Chapter 2

The remainder of June settled into a nice easy pace working on the farm. Working with Brodie in the mornings and late afternoons while I got to practice my martial arts through the middle of the day made being stuck out in BFI (Bum Fuck Idaho) almost bearable. Even the weekends were passable due to the grove that I had cleaned up in my spare time. Now after I had pulled the weeds and removed the other debris that had taken over the area, the grass now stood tall enough for me to mow every week. Once that was done I had a place to practice by myself without interruption that lasted for a couple of weeks until my mother decided to go visit the family nearest to us across the canal. The reason we had not met them sooner was due to their oldest daughter having just returned home from the hospital. The reason she was in the hospital according to Brodie was that during a local rodeo her horse had thrown her during her barrel race and she had landed awkwardly on her neck. Now she was returning home for home care, while the family hoped that she would get better. Brodie was of the opinion that a fall of that type if not initially fatal always led to permanent incapacitation.

With that thought in mind I had no desire to go and listen to the women commiserate over something no one could repair. With that thought in mind I grabbed my carry all for all my weapons and headed out to the grove as I was planning on staying away for the entire day. As far as my planning was concerned I did well because I could hear my mother calling for me but after awhile it got quiet as she gave up. About fifteen minutes later I watched as Brodie and my mother arrived across the canal at their home. By the time I headed home I had totally forgotten about my mother until I headed to the house to fix dinner. What I found was a short note from her stating how she was disappointed in my behavior and that I was on my own for dinner as she and Brodie were going into town for dinner. The tone of her letter really did not bother me as I envisioned it as the same tone she used with me talking about my day at the OK Corral.

Now as to punishing me by making me make my own dinner that was a non starter as Brodie had not neglected my education as far as cooking went for the last month. I was still not one of the great chefs of Europe but I did not fear starvation either. Grabbing some meat Brodie kept handy for these little emergencies I soon had a steak on the gas bar-b-cue and beans on the stove. By the time the two of them returned home I had long since washed my dishes and disappeared into my apartment above the barn. I waited for my mother to come storming up the stairs for a half hour and when she did not I simple went to bed.

The following morning after chores I headed out to my grove to practice. Getting out my weapons and laying them out on the stone table I went ahead and did my routine as if I was in the studio. Starting with my meditation I went through all my unarmed forms then all of my weapon forms. I was working with my Tonfas when I first felt a presence but due to the range, I ignored it and continued as I usually did with my practice with my eyes closed. After a couple of minutes I heard a horse snort, being a different sound that I wasn't used to around the glade, it broke my concentration.

Opening my eyes I spotted a horse and rider looking back at me from across the creek. Looking at the rider I assumed that she was a young girl by the long red ponytail down her back. I assumed that she was a girl as I did not figure that there were too many cowboys out here that would have hair that long done in a French braid. She was dressed in blue jeans and a flannel shirt that was tied instead of buttoned showing a toned stomach and some white skin. From the way the shirt hugged her I figured that she did not have too much up front. From across the canal it was hard to tell.

Deciding to be nice, since it was Sunday, I said, "Good morning, nice day for a ride."

Turning towards me, she answered, "Morning, I guess it is, right now is the only time I get to ride any more since my sister got hurt. We use to ride all the time, now only I get to and only in the mornings before my mom gets up. If she is up she won't let me ride because she is scared that I will also get hurt."

From her voice I could tell that she was young, probably the same age as my sisters.

Since I was done with my last form for the morning and as I did not want to press my luck with my mom. I started to put my gear away. Thinking about what she had told me about herself I said "I guess that my grandfather and mom came over last night to visit your folks."

Smiling she said, "Yea they did, though I will say that your mom was really mad at you if you're Brian."

"Yep that's me, Mister Trouble, for the last five months she has reminded me that I can do nothing right."

She cocked her head at my answer, asking, "Why is that?"

I was thinking about not telling her but decided a bit of a reputation would be good. So instead of my usual response, I answered, "I killed a guy in a fight."

"With those things?" she asked after a short pause.

"No I walked into a store that was being robbed, when one of the guys stuck a gun in my face I took it away from him and ended up killing his cousin when he came after me. Because they were part of a gang they have put the word out that I am to be killed. So my grandfather invited us up here to live with him."

"That was nice of him to do that. Tell me, do you ever hit yourself with those things?" pointing at my Tonfas I still held in my hands.

"Not so often now, when I started I thought I would actually quit as I was smaller and I could not spin them without hitting my ribs. Now I only hit myself when I am not paying attention to them."

She smiled at that, and then she asked, "You practice a lot?"

"Most days, since my mom made us move I don't know anyone here so all I get to do is practice."

"Well you know me now. By the way my name is Faith," she offered.

"Nice to meet you Faith, I'm Brian."

Faith and I continued to talk for a few minutes while I put my weapons away and I let her know that I had a couple of sisters her age that would be moving here before school started. We were running out of things to talk about so I stated that I needed to head home and that I would see her around.

Turning her horse around, she responded, "Your right last night your mom was spitting mad when she got to my house."

Picking up my bag that held my weapons, I said, "I'm really good at that."

Faith laughed as she rode away. Myself I was debating if I wanted to deal with my mother or just hide out in my apartment. By the time I made it home I decided that I had better face my mother sooner rather than later as I knew that in the past she tended to brood and that always made her punishments harsher. Walking into the main house my mom and I both discovered something about the other. In the end her punishment was to be grounded for two weeks though I could still study my martial arts. To me that just showed how little she knew about me since I had no one to hang out with anyways. For my part I just looked miserable and let her feel good that she had found a punishment that she thought I did not like. After a couple of days she added to my punishment by making me go with her when she went to visit the Reynolds.

For the time I was there it was not too bad as Faith took me around their home showing me the horses including the one that threw her sister. Faith told me that her mother was trying to find someone to buy the horse but due to the economy no one so far had expressed interest in the horse. By the time the hens finished their hen party commiserating about the older daughter's (Barbara) prospects I knew more about the different types of horses that I ever wanted to know.

The end of June made my mother's punishment mute was the arrival of everything from our home which included my computers. Setting them up in my room I discovered that the one thing I did lack was the Internet because when Brodie had the building constructed Al Gore had not invented the internet at that time. Mentioning the lack of Internet to Brodie reminded me that to him there was no reason to put off until tomorrow what could be done today and before we headed to my studio he had an appointment for the phone company to come out and fix the problem. That would be in three days but at least it was moving in the right direction.

July started off even better as Master Kim offered me a job working for him as a junior instructor. Since I had already tested for my black belt from him I liked the idea of having my own money that my mother did not know about. Because I was not old enough for a work permit Master Kim said he would find a way around that problem but until he did he offered me some individual lessons with just the two of us and he promised to show me some things very few people ever knew about. Since I was already there for four hours a day now getting three hours of private instruction for one hour of work during the day was perfectly fine by me.

So that was how I started to learn the mysteries of the mind three hours a day five days a week. At first when Master Kim told me what we would be going over I was skeptical but after his demonstration about his own ability to heal his own wounds I was a firm believer. Sitting down across from him that first day I had no idea as to what I was doing but as the month passed by I learned what Master Kim was doing then finally just before July ended after countless hours of practice I managed to heal a small cut in my hand. With the encouragement of success I spent even more time working on healing wounds that by the time my sisters were set to arrive in Boise I could heal up to an inch long wound. Though at the same time Master Kim could heal on himself a cut that was at least three inches long. Master Kim spent time teaching me other things but to me self healing was what I was interested in.

By the time the weekend my sisters were set to arrive it was August and like most of the summer my mother and I found ways to antagonize each other to the point that when we went to the airport to pick them up I was grounded again. Meeting my sisters in the baggage area since we were not allowed on the concourse they gave me a hug when they made it to me and a bigger one to our mother. After that the three of them could not stop talking as first Shelly then Sheri would take a turn telling our mother what their father had done or where he had taken them. That conversation lasted all the way home and would have continued into the night if Brodie had not been on the porch waiting for us to arrive. Stepping up to him I found it humorous that for the first time in over an hour my sisters had nothing to say and it was an awkward minute before Brodie invited them in to have lunch and see their new rooms. For myself my mother instructed me to take their suitcases to their rooms for them while they talked in the kitchen.

If I was upset before I was now officially pissed as I was told to be a porter and was not invited to join them afterward. With that thought in mind I decided that my glade would be a good place to hide and after I grabbed my bag I headed out the back way so that I could remain hidden.

Setting my weapons on the table, I took up my position on the grass, and with nothing to disturb me I settled in, and thinking about what I wanted to work on, healing came to mind, as I was still sporting bruises from my work outs.

This time with nothing to bother me I settled in and worked to attain my focus. Only this time I went deeper than I have ever gone before to the point that I felt that I could feel myself being pulled along, allowing myself to go where I was pulled, I realized that I was traveling along my arteries and veins. Not knowing where to go, I allowed myself to be led. It was not that I was following one cell through my body, the feeling that I got was more like I was a slow moving vehicle being passed by other cars at high speed.

Chapter 3 »