It was cold outside. Not your old fashioned January cold of New Jersey but "End of June weird" cold. When he came to New Jersey for the championship, Ross knew he will miss the LA weather the most but this was ridiculous. There seemed no end to the cold this year. All the weather experts were stunned with the recent snow storm in the middle of June which practically slammed in the middle of New Jersey out of nowhere.
Ross was more than frustrated. He wanted to go out and walk around. It always helped him clear his mind and he needed a clear mind the most today. He never faced an opponent like he faced now. All he could think about was how he came close to being defeated in the last round of the karate championship semi-final.
He was undefeated for so long and now these kids from Tim’s Studio were giving him challenge. He was the heavy weight champion for goodness sake. How did the kid bypass his guard and hit him square in the chest. He ran the whole scenario in his mind again. There was no denying it, Bryan was too fast for him to even block a straight punch.
Ross knew he barely held on till the bell rang and won by points. He also saw his opponent's brother, Dan, fighting. He made this guy look like an amateur. In two days time Ross was to fight Dan and knew in his gut that he did not have it in him to beat the kid. Is this his downward curve or were these kids just freaks of nature. Or they were on something powerful.
The guy beaten by Dan did accuse him to be on something. But if there was an enhancement drug that can make a difference like this, Ross would certainly have known. He knew a few people who knew some people who were in these circuits but all his queries came back negative. No the kids did not buy any super enhancers as they called it. No, nobody bought the super enhancer in last few weeks, they had to order it fresh from Mexico so someone would know. And no, the feats these kids performed were nearly impossible even with any form on ability enhancer in the system.
It meant it was option one, he came across a couple of freaks of nature. It was still snowing outside. He wanted to go for a run. The treadmill at home never did justice. The stale view of the wall or moronic view of the television always made him feel nauseated. His mentor, Master Shento Rukishi, did not pick up the phone. He so needed some advise now. OK stop the panic.
The old discipline kicked in and he started to calm. sitting in a lotus position he felt his body relaxing one part at a time. Soon there was nothing there. He took his mind above everything else, including the pain from the injuries he sustained in the morning.
It was this heightened state of awareness that saved him time after another. What he heard or felt was something that no words can explain. His master always said when his eyes closed and he found the center, the whole world would became clear. Not the sort where things are bright and colorful, but where it was clear because there was no color, no light, no disturbance at all.
He played the image of the kid hitting him with his straight punch. In his minds eye, he saw the kid moving in slow motion. There was nothing wrong with his posture. No tell that he is about to throw a punch. Nothing at all. And suddenly there was a punch right next to his chest, too far inside his defenses. There was no way to stop it. He opened his eyes.
Snow or not, he was going out for a run. He packed himself in bunch of clothes or at least it felt like getting packed in a sleeping suit. All set he stepped outside. The snow was still falling insisting on making all the efforts of snow trucks and salt useless. Making sure he doesn’t step on ice on the sides of the sidewalk he started with a slow jog. Once on the main street he picked up a little speed. He could see how the snow changed the view. On any normal day at this time, he would see many people walking around having a good time. But now the street was almost deserted. No movement except around the small convenience store on the other side of the road giving out a little light in the gloomy weather.
In the little light he could make out two shadows. A man pulling a woman by what looked from this distance as a rope. Closing the distance he saw it was her purse. The man was trying to pull it away from her and she was not letting go. It was a little odd seeing the exchange, It seemed like the woman was not even straining when the man was pulling hard on the purse.
“You. Stop there.”, Ross shouted from the other side of the road and jumped over the heap of snow and ice the snow shovel truck left on the side of the road and crossed the road in an instance. The guy looked at Ross and then back at the woman. For a second his face crossed the light from the window of the convenience store. Ross thought he saw sheer terror in his eyes. Ross knew he was a big guy and looked intimidating to people, but this was not the expression he would have expected on anyone’s face, how scary was the woman. Ross pulled the purse from the thief’s hands. The thief yelped and dropped the purse and started to move away from the woman. The woman stood there staring at the purse. Ross approached her cautiously with the purse held in his one hand. The woman was still holding the other end of the strap in her left hand.
“Are you OK ma’am.”, He asked.
The woman looked up from the purse and looked at Ross. The first thing that ran through Ross’s mind was how much of an understatement would it be to say she was the most beautiful woman he has ever seen in his life. She was not in the same category as the rest of woman he has laid eyes on. Damn she was not even in the same book of categories which described beautiful women. For a second he thought he saw a jumble of emotions run through her mind. Confusion, irritation, fear, almost helplessness. But then the second passed and her face was calm as a lake. No calm as a sea on a moonless night that can suddenly decide to turn into a stormy fury. Her eyes were so cold. He felt a shiver in his spine which had nothing to do with the cold outside. He brought himself out of the revery. Admittedly it took more effort to find his center than ever. It was like he was in a fight and the opponent was far more intimidating than anything he has faced before.
“What did you just say?” Her voice was like silk sliding all over his body, arousing pleasure points around his body where he didn’t even know he had pleasure points. With effort he brought his attention back to the situation.
“He didn’t hurt you, did he?” To himself, he sounded like an overprotective boyfriend. “The man who tried to steal your purse.” He added with a little bit of calm.
And then the woman smiled. It was like seeing all the flowers in the world bloom at the same time. Like the sun shined on him and only him washing him over with the light and warmth of all that is good in the world.
Suddenly the snow stopped falling. Ross looked up and saw a lone star in the sky full of black clouds. This cheered him up even more. Looking back at the woman he found her looking at him with interest.
“No. He was someone I knew.”, Her voice came like laced with honey.
Looked like a failed robbery attempt to Ross but he didn’t want to say anything to contradict what she was saying. But he didn’t want the conversation to end either.
“So where are you headed.” Ross asked to continue the conversation.
“Nowhere in particular. My sister is taking care of my home so I am free to go anywhere I want.”
That was a bizarre response. But Ross wasn’t ready to give up. Nobody in his right mind would let this woman go.
“I am Ross.” Ross introduced himself and brought a hand forward.
She ignored the hand completely and said, “ I am Maebiana.”
“Would you like to go grab a cup of coffee, Maebiana. There is a coffee shop around the corner.”
“Only if you will come with me after we are done.”
“Where would we go?” Ross asked
“That is for me to decide.”
Wohh. That was too so controlling. The way she said it was almost like she was talking to her pet. This was wrong. Ross closed his eyes. Trying to find his center he moved his focus out of himself. Like he was observing himself having the conversation from a distance. He saw something strange. It was like a predator was standing in front of a small prey who was cowering in fear against the size of its foe. He suddenly realized his foe was strong and dangerous.
“Let us decide that after the coffee.”
She didn’t reply to that but moved to be on Ross’s side when he started to walk. He took it as a small sign of victory. He started to make his way toward the coffee shop. The snow had stopped but the sidewalk was still coated with the white. Ross was stepping carefully not to trip on the icy surface but his companion walked on the snow covered sidewalk like she was walking on a catwalk, not really showing off, but careless of who or what was around. It was like she was home in this weather.
“You seem to be very comfortable with this cold.” Ross observed.
“I come from a far colder place. This weather is like summer to me.” She replied.
Where was she from? Alaska? Canada? North Pole? She had a very neutral accent. Ross could pick no european tone out of it. And what kind of a name is Maebiana. He decided to ask and remove the confusion altogether.
“So, are you from the US or somewhere around?”
“I am from a lot of places. Many of them you won’t know anything about. But mostly I like to travel. That is why I left my home in care of my sister so that I could go around.”
“You must be really close to your sister for her to take care of your place so that you can go around. I know no one in my family will do it for me.”
“Not really, she always wanted my position. I just left it so that she can live there for a while. I will go back some day and get back what is mine.”
Her words were making less and less sense. Ross felt some trouble between the family and tried to steer the conversation away.
“I have been moving around a lot since I was 16. I started Karate around that time and have been all around the world for the championships. As a matter of fact I have a match day after tomorrow. The finals. Would you like to come and see.”
“No use fighting. The other fighter is going to take the belt from you within the first 50 seconds.”
Ross stopped suddenly and looked at Maebiana. He was furious about what she said. But under his fury he realized she knew about him and the match and that he was the title holder. She also knew about his opponent. She could be a karate fanatic.
They were almost at the door of the coffee shop. He decided not to pursue thÏe matter outside. He opened the door and motioned Maebiana to enter the shop. She did. Once in light he looked at his companion from top to bottom as she walked passed him into the coffee shop. It was hypnotic seeing her walk.
There were so many questions he wanted to ask her but all of them took back seat to the pure pleasure to see Maebiana move. He knew he would be staring behind her like an idiot. It took all his focus to stop himself from ogling at the sway of her hips as she crossed into the shop. He looked around and found everyone in the shop had the same expression on their faces as he had a moment ago. Not only men but the women were looking at her, not in the standard jealous fashion but like they wanted her, just as men did. With a grin on his face, Ross entered the coffee shop. He was not surprised that he was completely ignored by everyone in the cafe. He would have done the same.
Maebiana walked to the center of the cafe and stood near a chair. Before Ross could cover the distance, a man quickly drew the chair and helped Maebiana sit. Ross felt furious at the guy. He pushed him as he walked past the guy and nearly dropped him on the floor. Ignoring what the guy was saying, he sat in front of Maebiana.
“What would you like to drink Maebiana.”
“Anything is fine. For now.”
Near the counter Ross found a guy and a girl looking at Ross expectantly. He realized that everyone’s attention was on him. Suddenly he felt a surge of anxiety. It was like choosing the best drink for Maebiana was the most important decision he will ever make in his life. He felt so nervous that he sat down the chair next to the counter. The queue of people standing to order moved away from the counter allowing the drink for the mysterious lady to be ordered.
His eyes met the man behind the counter and moved toward the menu at the back wall. Instead his eyes got stuck on the mirror on which the menu was printed, he could see himself, right inside his eyes. He felt a jolt running through his system. He found himself cowering, his shoulders stooped like the burden of the order was pressing him down, his eyes were popping out of his eye sockets like he wanted to get a clue and there was nothing around him that can help him make such a life changing decision. He couldn’t see anymore and closed his eyes.
As soon as the eyes closed, his years of training kicked in. He looked inside of him and found there was no center. He could find it so easily for most of his life. It was like it was always there welcoming him toward him. Now he found himself staring in the darkness with no sense of direction.
It was like the early days of training when he used to sit with master Rukishi in his dojo. He thought it was all so not gonna happen to him. His mind would wander all around and not focus on any single thought. When ever he closed his eyes he saw what he was seeing now, an ocean of nothingness. It wasnt just dark, it was like knowing that it is not empty but you cant see it.
Master Rukishi always helped him through the maze until he knew what was there, and soon it became his second nature to get to the center without any help, without even thinking. But today, the darkness, the nothingness scared him more than ever. It was like he was not in the same place. It was like he entered some place that was looking back at him, daring him to enter. He took a deep breath and entered.
When he opened his eyes, he looked much better in the mirror. The anxiety though not gone but was not as crippling as was before. He thought of leaving the cafe and turned toward Maebiana. She was looking right at him. He thought he saw a small interest in her eyes. But majority of what he saw, he knew he wont be able to get out of here without her wanting it. He looked back at the guy behind the counter who too was waiting for his order. He almost smiled.
“ Two Large Mocha Lattes.” He announced. And suddenly he felt the tension in the room fading and people getting back to what they were doing. His felt a relief rushing through his body as he took some cash out of his pocket and handed it to the cashier without counting and started back toward his seat. This was one hell of a mind game Maebiana was playing and he had to stay focused to come out of it.
“So what is the name of your sister?” he asked as he sat down. The only thing he thought would give him an edge.
“Tatiana.” A direct answer with no emotions attached. This was not going well. Ross had nothing to carry on with. He was trying, rather failing, very hard at not looking at the magnetic face of the gorgeous woman sitting across from him. The attraction he felt was beyond sexual.
Tearing his eyes away from her face he looked at a couple sitting on the next table. Both looked awestruck, sitting across from each other, they were holding hands but none of them was looking at the other. Rather they were staring at Maeb’s back. Just looking at them reminded Ross of how Maeb looked from behind entering the cafe. The image of her walking was almost imprinted in his memory. And suddenly the images changed in his head and became more vivid. Somewhere in the middle Ross lost all his clothes. He found himself on the floor kissing her feet. He somehow knew he did not have permission to touch anywhere else.
Suddenly a loud clank woke him up from the eternal sleep. He looked up and found the server standing near the table. The sound was of the coffee cup hitting the floor. The guy must have tripped in his hurry and dropped coffee. He could feel the hot coffee burning the skin on his foot. He jerked up and saw the guy crying on the floor. The coffee was spilled on Maeb’s dress but she seemed uninterested. Her eyes met Ross’s and an anger flared up in him. How dare this puny servant spill coffee on Her? In his trance he held the guys hair and pulled him up.
The guy looked nothing like Ross ever saw in his life. He had tore open his face and neck in multiple places with his own nails. His hands were in worst condition. He dipped one of them in the other mug of coffee burning it and then ripped the skin off of the knuckles. The other hand was in no better condition. There was a distinguishable scar on the left cheek of his face which did not fit the punishment the kid was dealing himself but more like a slash made by an animal’s claw. And the kid was smashing his face with anything he could get his hands on.
From the corner of his eye Ross saw some others in the cafe starting toward them and he knew what they wanted to do to the kid because he was thinking of doing the same. It took everything he had to get his focus back from all the hurtful things he wanted to do to the guy so helplessly hung in his grip almost asking him to punish him more. With a deep breath, Ross loosened his grip from the kid’s hair and let him fall to the floor. He collapsed into the chair with a thud and felt his heart racing like he went 12 rounds with another fighter. He closed his eyes.
Nothing was making sense. His emotions were not what they should have been and his focus was almost always going back to the beautiful woman sitting next to him. His mind was telling him to run and get away from her but his body was not responding to any command. He was like a little animal stunned into inaction by an enormous predator. He opened his eyes for a second and saw someone beating the kid on the floor next to him. The next thing he saw was Maeb looking directly at him with her eyes trying to see into his soul. He gasped.
“Get back and defend.”
Master Rukishi’s voice jumped out of his subconscious and woke him up. Without any delay he stood up and ran out of the cafe door. Once outside he did not slow down but kept running with all his might. After a few miles he realized the cloud on his mind had lifted and he did not feel the fear anymore. He slowly stopped in front of a 24 hr pharmacy. Breathing heavily he started toward the door.
“Why are you following me? The anchor is yours to carry now.” A man came out from the dark behind the illuminated pharmacy sign. Ross recognized him as the thief who was trying to steal Maeb’s purse.
“Who are you? What is that thing?” Ross blurted out before he could make sense of the man’s statement.
“You were the one who took the anchor from me. I wasn’t strong enough and knew I would have died right there.”
“What anchor? What are you talking about? Who is She?”
“She is Maebiana. The Queen of Fairies. Or she was before her sister took the throne from her and gave her the anchor of mortality. She is going around the world to find her champion to carry her burden ever since.”
“You mean her purse is some sort of punishment?”
“It is what keeps her anchored to the mortal world and stop her from entering the realm of fairies. Unless she finds a mortal who can carry it for her, she is stuck in this world. No one is strong enough to carry it even for a few steps. I worshipped her and asked for the burden to become mine. She came here to hand it to me. I wanted to do it for her but I could not move after one step. She even tried to help me move but you grabbed the anchor from my hands and you did not buckle under its pressure. It was like you were made for the anchor. She knows you are to be her champion. I prayed and prayed to get the anchor but seems all I did was to get you two together.”
It was all too magic-y for Ross’s taste. He did not believe in these things. But he could not ignore what he saw in the cafe or the way he felt when he was around Maeb. It made some sense but he was still unsure about his role.
“So why did you run away after I pulled the purse or this anchor thing.”
“I was disappointed in myself and wanted to die. I ran to get a poison from the pharmacy so that I can give myself the death of a Fey priest but when I reached here, my anguish was gone and did not want to do it anymore. The effect of Maeb was gone. But she will come after you and as she comes close I will start feeling the same way again.”
With that the man started running out of the compound. Ross was struggling to wrap his head around the information he got. So the queen of some magical creatures was after him to make him her champion. It was all out of some weird fantasy tale and though he never believed in any such thing in the past, he could not deny what he felt and saw in the cafe. All he wanted to do now was to get as far away from here as possible. He knew he had a lucky break earlier and he might not survive the next encounter with the fairy queen.
He soon found himself running in the opposite direction from the cafe where he left Maeb. In all the snow he wasn’t able to find a cab that could take him away faster. The closest place he could get a plane was the Newark airport. There was no way of telling how fast Maeb could travel. He needed a faster mode of transport soon.
He was missing his mobile phone now. An year ago Master Rukishi called his mobile phone a distraction and asked Ross to get rid of it. It was harsh but Ross had complied. He asked Master Rukishi what is he to do during an emergency. And like so many other things he got a smile for an answer. “In master’s defense, he never would have expected a queen of magical creatures to try to make me her champion.” Thought Ross wryly.
He quickly turned his attention to what he had instead of missing what he didn’t. He turned toward the next shop. It was a small grocery store. As soon as Ross entered there was a welcome chime and an Indian kid looked up from a thick book from behind the counter.
“Do you have an ATM?”, he asked quickly.
The boy pointed toward a corner and uninterestingly went back to the book. Ross quickly moved toward the corner. He took out a thousand dollars from the ATM and went back to kid behind the counter.
“Is there a phone I can use to call a cab?”
The kid looked up at the request, annoyance clear on his face. He brought an old landline phone from behind the counter and placed it in front of Ross.
“You can call this number.” The boy gave Ross a number. Ross dialed and asked for a cab to pick him up from the shop. With nothing else to do but wait for the cab standing outside the shop, Ross tried Master Rukishi’s number from a prepaid phone he had just bought.
“Shinto Rukishi here”, Master Rukishi’s rumbling voice came from the headpiece.
“Thank the lord you picked up Master. This is Ross. I am in serious trouble.”
“What happened Ross? Where are you calling from?”, concern was clear in Master’s voice.
“I am in a shop in New Jersey, Master. There is some … thing after me. It is hard to explain.”
“Take a breath and tell me everything.”
Ross took a deep breath focusing on his center and told the Master about his encounter with Maeb.
“I know it sounds too fantastic to believe Master, but it is true .” Ross said. “ I see the cab is coming here, I should be in Newark airport in next 30 min.”
“Take the next possible flight to Okinawa. We will think about our next steps once you reach here.” Said Master Rukishi.
Ross thanked the Master and got into the cab. He was not that far from the airport. Anxious to reach there fast, Ross offered the cab driver extra tip to get him there fast. Smiling, the cab driver accelerated. Ross closed his eyes.
Ross opened his eyes suddenly, jumping up from his seat almost hitting the roof of the cab. It was a knock on the window that woke him up. The window of the cab running on the freeway. He could not believe his eyes when he looked outside. It was very hard to explain what was going on.
Maeb was walking next to a speeding cab. Not running, not flying, walking. It was like she did not have to strain to keep up. It felt like watching a movie where the same laws of physics did not apply inside the screen. The cabbie looked in the side mirror and saw Maeb. His eyes widened and Ross could see him trying to believe what he was seeing. He turned the wheel away from Maeb trying to get away but there was no getting away.
The cab swirled out of control and ran into the railing on the side. Half of the car got through before coming to a halt, half hanging. Ross shook his head trying to get the swimming world in focus. He looked in the front of the cab and found the cabbie enveloped in a balloon of air bag. Knowing that the cabbie would survive but he still had another problem coming his way, he opened the door and got out. Suddenly Ross was off balanced. It felt like the ground suddenly gave way. He desperately tried to stay upright but his knees buckled.
The woman held him with his arms and supported him back upright. Ross shook his head to shrug of the feeling of dizziness that had enveloped him. He looked up and saw the woman holding him from under the arms like you would a little kid. He again shook his head. Now Ross was no light weight. He was 6’4’’ weighing a little over 250 pounds while she looked like a supermodel who would wear a size 0 dress. The way he was hanging, his feets were almost above the ground.
He heard the cars stopping around him looking at the view. But the only thing he could focus on was the woman holding him. There was no running from the absolute devotion he felt for his queen.
“The winter has found its champion.” Ross heard as he lost consciousness.
