Page 86 of Fe
Fen widened his stance and slowly lowered his hands to the carpet. Ripley mirrored his movements.
“I wish I was behind you.” Ripley gave a low growl.
“Concentrate, young grasshopper. Stand again, bend the knees and sink into the posture.”
Shit! That hurts!Fen winced.
“Fuuuck.” Ripley groaned.
Not just me then.
“Tuck in your bum and get lower.” Fen steadied his breathing. After he’d had as much as he could take, he said, “Now slowly straighten up. We move into ‘Standing Firmly’. Imagine you’re a tree, your roots deep in the earth. Stand up tall but not stiffly. Breathe regularly… Now sway from side to side as if the wind is blowing you.”
Fen moved through a few more exercises then stood in front of Ripley. “This is called ‘Pushing Hands’.” He’d done this in class. It was supposed to let you develop an awareness of your partner by tuning in to their energy flow. Fen had never really got the energy flow bit, not that he’d ever have told Agatha. Maybe it was because his partner had been a farty septuagenarian, but perhaps with Ripley… “Copy what I do.”
Just the outside edge of their right hands rested together above the wrist and yet the moment they touched, Fen felt as if he’d been struck by lightning. He could feel his body reacting, his heart rate increasing, his breathing turning shaky and there was a slight tremble in his limbs. When he looked into Ripley’s face, their eyes locked.
It was a long moment before Fen risked speaking because he didn’t want his voice to break. “Now we need to circle our bodies, moving from the waist, but we keep our hands in contact all the time.”
Fen wasn’t sure how it happened so quickly, but they were moving in unison, turning and swaying slowly, their arms drawing invisible spheres, hands always connected.
“This is a slow, gentle version of fighting,” Fen whispered. “I’m advancing, you’re retreating, then we change, and change again.”
Fen pushed and Ripley yielded, then Ripley pressed and Fen retreated. Fen could feel himself calming. His breathing eased as he felt the two of them working as if they were one organism. Part of him had never really gone for the philosophy of yin and yang, but he could feel something now, a sort of merging of self, a sense of happiness and peace sweeping over him.
Ripley coughed and the connection broke.
“This is the way we end the session.” Fen put his right fist to his left palm and held it in front of his body. Ripley copied him.
“The gesture says we have no weapons concealed and no ulterior motive. It shows respect, gratitude and honour.”
Ripley nodded. “It was interesting.”
“Said in the voice of someone who’s thinkingnever again.”
“I’d do it again. With you.” He smiled. “I’ll shower first.”
Fen watched him disappear up the stairs. Had Ripley felt something too? Was that him running away?
Ripley showered quickly wondering what had happened. He’d never tried Tai Chi before, never contemplated doing it. It had been more of a workout than he’d imagined, but more than that, in the last exercise, he’d actually felt something pass between him and Fen, some sort of silent communication that let them mirror each other without effort. Ripley didn’t believe in magic but something had happened.
He still hadn’t figured it out by the time they left the house.
This time, Fen took his crutch.
“Sure you don’t want me to drive there?” Ripley locked the door.
“No. I’m fine. Will they sell fish and chips?”
“If they don’t, we’ll go somewhere else. That’s what I want too.”
Ripley thought the chances of any decent restaurant in a seaside resortnotselling fish and chips were low.
“I can’t tell you how much I enjoyed today,” Ripley said.
“Stoke on Trent next time!”
“I think you could make even that fun.”
