Chapter 4: August 13th, 2003

Zoe awoke in her bed. It was the following day as she noticed both All and the boy were gone. The candles were still lit in the room as the morning light traveled into the only window and door frame. The sounds of the distant chimes produced a calm sensation to her when her eyes opened.

“I slept all night...” She commented quietly to herself. She went and checked herself on the bed. She was so tired, and at the same time, her body ached from running so hard from the day before. She had a chance to rest, though, and that helped her. There was more fruit on the table as she got out of bed that she could eat. She quickly grabbed another apple and began to eat it. She did not notice that the door had opened and closed behind her.

“How are you, my child?” the same calm voice came from behind her. She turned around as she quickly swallowed her piece of apple. It was the same distinct bald man dressed as a Buddhist monk that happily greeted her.

She nodded, almost scared at first but quickly calmed down when she realized it was him.

“Don’t be nervous young one. I mean you no harm,” All told her.

She was quiet at first as she held the apple in her hand. “Thank you ... All for giving me refuge in your home.”

“You are more than welcome here, Zoe,” All replied.

Zoe could still see a glowing aura come from him. It was faint but it was there. It was harder to see it with the sunlight coming in but it was there nonetheless.

“You are glowing, All,” she told him.

The monk kept his smile. “Truly a rare gift you have. So few have your ability. One in a hundred thousand has your ability, and most that see this aura usually say nothing when they see somebody that gives it off.”

She tried to shake off her emotions as she went and had a seat on the bed again. Her half-eaten apple was still clutched to her hand.

“You are in pain, my child,” All calmly noted to her. “Tell me what is happened, and maybe it will help.”

She began to cry. Her mental anguish had caught up to her. “I ... I have nowhere to go. The village just north of here has been overrun, and my brother was murdered. I was taken as a captive, trained in combat to fight for the local warlord. I was raped last night...”

All, unfazed by her emotions and keeping a peaceful frame of mind, spoke to her. “You are here. You are welcome here, my child, just as I have given refuge to the boy and his family and the few inhabitants still in this village of New Bapa. No harm will come to you. I can keep you fed, but I can’t heal your mental scars. You must do that for yourself, child.”

She nodded as she bit into her apple some more.

All chuckled a bit. “I am afraid that all I have is fruit. I have plenty for you.”

She wiped her tears as she swallowed. “Thank you, All. Thank you,”

The monk walked up to Zoe and put his hand to her head. She felt some sort of energy flood into her from him. She felt more confident and relaxed like she was filled with some kind of warmth from him. He closed his eyes and tried to measure something from her, then he backed a bit from her.

“What ... what are you?” Zoe asked him as she bit into the apple.

“My name is All, my child,” the monk quietly responded.

Zoe gave up on trying to figure out who he was. Her hunger was more important than anything else. All went and relaxed a bit on the bed the boy initially slept. Zoe finished up her apple, and the core remained as she opened up the door and threw it into the forest. She walked back into the house.

“It is bigger on the inside than outside,” she commented to him.

“Aren’t all houses seem bigger on the inside than the outside?” All asked.

“I ... yeah ... but it is really bigger on the inside,” she decided to change the subject. “How did you get here? I have never seen a man like you before.”

“I am a wandering monk, my child. I wanted to relax in a beautiful place, and I found it here out by the mountain in this land you call Liberia. Have you ever stopped to look at your forests?”

She had a disturbed look as she tried to respond. “It is ... pretty. How did you survive not being killed out here?”

He almost gave no response to her. He simply just smiled. “I simply say no to violence, Zoe. It will save you being here in my home by doing the same.”

She thought to herself as she looked at the simple man. The answer was not satisfactory to her, but if he has made it this long out here, what would she argue with his beliefs? Nonetheless, it seemed like he was avoiding the answer. She could still hear distant wind chimes even though there was nothing around her that was generating it.

“How did they not kill you when the warlord took over this region?” she asked.

He had made his answer already. The man simply smiled at her.

“Let me ask you this, Zoe. What do you see from me besides this aura I am generating?”

“I see a man dressed in red robes. I thought that you were a white man at first, but you don’t look like a white man. I never saw a man like you before.”

The monk responded back “That is because I was born in Pakistan, my child. It is far east of here.”

She did not know enough geography to know where that nation was, but she did understand the fact that he was not European. It would explain his complexion and looks to her.

She put her hand to her head as horrible thoughts entered into her head. The day before came back to her to haunt her. She closed her eyes as she tried to shake off the thoughts. The pain served as a constant reminder as well. All was watching her as she was trying to shake her bad thoughts away.

“There is much suffering in you, child,” All commented to her. “Let me try to help you out. Let us meditate together; it will help clear your mind of your thoughts.”

“They ... they did...,” were her only words. She didn’t cry, she kept her composure, but she was acting like she was in physical pain.

All nodded to her. “I know what it’s like, my child. I have seen plenty of it. You seem to be handling it better than most. Let me help you.”

The monk extended his hand to her. Finally, she opened her eyes to see his hand outstretched to her to take. She reached out her hand and felt his. Again there was some sort of energy that was coming from him. It was that warm energy she felt before. She paused for a bit as she looked again at him. The aura was still there, but she had no idea what it was that she was seeing.

“Come to my shrine,” The monk explained. “We will kneel to the statue of Buddha. I know you don’t believe in it, my child, but getting a chance to meditate will help you out nonetheless. You are in a safe place; no harm will come to you while you are with me. Remember that.”

“ ... ok,” were her only words as she got up and walked with him with their hands interlocked. They walked around the small table and up to the small shrine. There in front of them was the small golden statue of a man. The Buddhist statue depicted a rather skinny man in a relaxed sitting pose. Her thoughts changed as they transfixed on the figure.

All released her hand as he went and sat down by the statue. She went and followed suit as well.

“Where is that ... music coming from that I hear? Those sounds of ... chimes?” she asked.

All simply looked at her. “Do you feel better hearing it? I can stop it if it is causing problems for you.”

She shook her head. “It’s ok ... I heard it all night. It felt ... nice.”

“You were fighting nightmares last night,” the monk commented. “I know you are in pain, my child. It does not take much to know you are suffering.” All’s eyes transfixed on the statue as he sat cross-legged. “You know Buddhists always got it wrong about him. He was never fat. He was, but a simple man in a world that is much like it is around us. He was skinny at times, near death because he ate so little. When I first met him, he surprised me so much.”

Zoe’s eyes looked at the statue. “Who is he? I never seen a shrine dedicated to this person before.”