Hong Kong Young Writers Anthologies Fiction 3 2018 | Page 346

Another month had begun, and that could only mean one thing: a new challenge. It has been a tradition that a new challenge arises every early month and all priests aged over 19 are obliged to participate in representation for their respective families, so of course, the one and only Bakti Bankei HAD to get involved. He knew he was good at these competitions, but he definitely didn’t want to get his hopes up as the context of the event was not revealed yet. All who participated gathered at one of the most ancient temples in their village for the challenge briefing. An elderly, silver-haired priest climbed a few steps and reached a high platform. The temple became silent at the sight of the experienced priest. “Hair Om dear fellow priests. We are gathered here because of one reason, and that’s the holy challenge of the month. This month, the religious council is testing you all on your geography skills and independence. All participants need to obtain the long-lost ancient scriptures hidden away in the dark caverns in the West. All who compete will be given a prehistoric map which to be decoded using Sanskrit terms. The map will aid you in making your way to your destination. In the end, those who fail to find the missing scriptures in a matter of 6 months must retreat to accept defeat or rot in the mysterious land of the West. Your challenge awaits. Good luck, Hari Om.” The assembly immediately rushed to commence their part of the challenge. Everyone wanted to complete the contest and bring pride to their families. Excitement spread through the Hindu committee and immediately, the competitors were seen bidding farewell to their beloved ones. Bakti was one of those people. Once the map laid on his palms, he rushed off. After exiting the village boundaries, he could finally examine the given tools and head towards the right direction. He passed a river and sat down under a large evergreen tree. From what he could decipher, he had yet to travel further south-west. He was so occupied with his thoughts in strategically bracing himself from dangers, that he didn’t even notice a strange shadow from above, blocking the sunlight which shone through the leaves. “Oo oo ah ah!!” shrieked a monkey which jumped off the tree Bakti was residing under. Bakti was startled and went into a defence posture. The monkey and Bakti stared intently into each others’ eyes, and that was when Bakti realised that his opponent was not an ordinary creature. He tried ignoring it and focused on his map, but the monkey would always pester him. “Ok, you know what?! I’m just going to leave and start exploring,” he said in a frustrating tone. As he was walking towards a long bridge, the monkey followed too. Wherever he went, the monkey was seen with him as well. At times when he reached a river or a large pit to cross over, the monkey would reach the other side first and wait patiently for his ‘master’. On certain occasions, Bakti actually found the monkey amusing and intelligent as it would show him different ways to cross paths or when he needed food from trees, the monkey would assist him with getting food. He learnt to endure the monkey and finally named him Abi. By the first 2 months, they had gotten along pretty well. Soon Bakti and his companion reached a small deserted ranch where they decided to recharge their batteries. After a while, Bakti woke up from his deep slumber and came to a realisation: his partner was missing! He tried looking for him around the farm, but nothing. He then saw a peculiar sight. “Is-is that a boar h-he’s talking to…?” muttered Bakti to himself. From afar, Bakti saw a monkey communicating with a large, rough boar. They seemed to be in deep discussion. Still in shock, Bakti noticed the monkey to be Abi, who was hurriedly rushing to his side. He looked so excited and was urging Bakti to continue travelling to the west. As they were preparing to leave, the same boar followed along.