Page 23 of Tiger's Voyage

“Means tiger hinder himself. No from criminal one, evil one. From tiger mind. Only he be capable of fix.”

“Are you saying he’s deliberately doing this to himself? He’s blocking his memories of me on purpose?”

Phet nodded.

I gaped at Ren, stunned. He looked at Phet dumbfounded; then knit his brows together in confusion and stared at his hands. Tears filled my eyes.

In a tiny voice, I choked out, “Why? Why would you do this to me?”

He worked the muscles of his jaw and looked up at me. His blue eyes were bright with emotion. He opened his mouth to say something … then closed it. I backed toward the door and pushed it open.

Ren stood. “Kelsey? Wait.”

I shook my head.

“Please don’t run,” he softly pleaded.

“Don’t follow me.” I shook my head, tears dripping down my cheeks as I ran off into the jungle.

4

Prophecy

Isat in the jungle with my back against a tree. I was tired of running away from emotional turmoil. The reasonable part of my brain told me that Ren most likely had a perfectly legitimate reason for purposefully forgetting me. However, there was another side that doubted him, and that voice screamed louder. It hurt. If someone had asked me before he was taken if I trusted Ren, I would have said yes. I trusted him absolutely, 100 percent. There was no question in my mind that he was sincere.

But.A negative voice picked away at me, telling me I wasn’t really right for him anyway and that I should have expected this. It said that I never deserved him in the first place and that it was only a matter of time before I lost him. I’d always considered him too good to be true. I never wanted to be right, but there it was.

That he took himself out of the picture made it worse. Much worse.How could I have been so wrong about him?I’d been naive. I wasn’t the first girl to have her heart broken, and I wouldn’t be the last. I’d trusted him. I believed his professions of love.

Before the visit with Phet, I could tell myself that Lokesh had done this. That it wasn’t Ren’s fault. That somewhere deep inside, he still loved me. Now I knew that he deliberately wanted to forget me. He wanted to cast me aside and had somehow found a very convenient way to do it.

How nice it must be to just erase your mistake. Pick the wrong girl?That’s okay. Just highlight and delete. Those pesky memories won’t bother youanymore. You could sell that pill and become a billionaire. So many peoplehave done things and been with people they’d like to wipe out of their memory.To forget completely. Expunge your memory! Buy one, get one free! Limitedtime offer!

After an hour of feeling sorry for myself, I returned slowly to the hut. When I walked through the door, all talking ceased. Both brothers watched me while Phet started busily grinding spices.

Ren stood and took a step toward me. I looked at him dully, and he stopped in his tracks.

“There’s nothing else you can do for us, then?” I asked Phet.

Phet turned to me and tilted his head. Soberly he said, “Phet regretful. No can help this.”

“Okay.” I turned to Kishan. “I’d like to leave now.”

He nodded and began filling the backpacks.

“Kelsey,” Ren stretched out a hand and then pulled it back when I stared at it like it was a foreign object, “we need to talk about this.”

“There’s nothing to talk about.” I shook my head and took Phet’s hand. “Thank you for your hospitality and for everything you’ve done for us.”

Phet stood and hugged me. “You no worries, Kahl-see. Don’t fail to remember water and earth is contented all together.”

“I remember, but I think this time I’m like the moon. No water for me.”

Phet pressed his hands on my shoulders. “Is water for Kahl-see. Moon maybe, but moon pull tide anyway.”

“Okay.” I said softly. “Thanks for the optimism. I’m sure I’ll be fine. Don’t worry about me,” I assured him as I hugged him back. “Good-bye.”

Phet said, “Future time pay a visit you happier, Kahl-see.”