By B. B. Sakiko
Suddenly his sunken eyes opened. His irises sparkled as brightly as a young man's. His shriveled limbs regained strength and began to move. Then, the old dying king raised himself from the bed on which he had been ridden for five years. He firmly stood on his feet and swiftly walked past appalled ministers who had been summoned to the king's deathbed just half an hour ago. The king stepped out of the room, rushed to the watchtower of his castle, and began climbing the staircases to the top. His pace was so fast that only the youngest minister, Rupa, could follow the king.
Standing at the lookout in the gusty winds, the king turned to the north.
A fortress wall surrounded his small country with the north gate tightly closed.
Beyond the wall green fields spreading to the horizon. He saw no one in
the vast waves of swaying grass. Then, the king turned to the south.
The south gate was also closed. Outside the gate were rolling hills which
gathered further away and finally turned into rows of red mountains at the
horizon. The mountains there were desert lands. The king turned to
the north again, and this time he carefully watched as if he was examining
something in the air. Then, louder than the roaring wind he shouted,
"We have lost the battle."
Rupa, who was kneeling down by the King, was stunned, confused and looked up at
the king.
"How does his Majesty
know that we've lost?" It was true that in the far
north, the king's five adult sons and their troops were fighting against the
invaders from the North, but no matter how hard Rupa stared, he could only see
the green grass as the battle site was beyond anyone's vision. Yet, the
king said sternly, "Summon all my people. We will
start evacuation to the south within twenty four hours. The enemy is
coming."
Rupa, dumbstruck and motionless, looked at the king again.
"What is he talking about? This king was dying just a
few minutes ago. I don't understand."
The king shouted at Rupa impatiently.
"Hurry! This is the king's command!"
His forceful voice automatically made Rupa bow, turn,
and run down the stairs. Soon the king's order was heard by everyone in
the land, and the evacuation was about to start when a wounded messenger from
the battlefield staggered through the north gate. He shouted, "We lost," and
died, spitting out his blood. A fire was torched to burn everything in the
land so that the enemy would find nothing but ash. The king led his people
to the south. It was a procession of twenty thousand people, mostly women,
children and the elderly. The population had dwindled because of the
continuous war against the Northern invaders. Fearfully they marched out
through the gate with their meager possessions and animals. By the time
that their houses were completely burned, the people had disappeared into the
hills to go over the mountains and then to wander in the desert under the
glittering sun.
In the desert, a young woman cried.
"My baby is dying!"
Several women moistened a cloth with a little
water and put the cloth on the baby's face, but the baby's eyes were still
rolling and bubbles came out of his mouth. After weeks of exile, everyone
was so exhausted that most of them could not even cry out in pain. The
mother, holding the baby in her arms, squatted down on the sand, but the king
did not slow down. As people proceeded, the mother and baby were left
behind, and gradually became unseen. The weak had no choice but to be
abandoned. "Where is the king going to take us?"
People wondered, but the king only repeated what he had
been saying.
"Endure. The enemy is still chasing us.
Keep going so that they won't overtake us. We are close to our promised
land. There we will build our new nation. We will no longer worry
about invaders. The land will be heaven to us. Keep going, and we
will reach the land soon."
The next day when the sun was right in front of them,
the king suddenly stopped. He ordered people to gather around him.
Everyone sat silently on the hot white sand where not even a dry blade of grass
was found. No breeze was felt but only heat while people patiently
surrounded the king. Slowly the king raised his cane to the sky and gently
brought it down. When the tip touched the sand, a sprout came out of the ground.
To everyone's surprise, it grew taller than the king in an instant with large
round leaves spreading on its stem and several lantern shaped flowers opening.
"This plant is called Megumi," the king said to his
people.
"Megumi is the perfect resource for our lives
underground. Its leaves and flowers are edible. Honey drips from the
pistil. Oil can be extracted from its seeds. The stem will provide us with
threads. If we cook the root with granite, it will become medicine to cure
all. Megumi will give us everything that we need. When the flowers
open, the petals emit light so that we can see and work as if we were under the
sun. When the flowers close, then the night comes. The flowers open
exactly fourteen hours and close ten hours everyday. Thus we can keep our
calendar valid even underground."
"What?
The flowers? Underground?"
People were bewildered, but no one spoke out, wondering
what the king would say next. The king, then, tapped the desert again with
his cane, and the Megumi disappeared into the ground. For the third time
the king tapped the desert sand again. This time, the sand split to make a
manhole like opening, which soon became large enough for several people to go
through. Inside the opening stairs could be seen stretching deep down
towards the bottom of the underground.
"Forward. To our new promised land!" shouted the
king, but people could only look at each other intense and frozen.
"Allow me, please, your Majesty!"
Rupa's voice was heard from the crowd. He ran up
to the king and knelt down, almost crying.
"Your Majesty, where are you taking us? Does your
promised land lie at the bottom of the underground where no sunlight comes in?
Are you saying that we will have lives like those of earth worms? Forgive
me, your Majesty. Even if the enemies were to take my life or the sun
would burn me to death, I would rather finish my life as a human being in this
world where the winds blow and the stars shine. Please allow me and my
family to stay on the surface."
"No," said the king indifferently. "In a time of
crisis, unity is everything. My people must survive, and I will not allow
anyone to leave."
Rupa bowed so low that his forehead touched the king's
foot. He grabbed the hem of the king's gown, and repeated desperately.
"Your Majesty, if we keep going to the west for one
more week, we should reach a place called "ocean." Some traveler said to
me once that ocean is a huge pool of water that provides all kinds of prosperity
to men. Please allow us to go there."
"Within a week, the enemy will catch us. Rupa,
you have been a loyal vassal to me. I loved you and gave you an important
position. Now, are you saying that you cannot obey my order?"
The king's voice was stern as ever, but Rupa did not notice the chill in his
voice. Still grabbing the hem, he was busy begging,
"Forgive me, your Majesty. But please listen to
me..."
Before Rupa finished his words, a ray of blue light
came out from the king's cane and wrapped Rupa's body in flames. The shock
paralyzed Rupa. He gazed at the king behind the swaying blaze with his
eyes wide open. He slowly stood up and raised one arm with his finger
pointing to the sun in the west. Then, slowly, his lifeless body tilted
and fell to the ground right by the opening.
"Oh, god!"
At that moment, every one of Rupa's family felt a sharp
pain on their forehead. The letter "R" appeared on them like a fire
branded mark. The king shouted again to the crowd to go forward.
"Move! We don't have time. Follow me!"
This time no one hesitated to follow the order.
One by one, they followed the king down the stairs in a line with the family of
Rupa at the end. The very last was Rupa's wife and son. They all
went down, shedding tears and turning back again and again to see the burned
body of Rupa. When the two sank beneath the desert's surface, the opening
closed.
Then, the wind lifted and swirled up the sand and
covered Rupa's body. The desert looked as if there had been nobody.
Only silence filled the place.
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2009 B. B. Sakiko |