3 Years Ago
Tibet: The Tiger Shrine Training Area

     Behind the Tiger Shrine, the land extended out about 500 hundred meters, until taking a drastic drop downwards, creating a
sharp ledge.  The ledge went down about 100 feet, until the land became level again.  The ground had been paved with cement,
to create a large training area.  Arranged in rows, thin, red metal poles stuck up from the ground, from one end of the area to
another.  At the top of the ledge, Jago and Julie stood, looking down on the training area.
     “This is our training area.”  Jago explained.  “It is here where we train everyday.  Also, this is where any fights take place.”
     “Ah.”  Julie said.  “What are the poles for?”
     “Obstacles, during a fight, and targets, during training.”
     “Oh.”  Julie took another good look at the area, then began to walk off with Jago.
     The Tiger Shrine sat elevated on the edge of a lake.  The lake was not all that big, but it was a beautiful view.  The morning
sunlight bounced off of the orange tinted water.  A few trees were scattered around the perimeter of the lake.  Julie admired the
view for a few moments, unsure about what she should say to Jago, if anything.  Jago was saying something about the lake, but
Julie wasn’t paying attention.  She waited for him to stop talking before asking him a question.
     “Say Jago.....I hear you’re training to be a ninja, huh?”
     Jago smiled shyly.  “Oh.  So you’ve heard about that.”
     “Yes.  Master Zenketh told me a little about it.  Has it been.....hard so far?”
     “Yes it has.  However, passing each test not only proves my abilities, it sharpens them.  I look forward to the rest of them.”
     “How many more are there?”
     “Four; not including my fight three days from now.”
     Julie blushed a little.  “Y’know.....I’m a practicing martial artist myself.”
     “Really?  What school?”
     “I started with Shotokan; out of Japan.  But I've trained under so many different styles, it's hard to classify the way I fight.”
     “How long have you been practicing?”
     “Ever since I was a little girl.  I’m a black belt; but I stopped counting degrees after the fourth.”
     “Hmm.”  Jago responded.  “Do you keep it up?”
     “I try.  Unfortunately, my line of work doesn’t call for it much.  I try to spar against other martial artists when I get the
chance, but that isn’t often.”
     “Well, I hear that you and your friends are going to be staying the week with us.  That sounds like a good opportunity to get
some training in.”
     Julie blushed.  “Yeah, it does.  Hey, maybe when you’ve got the time, you’ll honor me with a sparring match.  I’d love to see
how well I’d do against a real ninja.”
     “Uh......sure, okay.”  Jago laughed.  “You might be disappointed though.  I’m afraid the American stereotype of the ninja has
been greatly exaggerated.”
     “What do you mean?”  Julie asked.
     “The face masks, throwing stars, assassin missions, I’m afraid it’s all overdone.”
     “Yeah, I figured.  So, what is being a ninja, to you?”
     “It is a higher form of being.  I will be at peace with my inner and outer self.  Having complete control over my mind and
body.  Existing in harmony with nature and the universe.  Although no man stops learning, a ninja enhances his existing skills
more than he learns.”
     “Wow.”  Julie said softly.  “That sounds really peaceful.”
     “Yeah.”  Jago said.  “That’s a good way to look at it.”
     The pair fell silent again.  They were walking along the side of the temple now, passing several finely crafted gold tigers, all in
attack poses.  Jago had forgotten that this was supposed to be a tour, so in an attempt to compensate for what he had already
missed, he turned to Julie to tell her about the tiger statues, but caught her staring at him.  Julie turned away, slightly
embarrassed.
     “What?”  Jago asked.
     “Nothing.”  Julie said sharply.  “Well, I mean, and I hope you don’t take this the wrong way, but you don’t really look
Tibetan.  You look more......American......than anything.”
     Jago half smiled.  “That’s entirely possible.”
     “Huh?”
     “Well, I was found y’know.”
     Julie greeted that statement with an even more profound “huh?”
     “Eighteen years ago, Master Zenketh was visiting in America with several other sen’sei’s.  They were on their way to the
airport, to return to Tibet, when they heard something coming from a dumpster.  Master Zenketh investigated it, and found me.”
     “Oh no.”  Julie cooed.  “How terrible.  So Master Zenketh decided to keep you once he found you?”
     “Yes.  He was concerned about my safety.  If I had been abandoned, he didn’t want to take the risk that I would be
returned to those parents.  And if something had happened to my parents, he didn’t want to subject me to foster homes and the
adoption process.”
     “That was an incredible thing to do.”  Julie commented.
     “It was.  They took me back to Tibet and raised me as one of their own.  When I turned thirteen, they told me the truth
about how I came to be with them.”
     “How did you take it?”
     “It was hard at first.  But I adjusted.  Master Zenketh said that, if I wanted to, I could return to America and try to find my
real roots.”
     “What did you tell him?”
     “This place is my real roots.”  Jago said.  “My birth origin may be unknown, but the Tiger Shrine is where I was raised and
loved.  It is here where I learned my first lesson, and bled for the first time.  The monks of this shrine have been a better family
than one I ever could have asked for.”
     “Wow.  That sounds a lot like a friend of mine.”  Julie said.  “She doesn’t know about her parents either.  She was found as
a little girl; she didn’t remember anything about where she came from.  However, instead of being taken in by friendly monks,
she was adopted by the people I work for.”
     “Who do you work for?”  Jago asked.
     Julie winced.  “Ehh......let’s just say I work for the American government and leave it at that.”
     “Your friend.....is she the fourth stranger I’ve heard about?”
     Julie laughed.  “’Heard about?’  We’ve only been here for the night.”
     “Yes, but in this place, it’s hard to keep a low profile.  Your friend seems to be doing a very good job though; only a few of
us have actually seen her.”
     Julie laughed again.  “Yeah, that’s how she works.  She is the one I was talking about.  Anyhow, have you ever been to
America?”
     “Yes, I have.”  Jago answered.
     “Before or after you knew about your origin?”
     “Both.  Once when I was ten; another time just two years ago, when I was sixteen.”
     “What was that second trip like?”
     “Like the first, only six years later.”  Both Jago and Julie laughed.  “No, seriously, I really didn’t think about it all that much.
America was still a nice place to visit, but the Tiger Shrine was still my home.”
     “Do you ever think about what your life would be like if you had been raised in America?”
     “Only once or twice.  I probably wouldn’t be into martial arts.  I can’t imagine a life without martial arts.  Besides, I believe
that destiny plays an important role in all of our lives.  I needed to be at the Tiger Shrine, and I had to be a martial artist.  I do
not know for what reason, and I may never know.  But, this is what destiny needs me to be.”
     “Hmm.”  Julie said.  “I wish I could believe in a higher power like that.  That everything I do, I do for a great cause.  To have
that kind of faith.”
     “You could, if you wanted to.”  Jago replied.
     “No I couldn’t.”  Julie said frankly.  “It’s too late to save this soul.  Truthfully, I’m in a very high-risk job.  I wake up each
morning, knowing full well that this could be my last day alive.  For every time I go to sleep at night, I’ve cheated the game once
more.  It’s all going to catch up to me though; one day soon.”
     “What exactly do you do?”  Jago asked.
     “Government work.”  Julie said.
     “Is this really.....the way you want to live?”
     Julie stared off into the distance.  “It was at first.  The danger, high profile missions, it was very exciting.  I was proud just to
be a part of it all.  Then reality sunk in and I thought ‘what the hell am I doing?’  By that time, it was too late to get out.”
     “Why?”
     “You can’t just quit.  Not in my line of work.  Besides, it’s a way of life now.”  Jago gave Julie a strange look.  Julie stopped
herself abruptly.  She gave off a laugh to cover herself.  “But I’ve already said way too much.  Oh look, we’re back at where
we started.”  As Julie said, they were now standing at the main entrance to the Tiger Shrine.  She batted an eye towards Jago.
“So, whatever happened to the tour, huh?”
     Jago clasped his hands together, and bowed.  “Oh, I’m sorry about that.  I guess I just got.....distracted.  If you still want a
look around, come see me tomorrow and I’ll give you another tour; a real one this time.”
     Julie ascended up the steps, to the double door.  She grabbed one of the dragon shaped handles.  “Okay; I’ll hold you to
that too.  Maybe we can get that sparring match in as well.”  Julie opened the door and quickly stepped through, shooting one
more look at Jago before the doors closed behind her.
     Jago remained outside.  He stared at the doors to the Shrine, as if he could see through them.  After a few moments he
turned, smiled to himself, and slowly walked away.
 
 

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