Originally published on the Warriors of the Red Van blog, July 4th, 2009.
The
scenery of grass and occasional flowers seemed endless as it stretched
beyond the horizon. There were mountains beyond that, but they barely
poked their heads up. Tooga watched the wilderness pass by as Jik
attempted to focus on the road, but the serene nature was making him
sleepy again.
“Like listening to music?” Jik finally asked. Obviously the quietness was bothering him.
Tooga's body language seem undecided, unsure how to proceed.
“Mind if I turn on the radio?”
Again,
Tooga looked confused. Jik smiled, not believing that the monk didn't
know what a radio was. He pointed a finger at the collection of knobs
and dials.
“This
is a radio. It receives signals and plays them. Sometimes it's music,
sometimes is people talking about news or something, but I like the
music.”
Tooga's eyebrows arose, then he began to scribble.
“
'I thought you were going to suggest that we sing' !” Jik read Tooga's
words, then laughed out loud before continuing, “Oh, man, yeah, that
would've been awkward! No, I like listening to music that is played.
Here, I'll show you.”
Jik
turned the radio on and began fiddling with the receiver, finally
finding a station that played jazz music. Tooga was startled all over
again, trying to find the source of the noise by turning himself around
in his seat. He was able to discern that the music came from the
speakers, but the device itself was beyond him. Then he began listening
to the music itself, offering no reaction. He seemed to just be
focused on it, not showing any sign of acceptance or intolerance.
“Soooooooo, do you like it?” Jik asked bluntly.
Tooga grabbed the pad and began scribbling. Then he showed the driver is response, still focusing on the music.
“
'As a monk, we sang songs along with our rituals and I loved these, but
they were entirely vocal. This is different, still music, but I hear
no voices, but other, strange sounds. Also, the structure of the music
is less strict and controlled,' “ Jik read aloud, stumbling over some of
the bigger words. “Man, you don't know much about music!” he then
added.
Tooga suddenly looked insulted. Jik then tried to re-explain his meaning.
“I
mean, you haven't had a lot of experience. This is just one type of
music, like you songs are another type. There's all kids of music, from
all over the place.”
Scribble, scribble, scribble.
“ 'Which is your favorite?' I like them all!”
Scribble, scribble.
“ 'What is this called?' Oh, it's jazz.”
Tooga nodded.
“Do you like it?”
Tooga sort of nodded.
“I like music in general because it makes traveling easier and funner.”
Tooga nodded again in understanding. Then he noticed a sign on the side of the road and pointed it out to Jik.
“Yep, we're coming up on Tailsnake Junction. Won't be long now.”
The
van rolled into what was left of a dusty bit of civilization. The road
came to an end, splitting east-west. There were a few abandoned
buildings where some people had tried to set up shop, but they had
failed long ago. Jik stopped the van right before the signpost showing
that Takston was to the left and Silvanri City was to the right. Then
he reached in his pocket and pulled out a coin.
“Now
this is how we make decisions-” he started to say, then noticed that
Tooga had his eyes closed in concentration, his hands together like he
was praying. Jik watched for a moment, awed by this sudden sign of reverence. Then he saw the monk open his eyes, look back at Jik, then
point to the right.
“You think we need to go that way?” Jik asked.
Tooga nodded.
“I thought you said you weren't going anywhere!”
Tooga turned to the pad of paper.
“
'I do not have a direction, but I am still able to tap into my powers
of divination to help me understand where the supreme forces of my life
want me to go, even though I have been disfellowshipped from the order,'
“ Jik read, again stumbling over the bigger words.
“Well,”
Jik responded in protest, “I've always made decisions by the coin!” He
showed the coin, but Tooga gave him a strange, yet skeptical, look.
“You
see, we have one side mean one direction and the other mean the other.
Heads or Tails. Then we toss it in the air and whatever side is up is
the way we go!”
Tooga looked at Jik with disgust.
“Hey,
it's the way it's done! Now Takston is heads and Silvanri City is
tails, okay?” Then Jik flipped the coin in the air. He caught it in
his hand and slapped it onto the dashboard. Then they both looked to
see what it was. Tails.
Jik looked at Tooga suspiciously. Tooga raised his hands in innocence.
“You didn't use your powers on this, did you?” Jik accused.
Tooga shook his head, then he started writing. Jik impatiently read over his shoulder.
“
'It seems as if my supreme forces and whatever gods control your coin
are cooperating, showing the validity of the decision.' “ Jik thought
for a moment, then repeated it in his own words.
“So you're saying that since your powers and the coin said the same thing, we're okay.”
Tooga nodded, smiling at the sense of understanding.
Jik
thought for a moment, then resigned, putting the coin in his pocket.
“Well, the coin never lies. Let's go!” and he put the van in gear and
stepped on the gas towards Silvanri City.
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