Moving the Earth and Uncovering What Is
The break lasts until two. I spread my robe on the tent floor, a carpet of bright green artificial grass someone unrolls over the sand. I am not sure where our belongings are, where the Machine is. It feels good to be unencumbered. I feel like I can go anywhere, like the earth is made for my exploration.
Our journey is at its end, and from the look of things, we are successful. From the serenity of Uncle’s demeanor, Tömör is indeed the One for Whom the Sky Never Darkens. What more is there to say?
Tömör rises from a nap. He is busy showing Uncle a small fossilized seashell that he discovers the previous summer. The shell is beautiful, the way it spirals like an ear. Just think, Tömör says, millions of years ago this spot is covered with water, and then millions of years later the dinosaurs roam. And now we’re here.
Last night Uncle talks in depth to Stevie and Jess about the candidate. Tömör’s family doesn’t take refuge in the Triple Gem. They don’t maintain an altar in their home. Tömör knows nothing about Buddhism. He knows more about dinosaurs and paleontology than he does about the Eternal Blue Sky.
The camp begins to scatter. People head back out to their digs. Moving the earth and uncovering what is. Bringing the geologic past to light. I watch as Mun and Saran go off with the scientist they befriend, a young assistant professor who chain-smokes and wears a ten-gallon hat despite the hat’s inefficiency.
Back at our site, the sun sits in the sky like an open flame. I am thankful for the powerful SPF Cindy lends me. We work until five, talking a break to eat granola bars. Then it’s back up on the camels and back to base camp. I wish I could say that I can see the difference a day’s work makes, but I can barely see the specimen nestled in the darkness that holds her for eons.
In base camp it takes an hour to unpack everything. Uncle’s discovery kindles a fire in the expedition. People move about, smiles on their faces, their eyes soft yet sparkling. Then the world changes.