Ollie and Roshi led the way down the stairs and beyond the ever-mounding group of tourists. At the foot of the flight of stairs Roshi veered to the right between the large trees on the edge of the forest. As the mid day sun beat down hard on them, the small party headed east down the mountain between dense trees and shrubs before finally coming to a stop in front of a giant tree. Its thick roots were intertwined vertically like an impenetrable nest of vines reaching up into the heavens. It was the tallest tree they had ever seen. Lush green leaves poked through the coiled vines that seemed to grow on forever. There was something so majestic about it. The sun beamed through the dense leafy canopy above, illuminating and exalting it to its full glory.
“Ain’t it something, mates?” Ollie asked boastfully as he watched Alex and Sam’s thunderstruck faces.
“Something? It’s the most spectacular thing I’ve ever seen!” Sam exclaimed.
Alex’s mouth was still open in awe of this natural wonder that stood tall and strong in front of her. So much so that she completely lost focus of the supposed ‘guy’ Ollie said he was taking them to. “How old is it?” She finally asked.
“Many, many centuries, Miss Hunt,” Roshi answered. “But what you are about to discover has never been made known to the lay man. It is sacred and our monastery’s best kept secret. You must vow to never reveal this to anyone.”
Sam and Alex nodded in unison. Their individual heartbeats resounded loudly in their ears as they glanced at each other with an unspoken promise of something completely unknown to them. Whatever Roshi wanted to show them alluded to an ancient mystery that was about to unfold before their very eyes.
Roshi looked to Ollie for a final ‘are you sure about this?’ to which Ollie confidently nodded his approval in response. The monk took several paces to the left and pulled away a curtain of green shrubbery. There behind the mass of leaves was a hand-carved wooden door encased between solid stone walls and columns. Ancient symbols were etched out in the wood and stone. A veil of light green moss covered the stone in a thick crust which further revealed with certitude that this entrance was at least several hundred years old.
“What is this place?” Alex asked.
Ollie’s face lit up with impish glee in the knowledge that she would have never found this on her own. “It’s a hidden entrance to an ancient temple that no one except the monks who use it, knows of.”
An equally stunned Sam moved toward it and touched the carvings on the door. “And you know of this how exactly?” he asked.
Alex was so enamored of the scene before her that she never stopped to think how Ollie came to know of the secret passage until Sam mentioned it. “Good point. If this isn’t known to anyone other than the monks, how come you know about it?” She pushed for an answer.
Ollie’s face turned to a sheepish grin before he flippantly answered, “Oh, it’s a long story, Sheila. Like I said, Roshi and I go way back.”
The question hung unanswered in the air as Ollie pushed the heavy door ajar. “Well, what do you say we go inside?” Ollie deliberately deflected from their question. “After you my friend,” Ollie ushered Roshi through the doorway first.
It was cool and slightly damp inside with hundreds of candles lining the floor of the narrow passage.
“Unbelievable,” Alex whispered under her breath as she struggled to contain herself. The secret passage was deadly quiet apart from the light shuffling of their feet along the terracotta tiled floor.
The walls of the secret tunnel were constructed with narrow clay bricks that had crumbled in some places and left behind compacted red sand cavities. The rounded roof was low and offered very little headroom for Sam who was as in awe as Alex. A musty earthy smell tainted with only the faintest odor of burning candles lay thick in the air.
Alex glanced back at Sam with a mischievous smile bursting with excitement, to which Sam equally excitedly mouthed, “I know!” in response.
Alex found herself bursting with questions and could no longer contain her excitement. “Roshi, how old is this tunnel?”
Roshi stopped abruptly and turned facing Alex before ever so softly answering, “It dates back to the 12th century, Miss Hunt, but please, we cannot speak a word inside these tunnels, and especially when we get to the Wat. It is very sacred and only the holiest of monks live here. They are vowed to silence so you may not speak at all.”
Alex bowed in apology even though the gesture was completely unfitting to the situation. But Roshi bowed back and continued leading them through the remarkable tunnel. They were thoroughly awestruck by the beauty of the formation and the profound knowledge of walking through a monk-built underground tunnel that was almost ten centuries old, took their breaths away. The anticipation mounted as they continued through the subterranean tunnel that turned several corners first before eventually ending in front of a sandstone carved Buddha statue. At its feet were dozens of candles burning incense and small golden sacrificial urns that most likely contained food. The small chamber was completely closed off. There were no windows or doors.
Roshi turned around and handed them each an unlit candle.
“We have to pay our respects first.”
Ollie took a candle without any hesitation and went onto his knees in front of the statue. Alex and Sam watched as a usually cocky Ollie transformed into a melancholy being in front of their very eyes. His usual flippant, happy-go-lucky demeanor was instantly replaced by a deep sadness that didn’t quite match up to the Ollie they have come to know. Alex was certain she saw him tear up but chose to conceal her observation from him. She realized in that moment, that whatever first impressions she might have had about him was nothing but a smokescreen. There was more to this man than what met the eye. So she silently knelt down beside him.
Several minutes later, Roshi rose and walked over to the wall that flanked the statue and one by one they too rose and joined him.
“Now what?” Alex whispered to the group before directing her attention to Ollie. “Where do we find this man you said can help us? I thought you said there were other monks here, but we’re completely closed off inside this chamber.”
Ollie smiled. “Patience is a virtue, Sheila,” and winked at Roshi.
Had it not been for Alex’s earlier observation she would have snapped back at him. Instead, she rolled her eyes and looked questioningly at Roshi who turned and lifted a single brick from the wall. Instantly a small doorway receded into the wall and slid behind the stone structure to open up to another secret tunnel.
“Fascinating!” Alex and Sam gasped almost simultaneously. Roshi placed his forefinger on his mouth reminding them not to speak, and proceeded through the opening in the wall. Once he passed through he pulled out another brick from the inside, closing the stone door behind them.
Alex felt weak with excitement. Her heart was beating so fast she thought it was going to propel her into a sprint to the end of the mysterious tunnel. Overwhelmed with emotion she was close to tears. Never, in all her years, had she ever had the privilege of exploring an underground secret tunnel to a centuries old monastery. In the faint candlelight, she spotted that even the ever dependable and contained Sam could barely hold together his excitement. It was an experience the two of them would never forget.
The soft glow of Roshi’s candle illuminated the tunnel that was much narrower than the preceding one, forcing them to walk in a single file. It was also far more unrefined. The bricks were extremely porous and, unlike the first tunnel, grey in color with large cavities throughout the walls. The floor was vastly different too. Instead, the beautiful terracotta tiles had made way for an uneven, patchy stone floor that showed significant signs of deterioration in several places. Then there was the pungent smell so strong it likened to that of a sewage. Their footsteps echoed through the hollow space as the small group silently moved through the tunnel; echoing as if they were inside a cave.
It wasn’t long before they reached a wooden door that Roshi opened with the utmost care so as to not make a noise. Remarkably there wasn’t the slightest squeak from any of the hinges, as one might have expected of a door exposed to so much damp. Alex found herself wondering if it was even safe to be so deeply buried underground.
The door opened up to a small rounded chamber with a set of sandstone stairs. A bright beam of sunlight shone from the top of the stairs. The sigh of relief that came from Sam who had to walk bent over the entire way, was extremely amusing and Alex had to restrain herself from exploding into laughter. Though she didn’t have to walk hunched like he did, confined underground spaces didn’t agree with her much. She was as relieved as Sam was to finally reach the top of the stairs that opened to a magnificent courtyard filled with lush gardens and trees. Several monks clad in their bright saffron robes were scattered throughout the gardens. Some were tending to the shrubs while others were seated on ancient stone benches that stood interspersed between the large shady trees. No one spoke a word. It was deathly silent apart from the tranquil sound of the water in the large fountain next to the lily pad fishpond.
The ambience held a magnificent reverence for their religion, one that was almost palpable.
Large square columns linked with scalloped wooden fringes hedged in the courtyard. The monks were completely undisturbed by their presence as Roshi continued leading the small party through the courtyard to the double volume corridors that appeared just beyond the columns. It was majestic to say the least. In total contradiction to Sam and Alex, both Ollie and Roshi’s heads were bowed as they moved silently through the monastery. Just as Alex and Sam thought they had seen all magnificence there is to discover, they were ushered into a closed room bursting with rich colors of magenta, mustard and saffron. The tiled floor was covered with a large magenta pink rug upon which about a dozen young boys sat cross-legged in prayer. Their bright orange clothing lay in stark contrast to the rug and the circular burgundy and gold pillars held the elevated ceiling in place above their heads.
An enormous gold encrusted Buddha sat cross-legged in front of the boys. Its eyes were open as if it were looking down at them in commendation. By its feet were hand-painted blue and white porcelain vases filled with the brightly colored flowers from the courtyard garden. Several picture-frames with photographs of senior monks stood proudly in between. You could hear a pin drop. Although these boys ranged in age from about eight to fourteen, not one of them fidgeted or made a single noise. Instead, they practiced a discipline so intense that not even the small party’s movement to the door on the other side of the room distracted them.
The adjoining room was similar in size and embellished with bursts of gold. In total contrast, to the bold colors of the boys’ meditation room, it displayed muted tones of ivory and white. The Buddha statue in the front of the room was made from white marble stone and polished to a shiny splendor. This time they were alone in the room. Roshi closed the door behind them and signaled for them to take a seat on the ivory cushions on the floor in front of the Buddha before disappearing through a corridor leading out from the room.
Alex didn’t waste any time. Naturally a bit of a talker, being in silence deemed a real challenge, especially when her head was exploding with questions.
“Psst, Ollie,” she whispered. “What’s going on? Who is this man you said would help us? How is he supposed to help us if he can’t speak?”
Ollie whispered back, “Ever heard of the board-game charades? They love it.” Sam and Ollie broke into a giggle muffled behind their palms.
“Ha-ha! Very funny,” Alex whispered back before joining in the restrained laughter.
It seemed the silence set them off into a delirious stupor as they held their tummies aching with inward laughter.
“How do they do it?” an out of breath Sam eventually asked. “I could not live a day without hearing Alex speak,” folding double and setting them all off again.
“Shh, we need to get it together if we want to get a meeting with the Supreme Patriarch.”
Instantly Alex jerked upright and stopped laughing. “The Supreme Patriarch? Isn’t he the highest ranked monk in the Monastery?”
“Thought that might catch your attention, Sheila. Jokes aside, he’s a hundred and two years old. He was in his sixties when the urn was gifted to the king. He preceded over the ceremony and placed the urn in the shrine.”
“You had better not be messing with me, Ollie. This is serious.”
“Alexandra, does it look like I’m lying to you? I told you I would help you, didn’t I? That’s what I’m doing, helping.”
Sam looked perplexed. “If you don’t mind me asking, Ollie, why? What’s in it for you?”
It was a question Alex had been aching to ask, and she was relieved to know that Sam wasn’t as trusting of Ollie as she might have thought.
Much to Ollie’s delight, Roshi entered the room and beckoned for them to follow him. Without a second’s hesitation, Ollie jumped up and walked over to where Roshi was already heading down the corridor.
“What did I tell you, Sam? He’s up to no good,” Alex whispered to Sam as she got up and hastened toward the corridor.
“I think you might be right, Alex,” Sam whispered back, close on her heels. “He’s not being honest with us, but for now, let’s just keep an eye on him, okay?”
Roshi shot a stern look their way to silence them as they continued down the long corridor and down a set of stairs before stopping in the middle of the passage.
“We rest for tonight. Miss Hunt, this is your room. Dr. Quinn, this is yours,” pointing to two doors opposite from one another. “Tomorrow morning we will meet the venerable Patriarch.”
And with that he and Ollie disappeared back up the corridor and up the stairs.
“What on earth? Why is Ollie going with him?” Alex whispered.
“Who knows? They go way back, remember? Maybe he gets a special room.”
Sam’s sarcasm was sincere and not in jest to tease her. Had he finally seen what Alex had seen in Ollie?
“Okay, well I guess we have no choice do we? Must say I’m ravenous,” Alex whispered.
“Yup, I’d give a tooth for some bear stew but something tells me we’re going to bed hungry,” Sam responded.
“If I have my facts right, the monks don’t eat after midday and they’re not allowed to hoard food, so it’s very likely we’re not going to eat before morning.”
Sam pondered over Alex’s utterance. “Okay, I’m just putting it out there. I’m starving. We haven’t eaten anything since breakfast, which, as I recall you deposited on the side of the road. What do you say we go do a bit of exploring so to speak and find the kitchen? There has to be something somewhere for us to eat.”
Alex who had already opened her door to her small bedroom, turned around, shocked at his suggestion. “Have you lost your mind, Sam Quinn? In case you haven’t noticed, we are in a monastery and we’re supposed to be in our rooms, not wandering about unattended. What if we get caught?”
She looked up and down the corridor for anyone who might have overheard his suggestion.
“Oh come on, Alex, live a little. In fact, if I don’t get any food right now I might not live at all.”
Alex couldn’t argue. Her rumbling stomach wouldn’t allow for her to sleep at all. “Okay, but we’re not hanging about any longer than what’s necessary. Agreed?”
A delighted Sam nodded enthusiastically, “Absolutely, now let’s get on with it before I faint.”
The famished pair shuffled along the passage wall like thieves in the night. Alex who rarely broke any rules, nervously clung to Sam whilst she frequently looked behind her. Sam, on the other hand, was like a naughty school boy; exhilarated by the notion of sneaking around in a monastery.
As luck would have it, the passage opened up into a spacious mess hall with rows and rows of wooden tables and benches. Large wooded doors opened up to an adjoining garden bursting with fresh vegetables and herbs. There was not a monk in sight.
“Oh great! We hit the mother load,” Sam exclaimed sarcastically.
“Shh! Do you want us to get caught?” Alex hushed him.
There wasn’t a monk in sight but their voices echoed through the expansive room making it very difficult not to be heard.
“I’m sorry, but I’m not the vegetable type, you know? I’m more of a meat and potatoes guy,” he whispered back as he rummaged through the stacked baskets at the doorway to the garden.
“Monks don’t eat much meat, Sam. It’s highly unlikely we’ll find anything of substance at all. We have carrots and tomatoes, it’s better than nothing. Let’s go!” Alex started to panic. There was no way she’d want to be thrown out and jeopardize a meeting with the Supreme Patriarch.
But Sam’s stomach was clearly winning the battle. He was already at the far end of the hall when Alex returned with a small harvest of fresh produce from the garden.
“What the heck, Sam? We need to get out of here.”
A force far greater than the opportunity to meet a hundred-and-two-year-old monk possessed Sam. The canteen worktop harbored several baskets underneath, which Sam searched frantically.
“Yes!” he cried out. “Bread!”
“For goodness’ sake, Sam. Keep it down. Grab it and let’s go.”
With a full supply of groceries, the two hurriedly set off down the passage and ducked into Alex’s room. Sam didn’t waste any time. He fell down on the thin mattress on the floor and bit off a large chunk from the loaf of bread.
“This is the best bread I’ve ever tasted,” uttering groans of satisfaction while chomping off another large piece.
“You sure you don’t want to add some cheese?” Alex teased.
“If this were European monks we’d have had some good Tuscan vino to add to the cheese,” he joked back.