The Monk's Bride

by: pacioli

Introduction:

In a cold sterile white room, lies a girl as white as snow, with lips as red as blood and hair as black as ebony. The curtains are drawn, but flowers adorn the dark room, pictures of when her eyes were open and full of life, cards from well-wishers, and bright red balloons.

'It's time to wake up pretty girl.' Says one card.

'We miss you.' Says another.

'I don't know how much more of this I can take, my sweet little girl.' Says her mother.

What had happened?

How was it that she had dreamt of what seemed like a lifetime, and now, her reality was the slow beep of a heart monitor as she lay in a cold coma?

What happened?

What happened to me?

Chapter One: An Idyllic Welcome

Chang Rui stared indolently at the simple pattern of the temple ceiling. Unmoving and listening to a bunch of old men arguing wasn't really her idea of an idyllic welcome. Languidly, she placed her hand over mouth as she gave a sluggish yawn.

Beginning from mistaken identities and ending with failed escapes, she hated this world already. But hate seemed too strong a word. Minor dislike seemed highly appropriate though.

She disliked this world because she was not familiar with it, and she was not allowed to escape. Above all, her desire to escape was not distinguished either. She was brought back as if she had been a lost kitten deprived of direction. When in fact she knew exactly what she meant to do. She meant to run away from spoken responsibility, which greatly frightened her away. She did not like the pre-ordained purpose that was laid before her.

Being an atheist, she did not like the idea of God and fate.

Most of all, she did not like God.

Why?

Because he did all this.

He brought her to this foreign world. He made her the way she was, and made her do the things she did. Crying in the presence of a stranger who coincidentally was meant to be her husband.

This stranger was none other than Genjo Sanzo.

He, without a word, but with a growl of disapproval, carried her back to the temple like an owner would do to his lost kitten. Take it by the back of its neck, and avoid the clawing of displeasure.

The kitten was like an unwanted responsibility carefully disguised as a boon, not asked for, just given. It did not choose its master, and as an unasked gift, the master did not choose it as well. Along with an unwanted gift, there lies a responsibility. The master did not beg for the kitten, the kitten was merely given to him.

"And this goddess is reliable? You say so yourself that the logic of the gods are now quite questionable. How can you be sure that this young girl is even willing to bear a child for a world that is not her own?" An old tired voice demanded, the owner sounding stressed and hopeless.

"We can only rely on the possibilities that will save this world. If this world is destroyed, then the other dimensions will eventually be dragged down by it. Soon, the demons will find a way to crossover and destroy other worlds. If she is what they say in the scrolls, she will accept." Reasoned a patient voice.

Another voice intervened. "But we are all being unfair to the demons and the renegade gods that are taking part in this rebellion. We are not looking at the two sides of the coin. We do not know their reason for a sudden desired freedom of rule and destruction of the present heaven. What if this girl's child is the one to bring about destruction and not the peace we hope to attain?"

"That's only possible if she conceives by unholy union or in simpler terms, fornication. As monks, it is not out responsibility to take sides and judge them. We are merely told what to do and we do it." Said the patient one, who seemed to be of great knowledge about the matter. He pacified well the doubts of his fellow council since he replied and explained in a calm and knowing manner.

The tired one sighed off-handedly, "And does the Sanzo accept his responsibility?"

"Quite vaguely." Answered the patient one.

"How do you mean?" the tired voice asked, a slight hint of distress in his voice.

"Well, he has argued quite remarkably on his part. The reason on why he would refuse and such, but in the end, the guilt of denied responsibility that will be laid on him played a massive part on the difficult persuasion." Explained the patient one. "He left with neither a word of acceptance, nor of denial. Though I know he will be back soon."

"Does he know the rules of pro-creation? The rights he may demand as her spouse? The desires that might lead him to some extremities are to be suppressed. He must remember that copulating with this girl is a sacred duty and not a honeymoon." The third one said, expressing his inner questions. This hazy idea of following the rules of a legend seemed to him. . . ludicrous, but never the less, the sacred scrolls were to be obeyed at all times. Just that the thought of a monk marrying and abandoning the celibate life sounded preposterous. The Sanzo's were all known for their incredible dharmic powers. They were special. With that attached glory came series of inescapable duties, which subjected them to the utmost dangers, and interacting with women was only one of them.

"May I remind you that this man isn't an ordinary Sanzo? He is notorious because he is quite immoral. Drinking; surely quite unaware of its dangers, pointing his gun in any direction he chooses, shoots with it out of bad temper and smoking several packs of cigarettes a day. I'm surprised he hasn't died in his sleep, Buddha forbid." The tired one made a sign of respect for the use of Buddha's name as his voice lowered in volume. "I would not be surprised if he has taken a woman or even a boy to his bed."

The third one instantly cleared his throat, "Please quiet your voice, the child might hear you," He pleaded softly. "and really, you are comforting no one."

"Why would I offer comfort? I only offer the truth. The child does not like it here, you can very well see that she despises all she sees." The patient one stated, carefully interpreting the girl's actions.

"Well we mustn't make it worse. It's evident that the child is clearly in some state of-"

A loud crack coming from the room stopped the third one in mid-sentence.

"-depression." The tired one finished.

Suddenly, out of the bend, appeared the Sanzo who was in question in the duration of the three cohorts deliberation. A scowl was deeply embedded on his youthful face; deceiving the simple-minded man into thinking he was a few years older than his true age. Not so old, still achieving the look of a young adventurous young man, but not entirely achieving the beauty he still was, care of his soft features, clearly obscured by his rough and almost permanent glares.

"Master Sanzo," The patient one celebrated, "you have decided to join us, at last."

The man celebrated merely raised an eyebrow and calmly informed the three monks. "My quarters only happen to be in this path that is why I have decided to tread upon it. Joining you is at the bottom of my modus operandi, so if you will all excuse me, I will go for my desired rest, caused by never-ending obligation to preach." Bullshit and nonsense were added in a nasty whisper.

The patient one did nothing but smile. "My sentiments will be saved for future bantering Master Sanzo, for now, I highly recommend that you pacify the child in the room for she will be your bride." A slight hint of imploration (if there's such a word) poisoned his otherwise magnificent comeback.

What defined it as magnificent was the patent look of sheer lack of humor on the Sanzo's face. The patient one looked as if he had found gold.

"You will do this small thing Master Sanzo, it is your duty and you seem very keen to uphold your duties, conspicuous by your tired day of preaching." The third one spoke up, with a tone of less sarcasm and more substance this time.

"For further persuasion, I will say please Master Sanzo." The tired one implored.

It was evident that they had won.

The young man entered the room and was surprised to see broken shards of a China vase lying just a few inches of his socked feet. Of course, this surprise was hardly interpreted if you did not carefully study the lines on the young man's face.

A girl, carefully seated the Indian way, graced a white sheet-covered bed and looked as if a doll master had placed her there. She was pale, yet her lips still had their dark red color. Her hair was slightly disheveled from previously lying down on the bed and her eyes looked tired and slightly red. At the sight of the Sanzo however, she quickly slumped facedown on the bed as if she had been shot in the back.

The young man sidestepped the detrimental broken shards and neared the bed slowly, clearly not out of caution, but more on the possible delay of their inevitable interaction. He did not feel comfortable being so close to the girl. The quite familiar sensations that he ambiguously felt when he had carried her made him lose mental ease quite easily though not obviously. Its been said that a woman can make an ordinary man lose his composure by simply looking so quaint. Now, Genjo Sanzo was not an ordinary man, but he felt something more from the girl that drew him and he was fully and dangerously aware.

She was like the light and he was the moth. Yes, there was a certain light to her, a light that he wished to repel by playing the ignorant to it.

A shudder of breath expressed itself on the girl's body as Genjo Sanzo watched with interest. Her face however, defiantly remained tightly secured to the pillow, a surely unsafe method of trying to sleep, facedown and suffocating yourself.

"You can't breath lying down like that. Turn to your side."

The girl, accepting his little given fact, silently obeyed. She turned her back to him, she didn't speak and it seemed that she was unmoving even though he could hear her quiet labored breathing.

Sanzo, knowing full well that he would tire himself from waiting while standing up, took a seat on the chair beside the window. He stared out the window as he reached into his robes to find the pack of cigarettes he had shoved in them earlier. With it he found his lighter. It was amazing how many things he could stuff into his robes. He now fully understood the reason for wearing them. No excess baggage, all carefully hidden.

He calmly placed a cigarette in between his lips and with a click; he inhaled its addicting substance. Something about his actions seemed to steer the girl into movement. He heard her inhale deeply and she seemed to sigh quietly to herself. She turned awkwardly and boldly stared at him as he blew out smoke toward the window.

He dimly guessed what had caused her to stare and held out the pack towards her, wordlessly offering a bite of his cake. Though reluctant, she slid off the bed and quietly took the offered cigarette. Her hands were white and her fingers small, she held the cigarette serenely between her small white fingers and bent down to accept the light that Sanzo offered. He derived a sort of pleasure from it, though once again it was not expressed.

She took the seat across him and kept her eyes down as she allowed herself to relax. He watched her take a deep breath as her arms slumped casually, her eyes remaining horribly still on the table between them. "Thank you." She quietly said, her words sounding awfully like a song with her soft voice. It had a treble of sadness in it; Sanzo could feel that her own voice surprised herself as well.

Sanzo emitted a kind of suppressed exhale as he shifted slightly on his chair to sit cross-legged. "Don't mention it." he replied rather off- handedly.

He watched her as she squirmed quite uneasily on her chair. Shifting positions here and there, until finally she spoke up. "Do you know how I got here?" she asked almost inaudibly.

Sanzo, watching her, waited a while, carefully putting his words together. "The elders say that you were brought here by a goddess, a very peculiar one." He answered shortly. Ignoring the need to elaborate, they fell silent as they had been just a few seconds ago.

A look of confusion graced Rui's face, but she did not say anything and chose to keep her opinions to herself. Sanzo finished up with his cigarette and threw it out the window. Rui pretended to watch it with fascination, but her face returned to an empty expression as the cigarette disappeared from her sight.

"Why do you ask?" Sanzo inquired as he reached into his robes for another cigarette.

She shrugged and gave off a meek expression that Sanzo rightly interpreted as a weak smile. "It's nothing." she paused for a while, her lips pressing tightly together, looking deep in thought. "Sanzo-san, may I call you that?" she asked rather politely.

Her soft voice was starting to unnerve him, but nevertheless he gave her a nod.

She looked sideways and asked rather hesitantly, "Is there any way that you would all just let me go home? I'll do anything." She looked up at him rather entreatingly, her eyes unwavering.

Sanzo felt his mental composure rattle by the way she looked at him. He brushed it away easily, and countered with whatever was at the top of his head. "Why do you want to go back to this home so much, that you're willing to do anything?" He asked as his curiosity peaked, and his boldness overpowered his great sense of keeping silent.

If a girl was willing to jump out of a window two stories high, walk with a broken ankle, join a complete stranger to escape, and willingly accept their hospitality to just find a way to go back home, then she must have some kind of great reason, or quite possibly she was just incredibly stupid. Usually, Sanzo would opt for the latter and would hear none of reason, but he wanted her to speak her bit.

Rui's nose wrinkled and she frowned a bit as if she knew already what his reaction would be to her answer. "Have you ever believed that you can just die anywhere and anytime?" She asked, studying his face as he closed his eyes.

Sanzo nodded, slightly of agreement but more of indicating for her to continue as he opened his eyes once again.

She took a deep breath and sighed, "If I ever die all of a sudden, I don't want to die just anywhere, I want to die in the perimeters of my home."

(I'm in the process of revision.)