Page 16 of Tiger's Voyage

I felt the tent shake lightly and heard the whisper of threads as they shifted. A short time later, I was pressed comfortably between both my tigers. I rolled to one side, kissed Kishan on top of his furry head, and petted his neck. “Goodnight, Kishan.”

Then I rolled to the other side and came face-to-face with my blueeyed white tiger. I patted his head and said goodnight before closing my eyes. Soon I felt fur tickling my nose. Ren’s head was pressed up against my face. I knew what he wanted.

“Fine.” I kissed his head too. “Goodnight, Ren. Go to sleep.”

He started purring and closed his eyes. I closed mine too and smiled into the darkness.

3

Phet

The next morning, we decided to set out early. The temperature had dropped overnight, and the jungle was relatively cool and fragrant. I took a deep breath, stretched, and inhaled the spicy, sweet smell of the olibanum trees. After breakfast, Kishan headed off into the jungle to dress in the new clothes he’d created with the Divine Scarf.

Ren stirred the cold black ashes of our fire with a long stick. I stood a good enough distance away so my presence didn’t bother him. This new “being friends” thing was awkward. I wasn’t really sure how to talk to him. This is who Ren was before me. I wanted him to be likemyRen. In many ways he was. But how can you be the same person with a chunk of your life missing?

Ren was still charming, kind, and sweet. He still loved all the same things, except he wasn’t as self-assured. Kishan had always been the follower and Ren the leader, but their roles were now reversed. Kishan was confident; he had direction. Ren had been left behind, like he no longer had a place in this century.

Ren didn’t seem to know who he was anymore or how he fit into this world. It was startling for me to realize that his sense of belonging was gone. He didn’t seem to want to write poetry anymore. He seldom played his guitar. He read literature only when encouraged by Mr. Kadam and me. He’d lost his sense of self, his conviction.

In making decisions, Ren didn’t seem to care about much of anything and was happy to do whatever or go wherever Kishan wanted. Visiting Phet was just an activity rather than a way to get his memory back or break the curse. Ren didn’t resist it, but he wasn’t pursuing it either. It was sobering to recognize that losing me had changed him that dramatically. I was worried about him.

I crouched down across from him and smiled. “Aren’t you going to change clothes too? We’ve got another full day of hiking planned.”

Ren threw the stick into the fire circle and looked up at me. “No.”

“Okay, but your bare feet aren’t going to feel too good after a while. The jungle is full of sharp rocks and prickly thorns.”

He walked over to the backpack, took out a tube of sunscreen and handed it to me. “Put this on your face and arms. You’re turning pink.”

I dutifully started rubbing it into my arms and was surprised to hear him say, “I think I’ll be a tiger today.”

“What? Why would you do that?Oh.It’s probably more comfortable on your feet. I don’t blame you. If I had the option, I’d probably be a tiger too.”

“It’s not because of the hiking.”

“No? Then why?”

At that moment, Kishan emerged from the jungle with his hair slicked back. Ren took a step closer as if he wanted to say something more, but Kishan’s appearance caught my attention.

“No fair! You took a bath?” I asked with only a tiny hint of jealousy in my voice.

“There’s a decent stream out there. Don’t worry. You’ll have a nice bath when we get to Phet’s.”

I smeared sunscreen across my nose. “Okay.” I smiled in anticipation at the thought. “I’m ready, then. Lead on, Lewis and Clark.”

I turned to Ren, who had switched into a tiger and sat watching the two of us. Kishan raised an eyebrow and worked the muscles of his jaw as he stared at his brother.

“Is something wrong?” I asked him.

Kishan turned to me with a smile and offered his hand. “Nothing at all.”

I took it, and we started off. We’d walked only a minute or two when I felt Ren’s furry body brush against my other hand. The thought occurred to me that Ren might be more comfortable as a tiger, much as Kishan had been for all those years. I bit my lip, worrying, and massaged the ruff of Ren’s collar, then pushed the thought to the back of my mind and told Kishan all about frankincense.

We walked all morning and then stopped to rest and eat. After napping through the hot afternoon, we hiked another couple of hours and finally came upon Phet’s clearing. The shaman was outside working in his garden. He was on his hands and knees, pulling weeds and talking to his plants as he carefully tended them.

Before I even called out a greeting, I heard him holler, “Hallo, Kahlsee. Joyous meetings happen with you!”

Kishan stepped over Phet’s stone wall, then lifted me over, and set me gently down on the other side. Ren leapt over easily next to us.