back to the oily black pot.
“The maiden was reincarnated as a soldier,” Mukta said.
In the pot, a group of men with swords, led by a fearless looking woman, battled the Vanara army. Flames flickered through the forest. Just like before, the woman’s face was hidden. The Monkey Man approached her from behind.
“Then a sailor.”
The oily image changed again to show a maiden swabbing the decks of an ancient ship. The Monkey Man approached from behind, now wearing a captain’s hat.
“A tailor.”
The oily surface rippled to reveal a maiden sewing a suit for an individual who looked exactly like the Monkey Man.
“A prisoner.”
Bars appeared in the black pot. Behind the prison bars the maiden was approached by the Monkey Man, his long yellow claws extended. I noted that the Monkey Man was nothing, if not persistent. The oil in the black pot caught fire, flames licking the air above. The cobra continued to undulate, seemingly unconcerned by the flame.
“The Monkey Man followed her through each life, destroying she who would not be his.”
Zak and I watched the black pot as a gleaming dagger slashed through the fire. Then a rope tightened. Scissors stabbed. Yellow claws struck.
“This bloodshed went on until even the gods grew weary.”
“So why didn't she come back as a radioactive monster or something?” Zak said. “That would have shown the Monkey Man.”
“Because radioactive monsters are from Japan. This is India. The gods had a better plan.”
We looked back into the pot. The flames disappeared and a mist rose from the pot. Then the cobra slithered slowly out of the pot and wrapped itself around the outside of it. I couldn’t help but feel just a little less comfortable than I had been. There were complicated patterns of leopards and elephants and monkeys cast into the surface of the brass pot. The snake seemed to massage itself on them as it wrapped its muscular body around the pot and rose. Zak and I both shuffled back, closer to the door, just in case.
The mist continued to rise like a fog from the pot, tumbling from its brim and into the hut until we were surrounded by it. I looked down, but I couldn’t even see below my own waist, which really freaked me out as far as the snake was concerned. A moment later, I saw something strange. A mountaintop seemed to pop out of the mist. Hindu gods appeared, sitting around the mountaintop like miniature people on a cloud. It was like an invasion of the little people. The gods had lots of arms and blue skin, and one even had the head of an elephant like Ganesha in the swimming pool, but what was strange was that unlike the scene we had just seen unfold in the reflection in the oil, these gods seemed real — like three-dimensional little people.
“The gods decided that for her ninth life the maiden would be reincarnated as the Ghost Leopard.”
“Whoa, a ghost?” Zak said.
“Yes, a Ghost Leopard.”
The mist flew out of the pot revealing a tiny mountain valley held within its depths.
“Destined to wander the lonely mountains as a ghost, the Leopard would be invulnerable to the Monkey Man.”
Inside the pot a practically see-through leopard roamed through a high mountain valley.
“The gods promised that as long as the Ghost Leopard wandered the Earth, the evil Monkey Man could do no more harm.”
The valley inside the pot grew bigger and bigger until it took up the full floor of the hut. I couldn’t understand how it was possible, but what had been the ceiling of the hut was now a night sky filled with billions of twinkling stars. A shooting star fell out of the sky and through the Leopard as it walked. The Leopard continued on as though nothing had happened. Then the Leopard walked straight through a stunted dead tree, and then, a boulder. It was obvious that the Leopard was a ghost. It clearly had no body. Nothing could harm it.
“But once every hundred years, under the light of the full moon, the gods decreed
“The maiden was reincarnated as a soldier,” Mukta said.
In the pot, a group of men with swords, led by a fearless looking woman, battled the Vanara army. Flames flickered through the forest. Just like before, the woman’s face was hidden. The Monkey Man approached her from behind.
“Then a sailor.”
The oily image changed again to show a maiden swabbing the decks of an ancient ship. The Monkey Man approached from behind, now wearing a captain’s hat.
“A tailor.”
The oily surface rippled to reveal a maiden sewing a suit for an individual who looked exactly like the Monkey Man.
“A prisoner.”
Bars appeared in the black pot. Behind the prison bars the maiden was approached by the Monkey Man, his long yellow claws extended. I noted that the Monkey Man was nothing, if not persistent. The oil in the black pot caught fire, flames licking the air above. The cobra continued to undulate, seemingly unconcerned by the flame.
“The Monkey Man followed her through each life, destroying she who would not be his.”
Zak and I watched the black pot as a gleaming dagger slashed through the fire. Then a rope tightened. Scissors stabbed. Yellow claws struck.
“This bloodshed went on until even the gods grew weary.”
“So why didn't she come back as a radioactive monster or something?” Zak said. “That would have shown the Monkey Man.”
“Because radioactive monsters are from Japan. This is India. The gods had a better plan.”
We looked back into the pot. The flames disappeared and a mist rose from the pot. Then the cobra slithered slowly out of the pot and wrapped itself around the outside of it. I couldn’t help but feel just a little less comfortable than I had been. There were complicated patterns of leopards and elephants and monkeys cast into the surface of the brass pot. The snake seemed to massage itself on them as it wrapped its muscular body around the pot and rose. Zak and I both shuffled back, closer to the door, just in case.
The mist continued to rise like a fog from the pot, tumbling from its brim and into the hut until we were surrounded by it. I looked down, but I couldn’t even see below my own waist, which really freaked me out as far as the snake was concerned. A moment later, I saw something strange. A mountaintop seemed to pop out of the mist. Hindu gods appeared, sitting around the mountaintop like miniature people on a cloud. It was like an invasion of the little people. The gods had lots of arms and blue skin, and one even had the head of an elephant like Ganesha in the swimming pool, but what was strange was that unlike the scene we had just seen unfold in the reflection in the oil, these gods seemed real — like three-dimensional little people.
“The gods decided that for her ninth life the maiden would be reincarnated as the Ghost Leopard.”
“Whoa, a ghost?” Zak said.
“Yes, a Ghost Leopard.”
The mist flew out of the pot revealing a tiny mountain valley held within its depths.
“Destined to wander the lonely mountains as a ghost, the Leopard would be invulnerable to the Monkey Man.”
Inside the pot a practically see-through leopard roamed through a high mountain valley.
“The gods promised that as long as the Ghost Leopard wandered the Earth, the evil Monkey Man could do no more harm.”
The valley inside the pot grew bigger and bigger until it took up the full floor of the hut. I couldn’t understand how it was possible, but what had been the ceiling of the hut was now a night sky filled with billions of twinkling stars. A shooting star fell out of the sky and through the Leopard as it walked. The Leopard continued on as though nothing had happened. Then the Leopard walked straight through a stunted dead tree, and then, a boulder. It was obvious that the Leopard was a ghost. It clearly had no body. Nothing could harm it.
“But once every hundred years, under the light of the full moon, the gods decreed
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