Page 69 of Tiger's Quest
“Yes. I have compiled a list of Durga’s temples all over India, and some that are in nearby countries as well.”
“Kishan, please remind me to wear my bell anklet.”
Mr. Kadam nodded and bent over his notes. I bit my lip and thought about when Ren had given me the anklet. He’d begged me to stay with him, but I’d left.
What a waste. We could have shared all those months together if I just hadn’t been so stubborn.I would have given anything to turn back time. Now, he was gone, taken prisoner, and there was a good possibility that I’d never set eyes on him again.
Trying to snap out of my sad thoughts, I focused on Durga’s prophecy again.
“Noe’s mountain? That’s the Himalayan mountain range? How do you figure?”
“Noe is short for Noah.”
“As in Noah’s ark?”
“Yes.”
“Umm, wasn’t Noah’s ark supposed to have landed on Mount Ararat?”
“You have a good memory. That’s what I thought at first, but Mount Ararat is in modern Turkey, not India. The location of the ark has been hotly debated regardless.”
“Okay, but what led you to the Himalayas?”
“A couple of things led me to that assumption. First, I don’t believe the next item would be hidden in a location that far off the Indian continent. The prophecy mentions that the item would help the people of India, so it doesn’t make sense that it would be so distant.
“The second reason has to do with the tale of Noe, or Noah. The Bible story is not the only one that describes a great flood. In fact, many dozens of cultures have stories of a great flood that covered Earth. I researched and cross-referenced all of the flood myths. There’s Deucalion and Pyrrha of Greece, the Epic Flood story of Gilgamesh, Tapi of the Aztecs, and so on. One similarity among all of them is that, when the rains abated, the people were led to dry ground.
“In India, there is a myth that Manu saved the life of a fish who, in turn, told him the flood was coming. He built a boat, and the fish pulled him to the mountains. Several locations have been suggested as a landing site, but I omitted many of them for not being ‘of glacial mountain blue.’ The mountain that makes the most sense to me is—”
“Mount Everest.”
“Yes. If you take the account literally and assume the entire Earth was flooded, then the land that would appear first would be the Himalayan Mountains. Because the Himalayas ‘touch the sky,’ one could make the assumption that the second quest we will embark on will be related to air. Birds and other flying creatures are featured heavily in the prophecy as well,andthe object we are seeking is called an ‘airy prize.’”
“Mount Everest? You don’t think Kishan and I would have to—”
“No, no. Climbing Mount Everest is something only a brave handful of people have ever done. I wouldn’t think of having you attempt that. No, what we are searching for is a city at its base, a city with a wise teacher. I’m hoping that you might be able to make a list of possible cities for me and perhaps think of a place I haven’t yet.”
“It sounds like you’ve already given this a lot of thought.”
“I have. But, as you mentioned before, sometimes a new set of eyes can help.”
Mr. Kadam handed me a list that I went through city by city, checking each one off the map. Sure enough, he had already crossed off every city within a several-hundred-mile radius of Everest. The only site on the map not crossed off was north of Everest and written in Chinese.
“Mr. Kadam? What’s this city?” I asked, pointing to the spot.
“That’s called Lhasa. It’s in Tibet, not India.”
“Well, maybe the teacher lives there on the other side of the Himalayas, but the item we’re seeking is still hidden in India.”
Mr. Kadam froze and then ran to get a book on Tibet. “Wait just a moment . . . a place of the gods.” He flipped open the book and looked in the index. Fingering through pages quickly, he began muttering to himself. “Ocean Teacher . . . spirit gates . . . yes . . . yes!”
He slammed the book shut and grabbed me in a brief hug, eyes twinkling. “That’s it! You’ve done it, Miss Kelsey!”
“What did I do?”
“Lhasa is the city ‘’neath Noe’s mountain’! Its name translated means ‘city of the gods’!”
“What about the teacher who is supposed to show us things?”
