CITY OF THE GODS: FORGOTTEN (7 page)

Mazu had been asked by D’Molay to keep an eye on Aavi as she seemed to be a bit unsteady on her feet. She was glad Aavi was seated, but still worried she might fall over the side.
 
The last thing Mazu needed was to lose a friend of D’Molay’s, especially one he had paid her to deliver. “Are you all right, child?” she asked.

Aavi seemed to return from some distant thought as she answered. “Hmm? Oh yes, I’m fine. Just admiring the view. It’s so lovely. How far is it to the Buddha’s Retreat?”

“About four hours, give or take.” Mazu answered.

Aavi looked a little confused.
 
“Give or take?
 
Will I need to give more to travel there?”
 
She thought her trip had been paid for.

The elderly Asian woman smiled as she tried to repress a chuckle. “No, no, it just means that it might take a little more or a little less than four hours to get there. Depends on the wind, the currents and how I can coax them to do my bidding.” Mazu reminded herself that this poor girl had been in some kind of accident and didn’t understand many seemingly simple things. In her years as the boat woman to the Buddha’s Retreat, she did not recall ferrying someone who had lost their complete identity before.
 

Aavi replied to herself as much as to Mazu, “Four hours. I wonder how long that is.” She seemed to drift back into a sort of daze as she looked out over the water and the sunset. The pair traveled on in silence.
 

As the bright orb slowly sank into the distant horizon, Aavi saw a flock of large birds flying off into the sun-drenched clouds. How she envied them. She imagined how fantastic it would be to take flight, leave the flat ground and soar into the skies and see everything from above.
 
Then the thought passed from her mind and she looked back down at the lake waters rushing by the boat.
 
Occasionally a school of brightly-colored fish or a strange, large sea creature would parallel the boat’s path, but the silent and beautiful trip across the lake was otherwise uneventful.

By the time the small boat got close to the shore it was getting dark. There were still hints in the sky that the sun had been there not too long ago. “We are lucky Aavi,” Mazu revealed. “Sunsets in the realms of the gods last much longer than the ones on Earth. Otherwise we would have spent the last two hours traveling in the dark.”

“Yes, I noticed all the light was draining from the sky.
 
Does that always happen?” Aavi asked as she looked toward the approaching dark shoreline.

Mazu tied the boat alongside another wooden dock and climbed out of the boat. She looked with some bemusement over at Aavi.

“It is called night. Now, the Oracle’s temple is up on top of that hill. We’ll have to walk a bit. I promised D’Molay that I’d make sure you got all the way there, so I will accompany you,” she said as she leaned on her specially-shaped staff that served as walking stick, boat pole and oar.

Aavi struggled to stand up in the swaying boat and carefully made her way toward the old woman. “Thank you, I’d love the company. I really don’t know my way.” She was relieved to know she wouldn’t be alone. Aavi didn’t feel she would ever get used to being alone.
 
It was strange to feel so isolated and disconnected from everything. Mazu held out her thin, bony hand and helped Aavi get out of the boat.

As they walked along the trail, Aavi peered at the trees and hills in the darkness.
 
When they were in the boat, while there was still a golden glow in the sky, it all looked so pastoral and beautiful. Now, as she walked along in the slowly dimming sky, next to an elderly woman she knew nothing about, everything took on a sinister, threatening appearance. It was as if a dark blanket of fear was wrapping itself around her. Aavi tried to resist the feeling, reasoning that this was the first time she had been in the dark since she had lost her identity, so no doubt her fear was all the worse because of this.

“So, how long have you been running the boat from the City, Mazu?” Aavi asked, trying to break the foreboding silence. Mazu replied as they continued to walk.

“Several hundred years, since the last ferryman betrayed the gods by attempting to bring in usurpers. That ferryman was a human servant who was executed for his traitorous actions.
 
After that, the Council decided that a god should take on the duty to make sure such a betrayal would not happen again.
 
I volunteered, as I wanted to get back to the lakes and boats that that I once protected as a goddess in China.”

Aavi was surprised by this, “You were - I mean are - a goddess?” she asked.

Mazu chuckled slightly as she answered, “I suppose I look more like a fisherman’s wife. But yes, I am, though really I consider myself retired at this point.” Mazu laughed again as she seemed to be amused at something she kept to herself.

Aavi hoped Mazu wasn’t laughing at her ignorance. “I-I’m sorry, I meant no insult, Mazu.
 
D’Molay didn’t tell me.” She examined Mazu again. With simple black trousers, wooden sandals, a grey, somewhat tattered, long-sleeved coat, and with her long grey hair in a braid down her back, would anyone have guessed she was a goddess?
 
Aavi doubted it.
 

Mazu pointed a crooked finger at Aavi as she spoke. “Perhaps he did not want you to be any more worried then you already were. You will find that not all the gods here are glorious to look at, or beautiful. Not all of us are desirous of power or prestige. Many of us feel that we finished our duties when we were on Earth, and now in this place, it is our time to rest. I pilot the boat as much for my enjoyment as for any other reason.”
   

“Earth must be a very big place,” Aavi mused, causing Mazu to look at her curiously.

“Actually, it is quite small compared to the godly realms we reside in.” Mazu paused before an inscribed stone that lay along the path. It was lit by a small lantern set atop its flat surface. “This is the trail leading to Buddha’s Retreat. Come,” Mazu said as she turned and began to walk along the new trail, which was not as smooth and well-traveled as the one they left.

A moment later, Aavi stumbled on the uneven surface and awkwardly managed not to fall on her face. Once she regained her footing, she tried to explain her opinion about Earth’s size to Mazu. “I just thought that Earth would be a large place if it needs a city full of gods to run it,” she said, now holding up the skirt of her robe to keep it away from her feet.

Mazu found this idea humorous as she leaned grinning against her staff and waited for Aavi to catch up. “Perhaps Earth is larger than I remember. But you should know the gods left Earth some time ago, so it no longer depends upon us to control or aid it. What do you think of that?”

Aavi didn’t know what she thought about that at all, but before she could express this to Mazu she staggered again. This time she could not blame the darkness, her feet, or the robe which she still held carefully out of the way. Fortunately old Mazu was alert and quick, catching her by the arm before she hit the ground.

“Sit, Aavi,” the goddess said. “The Oracle will wait.” Aavi nodded a bit glumly as she allowed Mazu to ease her down onto the first of the stone steps that marked the final ascent to Buddha’s Retreat. She was feeling strange and dizzy again, as she had when she first woke up in the City. Her face grew suddenly warm as she worried that Mazu would be angry with her for slowing them down. Although the only light around them came from the soft glow of lanterns resting on the short stone columns that lined the trail, Mazu’s perceptive sight discerned Aavi’s embarrassment by the blush that appeared across her cheeks. The goddess, always compassionate, hoped that the Oracle would truly help this being who seemed so weak and lost. In the meantime, Mazu thought some more basic assistance would be appropriate. “If you are hungry, that will be taken care of as soon as we reach the top. When did you last eat? Forgive me for not asking before, but I’m not normally concerned with such human matters.”

Aavi looked at Mazu sheepishly. “I guess that’s another of those things I can’t remember,” she said. As they sat for a few minutes, Mazu offered Aavi a dark red glass bottle. It was topped with a stopper decorated with a golden tassel. Aavi’s fingers played over the silky threads and the smooth, hard angles of the vessel. “This is pretty. Does it do something?”

Mazu nodded patiently. “Yes. It holds a special liquid that will make you feel better. Pull out the stopper and drink some.”

Aavi fumbled with the bottle. The stopper pulled free with a startling pop that made her jump. She looked at Mazu, who was miming what to do next. The goddess curved her hand as if the bottle rested within it and tipped it up toward her face. Aavi followed her lead and inserted the lip of the bottle into her mouth. Lifting the vessel higher caused a cool, wet fluid to pour onto her tongue. She held the liquid in her mouth for a moment then reflexively swallowed, hoping that was the right way to proceed. Aavi felt the coolness of the drink move through the upper part of her body and stop somewhere in her middle. As soon as it did, the weakness she had been feeling disappeared.

“You’ll feel better now,” Mazu observed. “My life-water will keep you going for a little while, but regular food and drink is what you really need.”

Aavi thanked the goddess as they stood up and faced the last part of the climb. She felt much stronger, and the dark shadows of the trees and the strange sounds of the forest didn’t bother her as much with Mazu’s elixir inside her. She even wished she could see the creatures that were hidden by the darkness, wondering if they had wings like the birds she had seen, or legs like the horses. As they reached the end of the steps, the trees thinned out to reveal the clearing where the retreat stood. Aavi was immediately struck by the beauty and peacefulness of the place. Unlike the crowded and busy structures of the City, this building seemed to belong in its environment, as if it was rooted and connected to the ground as much as the trees that grew around it. The many eaves of its layered roofs seemed to curve in welcoming smiles and a central bright passageway stood open and inviting, not locked like the door to Kafele’s workshop. A boy and girl, both clothed in yellow sleeveless tunics and baggy trousers, scampered out to meet them. Both bowed to Mazu. The young boy’s bald head reminded her of Kafele’s; the girl’s long braids were similar to Mazu’s. Aavi had yet to see another being with hair quite like her own.

“This visitor has a pass to see the Oracle,” Mazu told the children. Aavi quickly held out the parchment she’d been carrying so carefully for the boy and girl to inspect. The pair broke into wide grins. Instead of looking at her papers, they took Aavi by her sleeves to lead her into the retreat. Unsure, she looked back over her shoulder at Mazu.

“Goodbye, Aavi. Trust in what the Oracle tells you. I will return when you are ready to leave. I do not have an invitation to pass this gate, as you do.” In the muted light, Aavi watched in wonder as Mazu turned to water and flowed quickly back down the steps.

“Come on,” the boy said as he and the girl tugged on Aavi’s sleeves. Aavi let them guide her, the beauty of the Oracle’s domain distracting her from Mazu’s spectacular exit. Many rooms and corridors branched off from the central passage down which they walked. Aavi could see people at work in many chambers. Some were writing with sticks. Others were exercising with fluid motions, while even more were sitting perfectly still. At the end of the passage was an ornate archway decorated with strange carvings, but before they reached it, Aavi was steered into a side room. A man about D’Molay’s age wearing a plain blue robe sat at a table, a great book open before him. The girl, who stood at Aavi’s right side, lifted Aavi’s arm up so that the man could see that she held a pass.

“She thought she was supposed to show this to us,” the girl said incredulously, as the boy made a funny face mocking Aavi’s ignorance.

“I see,” the man said a bit coldly. “Go back to your studies, and pay particular attention to the sage’s writings on politeness and respect.”

The chastised children were quick to run out of the room, and Aavi was left holding the pass in the air. The man stared at her for a moment, eventually leaning forward and plucking it from her fingers. As he broke the seal and read the contents, Aavi took in his long, straight black hair and bright brown eyes. When he finished reading the note, he set it aside and consulted one of the pages in his great book, running a slender, ink-stained finger down a column. As that digit stopped to mark a place, he reached into a box with his free hand and tossed a handful of rods onto the table.