this. I know it. I don’t know how, but I know it.
The final bell rang. He fumbled trying to put his books away in his bag and dropped them all over the floor. Less haste, more speed. He hustled to the school gates, but James wasn’t there yet.
He paced up and down inside the open gates.
Come on.
He waited.
Come on.
Finally, he saw his brother in the distance with a dark-haired girl. James had his arm around her and was whispering in her ear. He kissed her on the cheek, his hand lingering on her arm a moment longer than necessary.
Why does he get to do this and I don’t? God, I miss Fi, and it’s only been one day.
Hero looked on with envious eyes.
I guess he must’ve mastered the ability, whatever it is.
Finally, James sent the girl on her way and sauntered across to meet Hero.
‘What took so long?’ Hero asked.
‘Bloody hell, bruv, you’re keen today. It’s only five past four,’ James said, tapping his watch.
‘You don’t know what you’ve started.’
If only James realized how true that was, Hero thought as they strode through the chilly streets. He didn’t even mind getting out of breath; he was in training now, and he had things to do and places to go.
As quickly as they got there, the Light Master was already standing in the centre of the mat, as if he’d been waiting for them to arrive. Hero scurried along the wall, a little out of breath, towards the spot where they’d left their things last time.
‘Okay, Hero, you’re fast,’ called the Light Master. ‘We can agree on that, right?’
He wondered if he should put down his book bag, join the master on the mat, or something else. ‘If you say so.’
‘I do say so,’ the master said with a smile. ‘But you need to be faster. We need to get you to use all of your talent. You need to be as fast as you can be.’
Hero didn’t know what to say.
‘You don’t believe me?’
He finally decided to put down his things and sit to unlace his shoes. ‘It’s just that I don’t even think I’m fast. Nothing seems fast to me.’
‘Yes, son.’ He regarded Hero in a fatherly way, with his head tilted to one side. ‘You can be a lot faster. Come with me.’
The master walked Hero to the back of the gym and unlocked a door to a room lined with rows of black leather chaise longues. To the side of each chair was a small table holding a video monitor, a set of headphones, and what appeared to be a pair of sunglasses.
‘Sit down, son. Relax.’
Hero picked a chair and tentatively reclined, resting his back and head. The seat was comfortable. Was this a dentist’s chair? What was he gonna do? He tried to control his breathing, but he was still huffing from the walk over.
The master handed him what looked like a high-tech helmet. A dangling wire ran inside to two LCD screens. ‘Put this on.’
He did as he was told. ‘What is it?’
‘A VR helmet.’
Hero turned it over in his hands.
‘Our abilities as humans come from our brains’ perception of the world around us,’ the master said. ‘So we need to train ourselves in a way that allows our brains to perceive the world more effectively. The helmet works to train your perception.’
He slipped on the helmet and leaned forward so the master could connect the wire. ‘Okay, but how?’
‘The lights and sounds cause your brain to go into a meditative state that help you focus. They’ll make it easier to take on board the training we do here.’
He was a little worried about that, actually. Exercise hurt—like other things that happened in a dentist’s chair, for that matter. His skin felt tight, his muscles like stone, reminding him of that woman with the snakes in her hair. What was her name? Medusa.
I wonder if that’s where they got the idea.
‘Will it hurt?’
‘Not at all. In fact, you’ll probably enjoy it. Close your eyes and relax. Ready?’
He closed his eyes, struggling to look more relaxed than he felt. ‘Yes.’
The Light Master switched on the device. Multicoloured light exploded like fireworks in front of Hero’s eyes, and pulsating sound filled his ears. The sound seemed to be outside his head, even though he was wearing a helmet.
Then the rain came, the sound pouring around him. It was so relaxing that he felt a little dizzy. Gentle words floated through the water from an angel in a faraway forest: The relationship between the world and people is a simple one . . . Inside the world beat the hearts of every person, and inside every person beats the entire world . . . The love of every person has the capacity to bring the whole world together as one or to tear it into fragments that would be lost in a cosmic instant in the infiniteness that is the universe and time.
Colours folded in on themselves, creating a tunnel of light that he was speeding through. The angelic voice melted into the sound of the rain.
The lights and sounds had stopped. Hero breathed quietly. His body was like jelly, and his head pulsed with an echo of the light and sound. He was alone in the room, a single spotlight creating a pool of illumination around his chair. Through a window, he saw that night had drawn in.
The main lights flickered on when he stood up, extinguishing the spotlight. He slipped off the helmet and walked into the main gym. The Light Master was training James and two girls in sword fighting. Hero leaned against the door jamb and watched as their swords popped in and out of hazy focus as if caught by a low-speed camera.
‘Forward and rotate, forward and rotate,’ the master called. He turned his attention towards Hero. ‘How do you feel?’
‘Good. Really good,’ Hero replied.
‘Step into the ring. Let’s practise.’
Hero joined the others in the centre of the mat. James and the girls stowed their swords in a rack, then rejoined Hero and the Light Master.
‘Okay, let’s do the short form together.’
He picked his teeth. He had no idea what was going on. His mouth felt as if he’d been eating sand.
‘But what do I do? I’ve never done this before.’
‘Follow me. Trust me, you’ll get it.’
The master took up the opening pose. In silence and slow motion, he led the traditional t’ai chi short form practice of
