to hide my red face. Though I tried not to linger, I couldn’t help but notice his bronze skin was smooth and warm.
When I circled around him, he swept his hair back away from his face so I could dab the green slime over his cheeks and forehead. There was a large sting near his upper lip. I touched it lightly. “Does it hurt?”
My gaze moved from his lips up to his eyes. He was looking at me in a way that made me blush.
“Yes,” he responded quietly.
It was obvious to me that he was not talking about the sting, so I said nothing. I could feel the warmth of his gaze on my face as I quickly finished his lip and chin. I stepped away as soon as possible and put the top back on the jar, keeping my back to him as he put on his shirt.
“Let’s get a move on then, shall we?” I began walking, and he caught up, matching my pace.
We hiked another hour or two and made camp as the sun went down. That night, Kishan wanted another story so I told him one of the stories of Gilgamesh.
“Gilgamesh was a very clever man. So clever, in fact, that he found a way to sneak into the realm of the gods. He wore a disguise and pretended he was on an errand of great importance. Through cunning questioning, he discovered the hiding place of the plant of eternity.”
“What is the plant of eternity?”
“I’m not sure. It could’ve been tea leaves, or something they put in their salad or food. Or, perhaps it was an herb or maybe even a drug like opium, but the point is that he stole it. For four days and nights he ran without stopping to rest so that he could escape the wrath of the gods. When the gods found out the plant had been stolen, they were angry and announced that there would be a reward for anyone who could stop Gilgamesh. On the fifth evening, Gilgamesh was so tired he had to lie down to rest, even if it was to be for only a few moments.
“While he was sleeping, a common snake on its evening hunt passed by. It came upon the fragrant plant, which Gilgamesh had placed in a small rabbit-skin bag. Thinking it was getting an easy rabbit dinner, the snake swallowed the entire bag. The next morning, all Gilgamesh found was a snake skin. This was the first time a snake had ever shed its skin. From then on, people would say that snakes have an eternal nature. When a snake sheds its skin, it dies and is born anew.”
I paused. Kishan was quiet. “Did you stay awake this time?” I asked.
“Yes. I liked your story. Sleep well,bilauta.”
“You too.”
But I couldn’t sleep for a long time. Thoughts of a golden-eyed baby kept me awake.
It took us two days to find what I was looking for. I knew the tree was in a large valley and that if we climbed between the twin peaks we would see it. We made it to the peaks the first day and spent almost all of the second day climbing. At a lookout spot, we finally gazed below.
We were high enough that clouds obscured the view. Wind broke up the clouds, and the valley appeared to be a dark forest. The trees were so tall that they rose as high as the mountain. In my omphalos stone vision, I saw only one tree with an enormous trunk.
Despite that things looked different in my vision, we descended into the valley. As we continued on, I was shocked to realize that what I was looking at was not a forest of trees at all—but the branches of one gigantic tree, a tree whose limbs stretched taller than the mountains. When I pointed this out to Kishan, he reminded me of Mr. Kadam’s research. I fished the papers out of the backpack and read as we hiked on.
“He said it’s a giant world tree with roots descending to the underworld and leaves touching heaven. It’s supposed to be a thousand feet wide and thousands of feet tall. I’m guessing this is it.”
Kishan replied dryly, “It appears so.”
When we finally stepped onto the grassy valley floor, we trailed a giant branch back to the trunk. Because the sun could not penetrate the massive limbs overhead, it felt dark, cold, and still under the leafy roof.
The wind blew through the large leaves, which slapped against the branches like stiff clothes on a line. Eerie, strange noises assaulted our ears. Creaking and moaning, the wind found ways to blow over and through the mighty limbs making it seem as if we were walking through a haunted forest.
Kishan moved closer to me to take my hand. I accepted his gesture gratefully and tried to ignore the feeling of being watched. Kishan felt it too, and said it was as if strange creatures were studying us from above. I tried to laugh.
“Imagine the size of the tree nymphs that would be born out of this tree.”
I’d meant it to be funny, but the possibility that it could be true caused both of us to look up warily.
Hours later, we finally reached the trunk. It extended like a giant wooden wall as far as we could see. The nearest limb was hundreds of feet high. It was too high for us to reach, and we had no rock climbing gear with us.
Kishan said, “I suggest we make camp here at the base and start hiking around one side early in the morning. Maybe we can find a lower branch or a way to climb it.”
“Sounds good to me. I’m exhausted.”
