Out of Body Universe - Part One, Page 4

  Chapter 3

  After the green tea, Nathan found his head was much clearer. “Maybe another time. Master Wuwei, I’ve always fancied learning how to fight, the Kung Fu stuff, you know. Could you please teach me?”

  Wuwei stared at Nathan for a second. “Is that all you white kids think about Chinese people; that everyone knows how to fight?”

  “Oh, no, of course not, and I know much better than other ‘white kids’ because I actually know something about the Chinese. Master Wuwei, I know Taoists are generally good at Tai Chi; it’s part of your meditation and training to gain Tao, so please teach me something about Tai Chi.”

  “If you have learnt anything about Taoism, you must know that Tai Chi is not designed to fight against others, but only as a meditation exercise.”

  “But I also heard that some kinds of Tai Chi can be used in combat, right?”

  “Yes, some forms of Tai Chi can be used in combat, but it would take years of meditation to train one’s mind, it’s not a quick learning experience that can be done overnight.”

  Nathan knelt down the way a Chinese student saluting his master would; he had learnt the move through his studies. “Please, Master Wuwei, please just teach me something about combat Tai Chi, and I can practice it in my lifetime.”

  Wuwei thought for a while, and then said, “In that case, I would need to test to see if you have the talent to learn Tai Chi. Although everyone is able to learn Tai Chi, someone with natural ability would be able to learn it much faster; the key is your ability to understand Tao, the way. Okay, put your elbows on the table, and put your two palms facing each other at shoulder width.”

  Nathan did as instructed.

  “Now imagine that your palms are two magnets and they are attracted towards each other. Can you feel it?”

  Nathan concentrated, imagining there was a magnet attached to the back of each of his hands; slowly he felt his palms moving towards each other, without him intentionally moving his muscles.

  Wuwei smiled. “Okay, now imagine that the magnets are rejecting each other, and then alternate them between attracting and rejecting.”

  Nathan was amazed that his two palms were moving towards and away from each other, without his muscles controlling them at all.

  After a while, Wuwei asked Nathan to stop. “That’s a very simple exercise to give you an idea about meditation and mind control. Okay, let’s start with the basic steps of a Tai Chi lesson.”

  In the following hours, Nathan couldn’t remember how many, he learnt how to concentrate and use his mind, not his muscles, to move his body. Just as Nathan felt hungry, as if knowing his mind, Wuwei gave him some dry fruit to eat, with some rice wine to wash it down; after that, he felt neither thirsty nor hungry anymore.

  Finally, Wuwei said, “That’s enough for today. I am going to cook rice porridge, would you like some? I am quite hungry and you must be too.”

  Just then, Nathan did feel a bit hungry. “All right, I will have some. Thanks.”

  Nathan watched Wuwei hang a pot over the log fire and put some rice and water into it. It wasn’t long before the fragrant smell of rice porridge filled the air. Nathan felt very tired, hardly able to keep his eyes open and his head got lower and lower to the table…

  “Nathan, wake up, the rice porridge is ready.”

  Nathan opened his eyes, and noticed the sunlight shining in through the windows. He must have been asleep for a long time. Feeling embarrassed, Nathan said, “Sorry for falling asleep.” He glanced at his watch.

  “Master Wuwei, I have to leave right now; otherwise I’ll be late for work. I do appreciate your hospitality, particularly teaching me about Tai Chi. Will I be able to meet you again?”

  “Unfortunately I am leaving this city today.”

  “Will you be back? Or will I ever see you again?”

  “Nathan, I am not sure; but you have learnt the basics of Tai Chi meditation, so you can practice in your own time. If you’re persistent with it, you will achieve something in the end.”

  “I will, and thanks again.” Nathan put his left palm over his right fist, saluting Master Wuwei in Chinese Kung Fu fashion, and walked out of the hut.

  Nathan walked through the bush, which consisted of a few trees. It surprised him what alcohol could do to one’s mind; last night he thought he had walked through a forest. As he reached the edge of the bush, he realized that he was not far from the waterfront. A question slipped through his mind: how could Master Wuwei build a hut inside such a small patch of bush? But he didn’t have time to think about it, because he needed to hurry to get back to the bakery in time.

  Again it wasn’t that far from the city centre, quite different from his memory based on last night’s experience; he remembered having walked for ages, but he had been drunk then so his memory wasn’t very reliable. However, Nathan noticed one thing that was unusual: the Rocks area, which was normally crowded with thousands of local residents and overseas tourists around the famous Opera House and Harbor Bridge, was now like a ghost town. Apart from a few road-cleaning motor cars, and a few gardeners working, there was not a single tourist in sight. Nathan glanced around but couldn’t figure out what had happened; however, he didn’t waste too much time wondering about it, instead quickly walking towards the bakery.

  It was Sunday morning, normally the busiest time for the bakery, but there were no customers and the girl behind the counter was not Amy.

  “Excuse me, you must be new. Where is Amy?” Nathan asked.

  “I am not that new, I’ve worked here almost a year now. Who is Amy?” the girl said.

  Nathan stepped back a few steps to double check the shop front, making sure he had arrived at the right place. He was afraid the alcohol had affected his mind. It was Croissant Classic, the bakery he had been working in for over two years. After confirming that he had come to the correct place, Nathan said, “I am Nathan and I have been working here for the last two years, how come I haven’t ever seen you?”

  “Nathan? Hang on, don’t tell me you are the Nathan.”

  “The Nathan? What are you talking about?”

  The girl stared at Nathan intensely for a few seconds, and then said,

  “The first day I started working here, I was told about a guy called Nathan, who used to work here but he just disappeared one day, and that was fifteen years ago. His body was never found. Everyone, including the police, believe he died; so are you telling me you are Nathan, the Nathan, who worked here and disappeared fifteen years ago?”

  “What are you talking about? I never disappeared; I was working here only yesterday.” Then Nathan noticed the calendar hanging on the wall. The thick letters stated that the girl had told the truth: it was now the year 2028. Fifteen years had indeed passed since the last time he had worked here.