Part 7
Welcome to Adulthood
Shuyang was short. And change is looming. How things change.
My mind urges me to skip this reel. Skip the ugliness that
follows. Easy to escape. But that's not how the Buddha would
want it. And here, I've got to do what the Buddha suggests.
Idyllic madness
gives way to a different madness. Problems of visas crop
up. Illegal is a word I never thought that would apply to
me. But there it is. Illegal. You are illegal, the imps
scream. The lies that follow. The vain attempt at a cover-up.
Realization strikes faster than lightning. You have been
deceived. And for the first time, I know that the hibernation
of being a little girl is over. Welcome to Adulthood. Anger.
At yourself. At China. At your friends.
The week that
follows is dark. Remember Lesson Two, whispers the Buddha.
But my mind refuses to listen. Rushed under darkness to
another school. To Lianyungang. Being told to leave the
country. Ugly words I never knew much about are bandied.
Contracts. Compensation. The slowest week I have ever known
in my life. The longest week I have ever known.
If Life teaches
us in little chapters most of the time, this time, she hurls
the entire book. She becomes a vicious boxer. You try to
spar. Avoid the blows. The Laughing Buddha isn't around.
And that's when Lesson Three hits. In the worst fights,
one fights alone. But fight all the same. I am on the ropes.
But I learn about Lesson Three. Yes. Fight. Frantic calls
to Embassies. Friends you never knew existed. Foes you never
knew existed. And I realize I am my own best friend. My
own foe.
The nightmare dissolves. Changes into another script. Life
smiles a little.
I know that the dream doesn't have to end. Decisions are
made. Compromises arrived at. I shut the door on Shuyang,
and open the doors to Lianyungang. Bid good-bye to a cherished
friend, my fellow Indian traveller. Say hello to the Buddha
again.
And wonder
at the chapters that lie in store in Lianyungang. My home
for the next eight months. I smell the fresh mountain air,
glimpse the brown mountains in front and I know that the
fight was worth it. I am home. Again.
