that
matter.”
“You have too great anxiety,” she said. “I
am protected out here.”
I caught up to Tika, and saw that the line
kept going over hills and into a thicket of trees.
“But…but do you think this will lead to my
mother?”
“I don’t know,” she said. “But I did not see
your mother by the cave. So I will keep walking.”
It didn’t sound like a bad plan, if you
ignored the prophecy. It had said the fool will “follow the light
until he is caught.” When I brought up my concern to Tika, she just
brushed me off.
“The prophecy says “light.” This is a
line.”
“But it’s a glowing line,” I
said.
“You have been underground for too long,”
she said, and kept walking.
To be honest, I was too tired to argue with
her. And a little fresh air was just what I needed to clear my
head. We followed the line to a tee. Every few seconds, I’d glance
around to see if I my mother was there. But she never was. How
would I have even recognized her, after all?
However, there did happen to be a
quite a few attractive women. Most of them wore exercise clothes
that were very form-fitting. What can I say? It was a nice day for
a walk.
“You are having fun?” asked Tika. I got the
feeling I better be careful with my answer.
“I’m enjoying the outdoors,” I said.
Tika frowned. “Too much enjoyment, I think,”
she said.
Eventually, the white line took us to a
clearing at the edge of the park. I’d figured the line would end at
any moment, but now it seemed like it might go on for quite a
while. Maybe it was the girls at the park, or maybe it was the fact
that we were alone now, but Tika had a certain topic on her
mind.
“Tell me your love story,” she said.
“Umm…I don’t have one,” I said. “I’m not
sure I’ve ever been in love, and I wouldn’t remember it even if I
had been.”
“Nothing? You’re sure?”
I nodded.
“Will you make one up, then?”
“You go first,” I said.
Tika took a deep breath. She hadn’t told me
much about her personal life before, and I admit, I was a little
curious.
“I only had one boyfriend in my entire life.
He was very handsome and also had a good figure. We were dating for
so many years, and we wanted to marry. But first, we had to see the
prophet. If he predicted our marriage would be a success, then we
would do. But if he predicted the marriage would end in disaster,
then we could not.”
“The prophet?” I said. “You said he just had
his one story.”
She shook her head no. “It is something he
does for every marriage. For us, he predicted disaster. So I had to
break up with the guy. It was a heartbreaking moment. The guy kept
trying to see me, calling me, saying, “What you did was not right.”
He acted like it was my fault. I cried and cried, but what could I
do? Finally, he moved away, and I did not see him again. A sad
story, don’t you think?”
We came to the edge of the clearing and
entered a loose forest, the white line still at our feet. I wasn’t
sure what to think. I didn’t know much about love, but it seemed
like something you should hold on to when you get the chance.
“Didn’t you ever doubt the prophet?” I
asked.
“I have faith,” she said. “Even when he is
always giving me bad news.”
Now, her behavior around the prophet started
to make sense. No wonder she had been avoiding him. “So that’s why you don’t like him,” I said.
She shook her head again. “It is not a
matter of like or dislike. It is a matter of truth. Do you like
that the dirt is brown? The leaves are green?” She paused. “Does
this have a familiar feeling to you?” she asked.
“I don’t know…I don’t think we’ve had a
conversation like this before…”
“No,” she said. “I am talking about this
area. The nature that surrounds us.”
I didn’t think so, and I told her.
“OK,” she said, frowning a little. She
started up again without a word.
But as we moved forward, Tika seemed to turn
even
matter.”
“You have too great anxiety,” she said. “I
am protected out here.”
I caught up to Tika, and saw that the line
kept going over hills and into a thicket of trees.
“But…but do you think this will lead to my
mother?”
“I don’t know,” she said. “But I did not see
your mother by the cave. So I will keep walking.”
It didn’t sound like a bad plan, if you
ignored the prophecy. It had said the fool will “follow the light
until he is caught.” When I brought up my concern to Tika, she just
brushed me off.
“The prophecy says “light.” This is a
line.”
“But it’s a glowing line,” I
said.
“You have been underground for too long,”
she said, and kept walking.
To be honest, I was too tired to argue with
her. And a little fresh air was just what I needed to clear my
head. We followed the line to a tee. Every few seconds, I’d glance
around to see if I my mother was there. But she never was. How
would I have even recognized her, after all?
However, there did happen to be a
quite a few attractive women. Most of them wore exercise clothes
that were very form-fitting. What can I say? It was a nice day for
a walk.
“You are having fun?” asked Tika. I got the
feeling I better be careful with my answer.
“I’m enjoying the outdoors,” I said.
Tika frowned. “Too much enjoyment, I think,”
she said.
Eventually, the white line took us to a
clearing at the edge of the park. I’d figured the line would end at
any moment, but now it seemed like it might go on for quite a
while. Maybe it was the girls at the park, or maybe it was the fact
that we were alone now, but Tika had a certain topic on her
mind.
“Tell me your love story,” she said.
“Umm…I don’t have one,” I said. “I’m not
sure I’ve ever been in love, and I wouldn’t remember it even if I
had been.”
“Nothing? You’re sure?”
I nodded.
“Will you make one up, then?”
“You go first,” I said.
Tika took a deep breath. She hadn’t told me
much about her personal life before, and I admit, I was a little
curious.
“I only had one boyfriend in my entire life.
He was very handsome and also had a good figure. We were dating for
so many years, and we wanted to marry. But first, we had to see the
prophet. If he predicted our marriage would be a success, then we
would do. But if he predicted the marriage would end in disaster,
then we could not.”
“The prophet?” I said. “You said he just had
his one story.”
She shook her head no. “It is something he
does for every marriage. For us, he predicted disaster. So I had to
break up with the guy. It was a heartbreaking moment. The guy kept
trying to see me, calling me, saying, “What you did was not right.”
He acted like it was my fault. I cried and cried, but what could I
do? Finally, he moved away, and I did not see him again. A sad
story, don’t you think?”
We came to the edge of the clearing and
entered a loose forest, the white line still at our feet. I wasn’t
sure what to think. I didn’t know much about love, but it seemed
like something you should hold on to when you get the chance.
“Didn’t you ever doubt the prophet?” I
asked.
“I have faith,” she said. “Even when he is
always giving me bad news.”
Now, her behavior around the prophet started
to make sense. No wonder she had been avoiding him. “So that’s why you don’t like him,” I said.
She shook her head again. “It is not a
matter of like or dislike. It is a matter of truth. Do you like
that the dirt is brown? The leaves are green?” She paused. “Does
this have a familiar feeling to you?” she asked.
“I don’t know…I don’t think we’ve had a
conversation like this before…”
“No,” she said. “I am talking about this
area. The nature that surrounds us.”
I didn’t think so, and I told her.
“OK,” she said, frowning a little. She
started up again without a word.
But as we moved forward, Tika seemed to turn
even
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