ALWAYS, ABIDE WITH ME

Chapter 8: Stowaways

Wei Ying ’s eyebrows rose at this and he looked at Arawinda and ShiZui. Both shrugged, signifying ignorance. Wei Ying moved to kneel besides the unconscious youth. 

“May I? Wei Ying’s  soft query brought sudden tears to Murali’s  eyes. Placing a hand gently on Murali’s back just behind where his heart lay, Wei Ying passed a little bit of spiritual energy. His inner voice told him that Murali needed help. After a tense minute’s silence Murali dashed a hand across his eyes and mumbled, “Help him, Wei Mama!”As Wei Ying took the young man’s head onto his own lap he stirred.  Murali stood up hurriedly and ran to the wheelhouse as if all the hounds in Ciayi town were after him. A small smile played on the Wei Ying’s lips as he slipped seamlessly into the role of the responsible adult as he had, years ago, in the Burial Mounds.

Murali came back with water. Wei Ying   sprinkled a few drops on the youth’s face. He groaned and opened his eyes blearily, looking at the four people staring at him.

The wiry man who jumped on him. A foreigner. The one He was friendly with. A frown creased his mien. A younger man closer to His age. Also a foreigner; he was the one who had held him at swordpoint. Another young man, Lankan, tall, strong and commanding presence. Yet another foreigner, a younger, slimmer boy, dressed like the one with the sword. Same forehead ribbon. Perhaps they were related? But wait, where was He?

He groaned as he tried to sit up. There were hammers and tongs beating inside his head.

The man in black smiled kindly and placed two fingers at his temple. The uninjured one. The right side was burning and stinging. Someone dipped a soft cloth in water and dabbed at the cut.

Looking up, his eyes found Him. At last!

Murali’s eyes were lowered and he was careful not to let his fingers touch the cut or anywhere at all on his face. Once the wound was clean, he held up something in his fingers. “Turmeric!” he muttered, barely audibly, and the young man inhaled sharply, closing his eyes in anticipation of the sting as the medicinal properties of the spice began their  work. To his surprise, there was hardly any pain. Looking straight up, he saw the man in black still smiling and then he said, “ShiZui, take over.”

So the young man with the sword was called ShiZui. He took the place of the man in black. When the injured man tried to speak he was pressed back down. “You have been unconscious for a while. Allow us to help you heal. Please lie still, till we let you get up.”

Wait, how could he understand what the young foreigner was saying?

The strong young man came forward and spoke in Sinhala.

“Ayubowan! We are sorry to have caused you injury. It was purely accidental both times. I’m Arawinda  from Negombo and these are my friends from the Orient lands. They helped rescue HRH and several others from the mines. They are Chosen Ones with special abilities and skills. One of these skills was responsible for you are being able to understand what they were speaking in their native tongue.”

Hearing this the young man lying on ShiZui’s lap finally relaxed. His shoulders became less tense, fists uncurled and he exhaled deeply. Concurrently, the heaving waves seemed to calm down; and when Wei Ying followed the young man’s gaze, watching Murali unblinking as he manned the wheel, a modicum of understanding began to filter into his mind.

Wei Ying’s memory took him back 16 years, when he was a new disciple in Cloud Recesses. Rubbing his ring, he said, “Lan er Gege! I have news!” He giggled, imagining his Love’s ears heating up at that form of address.

Dusk was a little later in coming to Lan Zhan in his spirit bubble as he was now floating westwards. He was surprised by Wei Ying’s beloved voice chirping “Lan er Gege!” in that particularly teasing tone that he had used to great effect when they had been students in Cloud Recesses.