Page 65 of Tiger's Tale
Sitting up, he searched the cave by the waning light of the fire and saw nothing, so he closed his eyes, feeling for the intruder. “There you are,” he said with his eyes still closed. Opening them just a crack, he stepped into the darkness, where a transparent form huddled. “Do not be afraid,” Vesako said. “I mean no harm to you. Come, come. Warm yourself by my fire, and we shall take a look at what you are.”
The ghost drifted closer. Vesako knew instantly there was a connection between himself, the wandering spirit, and the opening between universes. Something was amiss, and it was now his job to repair the damage. But first he needed to make contact. Hesitantly, the spirit hovered near the fire for a moment, but then it moved toward the cave opening as if it wanted to escape.
“Now, now, hold on for just a moment,” the White Shaman said. “I can help you if you’ll allow it. You’ve traveled a great distance, and you’re probably frightened. If I could just...” He stretched out a hand as if to touch the entity, and at the exact same time the specter reached out a hand as well. Their fingertips brushed against each other, and the White Shaman felt something he never thought he’d experience.
I would call it déjà vu, the ghost spoke in his mind.
“This word is something I’ve never heard before, and yet I understand it,” the White Shaman said in response. “Why is that, I wonder? And why can I hear your thoughts? Are you a tiger in your world?”
A tiger. Perhaps I have discovered a kindred soul. I am not. Though I have worn the amulet. I don’t see one on your person. Did you wear an amulet at one time?
“Amulet. Another word I am unfamiliar with. We call them tokens or perhaps an emblem. Are you a shaman on your world?”
A shaman? How interesting. No. I am a... the ghost chuckled.I’m more of a mentor or a father figure to the tigers on my world these days. At one time I trained them for battle, but that was a long, long time ago. You speak a different language, one I’ve never heard before, yet I understand you as well. How is that possible, I wonder?
“I believe you understand, because I understand,” Vesako answered cryptically. He then walked around the ghost, trying to see deeper using his shaman eyes, but it was like looking at water. He saw only his own reflection.Could it really be?Impossible!Incredible!He asked, “How did you come to be in the state you are now? Why are you here? Was it the war?”
I suppose you could say I came here as a result of battle, but it’s not a war such as you believe.
“Is it not, my friend? Aren’t we all fighting the same war?” The White Shaman clasped his hands behind his back and paced, thinking. Perhaps the cosmos thrust this one upon him because he needed help. Or maybe the upcoming trials would be more challenging than he perceived, and he would need the aid of this one.
Help! Yes. I am in need of help. It appears I am lost and cannot find my way home.
“Perhaps we can be of aid to one another, my friend.”
I am willing, of course, though there isn’t much I can do in my current state.
Straightening his shoulders, the White Shaman said, “What is clear is that we have been brought together for a purpose. You have been sent here to help me, and I will also be a means of helping you. But first we must do something about your soul.”
My soul?
“Yes. A soul isn’t complete without its corporeal frame. Eventually, your spirit will wander and become lost. Completely purposeless. It’s quite possible you will even go mad. There is a reason you were drawn to me, you realize.”
There is?
“Absolutely. I am your kindred soul on this world. I am certain of it. I felt it when our fingers touched. When I study you with my seeing eye, it is like looking at myself in a still pool. When one meets a kindred soul, also called a mirror, or a reflection, it can be a good meeting, or it can be a terrible thing.”
But we don’t look alike.
“Don’t we? I cannot see your mortal frame, so I have no reference. The physical makes no difference. When you fell, a passage was opened between worlds. Our souls can be very alike or very different, depending on the fit. Some worlds are so different that there is no place for a kindred soul. Some are never born on one world. But the cosmos makes up for it by putting two kindred souls on the next world in the form of twins.”
How fascinating.
“This déjà vu you spoke of is a sign of it. When you experience such a thing, it is because your kindred soul has or is experiencing something similar on their world, such as when we touched fingertips. We nearly joined then.”
Joined? I’m not sure I understand.
“If you aren’t a shaman on your world, you wouldn’t. As a shaman, we spend time separated from our corporeal frames. We explore the realms of the spirit to learn, and then we must seek our bodies and merge once more, becoming a soul again in truth. Some go too long apart, and it weakens their bodies to the point of decay. When that happens, they can never return. They become wandering shades who haunt the living. It’s a terrible thing.”
But you’re implying, then, that my mortal frame, as you put it, is not on this world.
“That’s right.”
Then where is it, do you think?
“I couldn’t possibly know. But I can help you seek it. I just hope we can find it before we’re too late.”
And if it’s on another world?
