Chapter 59Talia was walking up the mountain trail the started on the left side of her families property. Her father asked her to check on the windmills, like he always did. Talia loved the windy and everything about it. She was always amazed by it power and gentleness. It gave her family life and sustenance. The thing she loved the most ever since she was a kid was when the wind would blow thru her hair.
As she got older the wind seemed to become her friend. It would whisper its secrets to her and play with her. She would lose herself to running with the wind around the mountains and hills where she lived. She grew up in Wellington, New Zealand, the windiest city in the world.
Her family discovered her connection to the wind when she was very young. One day the winds were so strong they blew her off the side of a hill. Talia"s mother screamed and franticly ran after her, expecting to see her daughter severely her form her fall. To her utter surprise Talia was laughing and floating down the hill with the wind seeming to cradle her. When her mother asked what happened, five-year-old Talia told her mother that the wind was playing a game with her. No one openly admitted it, but everyone believed that Talia could control the wind to some degree. Their family wind farm never stopped producing power, even when other wind farms had to shut down due to the winds being so severe they could topple some windmills, the winds seemed to just avoid their farm during those times.
Talia was walking along enjoying the gentle breeze when she suddenly stopped. She could feel a weird disturbance in the wind. As she looked up toward the sky a scroll flew over toward her from the clouds. Talia"s ears perked up for a second as if she was listening to someone speak. She nodded with a smile on her face and then reached out and grabbed the scroll. As soon as she did Talia felt as if she was transported to another world. As she looked around she saw a very dirty monk walking toward her.
"Talia you are a blessed one of our world. The world we live in is changing very rapidly, and unfortunately some of this change is not good. You have a strength that our world will need to protect it. My dear Talia you are a very gentle soul, its one of the qualities of the wind that you have fully embraced. But now the world needs you to embrace the other aspects of the wind as well. Its power. Its rage. Its vengeance. The world needs you to take on the mantle of a warrior to protect the people we share this planet with and love. Can you do that, Talia?" the Mudd Buddha asked in a very gentle tone.
Talia thought about what he said. She knew herself very well, and she knew she was the farthest thing from a fighter. But then she thought of an experience she had when she was a teenager. Due to the fact that her father"s wind farm never became damaged or had to shut done, so of the other farmers felt that it wasn"t fair. They ganged together to make thing difficult for her father. They tampered with and damaged some of her father"s windmills. When Talia went to check on them like she did every morning, she was heartbroken with what she saw. As she ran home to tell her father she saw many men surrounding her father and threatening him with bats and metal pipes. Talia could tell that these were the same ones who destroyed the windmills. Fearing for her father"s safety, and thinking of her poor windmills, Talia was filled with and unspeakable rage. That day the wind answered her call. The wind quickly picked up and became a terrifying storm. The men surrounding her father and their vehicles they drove in were all blown off her father"s property, but her father was completely unharmed.
As Talia thought of this time she realized that she did have what it took to protect the ones she loved. She smiled at the Mudd Buddha, and then suddenly a bright light filled her vision. When Talia could see again she was back on the Mountain trail. Nathan, Gorampa, Wim, and Keanu were standing in front of her.
"h.e.l.lo Senior Gorampa, my name is Talia. The Mudd Buddha has told me all about you." Talia said while bowing slightly to Gorampa.
"The pleasure is mine Talia. Its wonderful that you have agreed to join us." Gorampa said while bowing back, "Where do you guys think we should head next?"
Talia, Nathan, Wim, and Keanu all looked at each other. They stood together in a circle and began to cultivate. As they stood there the sounds of metal colliding with each other. The sounds started slow and low. As the sounds sped up and got louder the faint image of a sword floated in the middle of their circle. Soon the image became a little clearer and the shape of an island could be seen on the sword.
"It looks as though we are heading to Honshu, j.a.pan." Gorampa said after getting a good look at the image.