The Gathering

[Koli]

Koli lay on his cot, staring up at the ceiling. Commotion from the mead hall in the nearby town carried through his window, echoing off his stone walls.

"Poor fools," he muttered to himself. "Only living for the weekend... What kind of life is that?" These men didn't know if they would live to see next week, and so they indulged in sinful pleasures- always seeking satisfaction, but never finding any. They incessantly threw pleasures into a bottomless pit in attempts to fulfill themselves- to achieve some form of completion before their departure from this world...

But even they didn't know they felt that way.

Koli simply understood people-even as a boy. He specialized in reading motives, thoughts, feelings, subtle body posture, and diction. Most of the time, he knew more about his friends and colleagues than even they knew about themselves. He always knew how to make others feel better, and others loved him for it. His fellow monks in training always sought his advice- even the senior 17 and 18 years. Koli's age mattered not, for Abbas Amo said that he had wisdom far beyond his years

So why couldn't he help himself feel better?

Koli looked down at the boy who lay at his feet. The monk shook his head soberly to himself. This boy, not much older than 19 years old, now lay on the ground, beaten on the verge of death. Bending down, Koli picked up the youth and gently slung him over his shoulder. He had heard of a port city not too not far away, and he could seek refuge there to tend to this boy's wounds.

The priest took a deep breath and closed his eyes, grounding himself to the world before starting on his journey- absorbing the energy that the environment offered him. He breathed in for three counts, held his breath for two, and exhaled for four. The second time he breathed in, his chest and mind swelled in satisfaction- a third breath, and then a fourth. Koli felt as though nature was dumping pure, clean water on him from all sides, which his spirit drank in voraciously. His spirit merged with the world, the environment manifested in his mind as though he truly looked upon his surroundings. The green canopy above, the loamy dirt path beneath his moccasins, and the vines hanging down from the canopy. Everything gleamed with shimmering beauty and vibrated, teeming with energy. And in that moment, Koli too vibrated in the same way, finally charged and ready for his journey.