The Kings Reckoning
Island School , Lambert , Maximillien -14
E arth and stone lay flat on my hands , for 500 years I have been holding the weight of a mountain , It ’ s been cursed by Buddha to stop me from getting out for rebelling against the heavens . I cannot die , I already let this mountain crush me thousands of times crumbling my arms to dust but my will to hold it up was strong . The gods knew what they were doing when they banished me under a mountain , I could sleep through it my whole life and it would have felt like killing the 10,000 celestial warriors was just yesterday . But they knew exactly how to break me , rumors spread that a great god was banished under this rock and ever since a village has been built around the mountain where i rest dormant . I have been awaken by constant yelling and knocking coming from toddlers and the fools who thought they could mine a cursed mountain . I COULD NOT BEAR IT ! It doesn ’ t take a dog to realise that the mountain would never even CHIP to any of the equipment they threw at it , but they still tried .
I have never wanted to die more . Everyday I try to insulate the sound of the mountain by creating a vacuum between me and the mountain itself so sound couldn ’ t reach my sensitive ears . This is why I held the mountain for so long even if it meant losing my arms over and over again . If there was one thing that the gods knew about me is that I hate to be ridiculed by tiny unintentional actions , Buddha could have sent me to the sun to burn for eternity , to die to my own name . Though he knew that being pestered by children would be far worse .
Today my arms crumbled again creating a significant thud as the small distance between my body and the mountain collapsed . It was louder than ever . As the mountain crushed me there was seconds without silence , I grinned , being one of the first times I was able to move my face under the pressure of the mountain . My happiness for the silence was twisted by concern as there was no sound for 6 seconds straight . The silence was broken with a single person clapping at a terrifying speed . Like bees everybody started to follow with the same type of clapping and cheering . Children screamed in joy , men reciting prayers and women obnoxiously chattering just because the mountain made a noise , pathetic . I have never wanted to kill anyone more than the idiot who started clapping . I grinded my teeth with some stone that crumbled between them , a feat I never thought I would be able to accomplish . The village shot back to motion only to hear one man still clapping , slow clapping . It wasn ’ t sarcastic , it was more like a call you would make for a pet or a monkey , which I find more insulting than a sarcastic clap .
The clapping was rudely interrupted by an omniscient voice echoing from the top of the mountain , it was Bodhisattva Guanyin one of the few goddesses that worked under the Buddha ’ s foot . She spoke to me in a calm soothing voice that sent chills down my spine . She told me “ You do not belong here , at least that ' s what I think will happen ”. That sentence looped in my head over and over again because it didn ’ t make sense . She along with Buddha were one of the few people that sent and determined my punishment , what did it even mean ? ‘ At least that ’ s what I think .’ what did she mean by that ? From the words she whispered I have a strong feeling she was going to suggest a trade off to my freedom but what could it be ? My mind raced through the numerous possibilities of torture and atonement she could have offered , however she interrupted my thought with my answer . “ I will offer you freedom in exchange for protection , protection for a pilgrim . His name is Xuanzang and you will help him journey to a world outside of China , he is a monk and will not harm you or anyone . Until you are free you will be wearing a headband made by the gods . If you disobey , hurt or have Xuanzang killed you will die with him . Do you accept this journey to purity ?”
I began to smirk uncontrollably with the thought of accepting this quest . It was so funny that the mountain started moving just by the breathing my lungs and diaphragm , it started to crumble . I laughed even louder to have thought this cursed mountain would move just to the movement of my stomach , it was one of the first times I felt pain in my stomach . I accepted this quest consciously in my mind , but the fact she thought that I wouldn ’ t kill him and her afterwards is HILARIOUS . I echoed the word ‘ yes ’ through the rocks and little did I know my head felt heavier , pickaxes started chipping and I began living . I shot out like a spring , turning the mountain into a volcano of dust . The villagers started screaming retreating to their homes from ash clouds that formed . The clouds protected my eyes from the sun I couldn ’ t see for 5 centuries . After my eyes adjusted to the light and the clouds faded away I could see every one of their ugly round faces . they