10. I Face the End.
I open my eyes and see nothing but gray. I am lying on the ground, turning my head from side to side and no color enters my sight. I sit up and scan the area. I struggle to my feet. I quickly remember that I have accomplished all eight tasks. Now, I find myself here, in a colorless world. I reach my hand into my pocket and feel nothing. I check my other pocket, nothing. I panic. Where are the coins? I begin to sweat, fearing the worst, that it was all just a dream, that I didn’t actually accomplish anything, that I am just stuck in this gloomy world with no color. Then, I breathe a sigh of relief as I look down and see all eight coins lying on the dirt. They must have fallen out when I hit the ground entering this world. I kneel down beside the shiny golden coins. Each one labeled with the world I earned it in. Slowly, I pick up each coin, Stone Age, Mesopotamia, Egypt, China, India, Greece, Rome, and finally the last coin: Medieval Times. I gather them up and place them safely into my pocket. I can not lose these coins. I have come too far, accomplished too much, sacrificed too much to lose the coins and lose my chance at completing my ultimate goal.
With the coins secured in the pocket of my blue pants, I rise up, again scanning the gray world. As I walk along the black dirt, I see gray hills and gray clouds in the sky. The sky itself is a lighter shade of gray. The trees and bushes sway in the distance, both gray. A ray of light gently descends upon the earth, but the light only illuminates more gray. I have no idea where I am. When I made the deal with Buddha, he said nothing about what would happen when or if I finished my tasks. I am used to walking, so that is what I do.
I am confident that I will figure out what I must do in this world, where it will all end. I am confident that I will be able to successfully save the Tiger and be released from the guilt of killing it so long ago. I am confident I will finish this and return to the present world and reunite with my family and friends. It has been a long time since I have been home. This experience, as Buddha pointed out, is different than my first trip because for this adventure, time passes in the present world. I try to calculate in my head and reach the conclusion that I have been gone for over three years. Three years my mom and dad have sat, wondering where I am, wondering if I’m dead or alive. It is not fair to do this to them again, but this was something I had to do.
As I think about Buddha, the Tiger, and home, my walking continues. I begin to focus more on my present situation and look around to see if I recognize anything yet. I focus my gaze into the distance and am shocked at what I see. It is a giant, gray pyramid. I recognize this. I saw these in Egypt, in fact, I helped build one. Near the gray pyramid, I see an enormously long, gray wall winding along the hill tops. Past that, I see a gray Colosseum and a gray ziggurat. I approach these huge gray structures, all things I recognize from my tasks. These structures are not alone. As I walk among them, an eerie sense comes over me as I see gray statues of giant Elk, a mummy, a rat, and Zeus. I see statues of Fenn, Unga, and Chen, my three friends I met along the way that weren’t able to escape deaths’ grasp. Here I stand, surrounded with some of the most amazing things I have seen in the ancient world. I must be getting close. These must be signs that the end of this adventure is near, that it is time to use my golden coins and save the Tiger. But one question still remains: How do I save him?
As I continue to slowly wander around all these gray statues, something far off in the distance catches my eye. It appears to be another gray statue, but this one is bigger than the others. It is even bigger than the giant Irish elk from the Stone Age and is placed directly in front of a massive stone wall. I estimate that this gray statue is about a mile away, so I begin jogging in its direction. I am sick of walking, plus, I must get there quickly for I have a strong feeling that this statue is more than just gray stone.
I approach the gray statue and my eyes open as wide as saucers. I am unable to blink as I stare at this thing before me. There is no mistaking what I am looking at. I would recognize this anywhere, at anytime. For what I am looking at right now is what set all of this in motion, it is what sent me back into these ancient worlds. I stare at the base of this statue, and then slowly bring my eyes up. After all I have done, I know that the end if almost here. I am staring right into the eyes of Buddha. His jolly grin, his bald head, his huge, round stomach, it all strikes a very familiar cord. I have not seen him since he came to me at the zoo and challenged me with this adventure. Though I have thought about him constantly and heard his whispers throughout my adventures, I have not laid eyes upon him for a very long time. But that has all changed now. I stand staring right at the gray statue of Buddha. He smiles back at me, frozen in stone. I draw closer to the statue and place my hand upon his foot. The stone is cold, sending shivers down my back. The giant wall behind the Buddha statue rises up so high I can not see the top. Whether I look to the right or left, it’s the same, the giant wall goes out in both directions further than my eyes can see. This whole scene is overwhelming my brain. What do I do with this statue? For it has got to be something more than just stone. What about this wall? What is behind it?
As I stand, starring at the Buddha statue, I notice something odd about his giant belly. His belly button seems a little off, so I move closer and study it. The Buddha’s belly button is the exact same size as the golden coins clanging around in my pocket. This causes me to think; perhaps I need to put one of the coins in his belly button to unlock something. What that “something” is, I have no idea, but I know I must try. As I look even closer, I notice that right above the “belly-button” contains words. I dust off the message and once again chills shoot down my back as I reads: “Choose wisely, my friend, for the correct coin will transform the stone, but the wrong coin will bring the daggers down upon you.” My mind is racing. What coin is it? How do I know? I know I have one shot at this. I can not afford to make a mistake, for if I do, it’s all over. Whatever the dagger threat is, I do not want to test it. I have learned far too many times that the ancient world is packed with brutality, cruelty, with death. I tell my self to think, I scream it. What coin is it? I try to calm myself a little so I can think better and reach the conclusion that it must be one of two coins. To unlock the stone statue, it must be a coin of higher significance than the others. It has got to be either the coin from ancient Rome, where I killed the Tiger I am trying to save now, or it has to be the coin from ancient India. Yes, maybe it’s the coin from India, the place where I met Buddha. Maybe to transform this statue, I must use the coin from the place of my own transformation. These are the two most significant worlds for what happened in each place, but how do I decide?
I pull both coins out in my hand and turn them over, studying them for any sort of clue. They both glisten despite the colorless world I am in. They are smooth, each one having the name of the ancient world etched in the center. I think and think and think. My gut instinct is the coin from ancient India, but Rome is where the Tiger was and perhaps it’s how I get him back. I know my time is running out so I must choose now. I stare at both coins a moment longer and quickly shove the ancient Rome coin back into my pocket. I will go with the coin from ancient India, the world in which I met the Buddha. I step forward, lean in, and place the golden coin from ancient India in the belly-button of the Buddha statue. It rests there comfortably, but nothing happens. The stone statue remains motionless but the daggers are nowhere to be seen. Puzzled, I reach my trembling finger forward and push the center of the coin. The coin slides back into the statue and I hear a “click.” Then, without warning, the ground begins to rumble and pieces of stone begin to crumble off the statue. Bits of stone fall from the sky as well and I shield my face with my arms. I try to look up at the statue but a blinding light coming from inside Buddha keeps me from looking at it too long. More and more stone falls from the statue. The rumbling continues to roar, shaking the ground. I struggle to keep my footing, and soon fall as a thunderous boom crackles throughout the air, slamming my body to the ground. Suddenly, the rumbling stops. The stone stops falling. The light is gone. I dust myself off and look towards Buddha. He is no longer a statue. He is here. He is real. He is alive.
The real Buddha is a giant of a man. He stands at least eight feet tall, towering over me. His sandals the size of surf boards, his belly the size of five Santa’s combined. He takes one giant step toward me. I begin to say something, but his booming voice cuts me off.
“You have made it, my friend. You have faced some of the most difficult tasks the ancient world has to offer and you managed to emerge from each one with your life and the sacred golden coins. I must say, when I came to you and found you as a depressed 18 year old, I had my doubts that you were up to this challenge. I thought for sure you would never succeed in this adventure. But, I was wrong. You have proven to me that it was your destiny to come back to these ancient worlds to succeed, to make a difference in the places you visited and to save the Tiger.”
“Buddha, where is the Tiger?”
“The Tiger is just behind this giant wall you see behind me. You will pass through this wall but whatever awaits you on the other side, you will have to face alone. I will not go with you. I will not protect you from what you will encounter. I set this in motion, I came to you throughout your adventure with whispers of advice, but now you will be on your own. You will face the demons of your past and only you can conquer them.”
“Buddha, what do I do when I get to the other side of the wall? You must help me!”
“When you pass through this wall, you will be faced with the demons of your past: disrespect, bullying, and laziness. They will be waiting for you and you must defeat them once and for all otherwise they will always be lingering in your shadow, waiting for the right opportunity to emerge and send you back to being the person you once were. If you are able to kill the demons of your past, then you will use the eight coins to save the Tiger. If you are able to save the Tiger, he will be released from the force field, the earth will emerge from its grayness and you will be sent home, once and for all.”
“Buddha, how am I supposed to defeat the demons of my past? I have nothing.”
“You are wrong. You have everything. You have learned a lot about life and about yourself throughout your travels through the ancient world. You have learned the meaning of the word respect. You have learned how bullying affects others and that being lazy gets you nowhere. Remember how you were in 6th grade and think about how far you have come. Now, you stand on the door step of the end. You have the opportunity to leave your past behind and to move forward, once and for all, in your world and live a productive life. Yes, you have everything and you are ready to conquer your demons.”
As Buddha says this, he hands me the coin that I used to transform him from a statue back into a living, breathing person. I clutch the coin in my hand then drop it in my pocket, for it is finally time to use them.
I think about what Buddha has just said and he is once again right. I have learned a lot. I have learned that there is no place for bullying or disrespectful behavior. I have learned that you don’t get anywhere in life being disrespectful to adults and peers alike. I am ashamed of the person I used to be and am eager to defeat my demons once and for all. I think about the bullying I have done and look forward to the day when I can return to my world and apologize for all I have done. I have learned what it’s like to do something for others and not just for yourself. Indeed, I have learned a lot and I feel good about myself. I snap out of my day dream and back into reality. I give Buddha a look of steel.
“Buddha, I am ready. Please, allow me to pass.”
“I can see it in your heart and mind that you are a changed person. You may pass.” As Buddha gives the signal, the loud rumbling returns, the roaring sound rips through the air and the giant wall begins to crumble down. I step back a bit, but Buddha remains unshaken by the massive display of force. After a minute, the wall has been reduced to a pile of rubble five feet high. I look at Buddha and with all eight coins in my pocket, step towards the pile of debris and my fate. As I approach the rubble, Buddha’s powerful voice stops me. I turn towards him. He speaks.
“Johnny, good luck.”