Red Panda Goddess

The Constant Surprises

When we arrive at the bridges we notice that there is someone standing in the middle of the bridge and Juki ducks down into the bag.

“Hello traveler!” Mr. Cheng says in mandarin to get the persons attention to let them know we were approaching as to not spook them. The closer we get the more defined I can make out the figure. It looks as if they have ears and a tail. As Mr. Cheng yells they turn to look and then dart off into the woods. “Hmm, I was hoping not to spook them. Oh well, let’s get to work and see what we need to do.”

“You’re not curious to whom they were?”

He looks at me with a curious face, “not exactly, they’re none of my business. I don’t own this forest I’m just staying here same as you. So they can come and go as they please in my opinion.” He continues walking towards the bridges. I stand there trying to figure out how they moved that fast. I knew some guys and girls in high school who could run really fast but not that fast. I shake my head and follow suit behind Mr. Cheng when I feel Juki pop up out of the bag and onto my shoulder.

“I don’t guess you know who they were do you?” I look at Juki and she shakes her head no, and I catch up to Mr. Cheng as he stops at the first bridge.

“I’m going to the other side and I will check everything when I walk over, there are a few spots that need smoothing here and there but everything looks good on this side.” He points to a few spots on the handrails. I set down the tools and grab a sand block with some sand paper and start smoothing while he checks the rest of the bridge. We do this and talk for about 2 hours then we pick up everything and head over to the right path leading to the shrine. “When we get to the shrine we should first pay our respects, then we can begin work.” I nod in agreement and keep walking with him. About 15 minutes of walking and I look up and see the shrine at the end of the path and notice that figure again. Mr. Cheng shouts at them to let them know we are coming to the shrine for repairs and they dart off after seeing us.

“Again? That looked like the same person as last time with ears and a tail.” I think out loud.

“I wouldn’t worry too much, there are a lot of children and others who like to play in these woods a lot.”

“What’s weird is I’ve been having dreams of a girl that wears those ears and tail things like what they were wearing only not as big in the ears.” He turns to look at me.

“These are like the fennec fox ears. Big and fluffy. Have you seen one yet?” I shook my head no and he smiles. “Oh they are the cutest things, smaller than the foxes in America.” We reach the shrine and we put down everything and walk inside the small hut. We both get on our knees and pay respects to his ancestors. I can hear something moving in the forest behind us. I noticed that the shrine was right next to a cliff that dropped down the mountain to the ridge below. And it was about 50 feet from the edge and about 20 feet from the forest. It was very secluded but well kept and made the same as the cabin with great craftsmanship. The noise got louder and closer and I knew I should turn around and look but I didn’t want to be disrespectful, I could hear more movement on the other side coming up as well. Mr. Cheng finished and rose up, I rose up with him and noticed he had some tears rolling down his eyes.

“Is everything okay Mr. Cheng?” I asked not sure why he was crying.

“I haven’t been here in a long time, and this is the second time they’ve came to visit me while I’m paying respects.” He looked at me and smiled.

“Who is visiting?” I was confused more than ever now and I could feel the presence of something behind us.

“My ancestors,” he turns around and bows. I turn around and see a small crowd of animals behind us, a giant panda, a red panda with white stripes, a big black bear, a large stag, 2 geese, a peacock, a solid white barn owl, 3 squirrels black red and brown, 2 tortoises, a hare, a white tiger, a bengal tiger, a leopard, a black cat, 2 snakes rainbow python black cobra, a bearded dragon, and lastly a small white mouse. “Hello you all, I’ve missed you all so much. I hope you are all well.” He rose up and bowed back down. I bowed as well out of respect and when I rose up the giant panda, the barn owl, and the white tiger were standing in front of me.

“It’s nice to meet all of you,” I smile in a weird feeling of wonder and excitement. I want to grab my camera but I can’t move. “My name is...” I look over at Mr. Cheng and he smiles and nods, “Mark, I am glad to be here in your presence.” I smile and bow again. I raise up and the three are still sitting in front of me.

“They want to give you something Vemo, please accept their gifts, if you don’t it will be disrespectful to them and me. It won’t hurt or anything, just keep an open mind.”

I look back and the owl has its left wing extended to me with a feather sticking out. I grab the feather and pull it to me to look at it. I feel as if I’m flung into space and I can see planets, stars, galaxies, and all kinds of amazing things. I look up and the owls face is drawn out in the stars. “You now will have my wisdom. Carry it with you and let it guide you through your life. I am Z.” After it says its name I’m back where I was sitting on the floor of the shrine looking around wondering what happened. It was like I was tripping or something, but I don’t do any kind of drugs, maybe it was that herb from breakfast? I shake it off and look at the panda. It has its paw open with a claw in it.

I reach out and take the claw and I’m flashed into a glade where I’m sitting on a rock in the middle of a pond. The lush green moss hanging from all the trees and rocks fills the air with a heavy but oxygen rich taste. It was so green that the air even looked green. I look in front of me and on the other rock was the panda, “take my endurance and playful manner, may it make your days full of joyous events and that you withstand all the hardships thrown at you. My name is X.” As he speaks his name I’m back at the shrine. I look at the tiger last, it walks to me and opens its mouth, there is a large tooth on it’s tongue.

I reach and grab it and open my eyes to see I’m on top of a tall mountain surrounded by more mountains. It’s snowing heavily all around me but not on me. I can feel the bite of the cold but it doesn’t seem to bother me. I look behind me and see the tiger sitting there, “take my strength and my patience. May it let you wait for the best things and that you overcome any obstacle or foe you encounter. My name is V.” When he said his name I was back at the shrine and they were back with the crowd and I looked down and saw the mouse had a ring in its hands holding it up to me. I picked it up and slipped it on my right hand and braced myself to have another vision but nothing happened. “Thank you all for your generous gifts. I appreciate them greatly.” I bowed to them and rose up to see they were walking away. “That was amazing, did I ever leave the shrine?”

“No I don’t think so. You took all the gifts one after another and then they left after you thanked them.” He looks at me curiously.

“How long have we been here?”

“About 5 minutes.”

“Seriously? I could swear a couple of hours have passed.”

We both get up and grab the supplies and tools and head back down the path and I tell him about everything I saw. He explains he had sort of the same experience when he first met his ancestors shortly after his grandfather passed. I look at the ring on my hand and notice it’s a beautiful blue metal that I’ve never seen before. I take a look at the other items and notice that they’re all made of the same metal, although when I took them they were like they came off the animal they came from. We reach the hot springs shortly after taking a break half way there.

“So what we’re going to do here is check for leaks, build a higher wall and a separator wall, and then when we’re done we will all take a bath. Are you ready?” I nod to him and I get to looking around the bottom of the walls for leaks and Mr. Cheng gets the wood and rocks ready for the separator walls. I find no leaks so I help him with putting the walls up. Then we go inside the springs and set up a separator wall. After we’re done he goes in on one side and I take the other and Juki hops in on my side. I grab her and wash her first and she washes her ears and tail then she swims around and hops in and out of the water while I bathe myself. After we are all done we get out and the sun is almost touching the horizon. “We are running a little late but we should be able to make it.” He looks a little worried but still confident. I help him grab everything and we pick a faster pace to the cabin. We reach it with just a small amount of daylight left and get in the house safely. When we get everything squared away I stop and wait for Mr. Cheng.

“What is it about the dark that frightens you so much Mr. Cheng?” I look at him scratching my head.

“The Moon is in waning phase and will be new moon soon. We must not go out during that time.” He never even turns around while locking the doors and windows and putting papers on them.

“But that still doesn’t explain why, I’m just curious as to what’s out there?”

“You will see soon enough when the full moon comes back around. For now just trust me and don’t go out unless it’s an emergency.” He looked at me sternly.

“I understand. I was just curious.” After that we both went to our rooms and then we cooked dinner and talked about the day while eating, then we went to bed. I feel like I wake up in the middle of the night again like one of those dreams I had before and the girl was asleep cuddled up to me. I looked up and noticed that Nanao was standing beside my bed looking at the girl smiling and then when she looked at me and saw my eyes open she vanished into a flurry of black and purple smoke trails. I fell back asleep again before doing anything and woke up again in the morning.