The Stranger, Part 4

Previously: Ubal woke up in Madlus, a strange world with three suns, where he met Stok who transfused him with his blood. Ubal also noticed a strange organ growing out of his chest. On their way to Mt. Kirkir, while the suns were in a showdown, the mysteriform Yanggaw appeared to them to warn against Kriyum. Stok told Ubal the story of his encounter with Kriyum Lastik who had the ability to grow extra limbs. Kriyum had quizzed Stok about love and things that are greater than love.

UBAL was speechless from hearing the story. Stok’s throat felt dry. A few moments of silence reigned over them once more.

After a while, Ubal asked, “Why did Yanggaw lead us the other way?”

“Yanggaw is a mysteriform,” Stok explained. “She has feminine power that is always stronger than the musculine. I think that she is fond of you. She usually doesn’t show herself to just anybody.”

“She is a beautiful woman,” Ubal remarked.

“She is not a woman, even if saw her with mengkus and sismeglan. Mysteriforms like her only appear according to your lust and desire. If you were female, perhaps you would have seen her with a tugkuran.” Stok smiled. “Be careful of mysteriforms like her.”

“Who is more powerful – Kriyum, Wuting, or Yanggaw?” Ubal asked again.

“In this world, Ubal, each one is supposed to be powerful, but only the special few believe in their own power. In Madlus, your unique talent is your power. If you can grow hands, Kriyum will cease to be powerful. If you can be invisible like Yanggaw, she will lose her power, too. If you can influence the mind of others, what is Wuting’s reason to exist?”

“What about you? What is your power, Stok?”

“To live as I believe.”

“And what is it that you believe?”

“Before I answer that,” Stok said as he sat under the shade of a tree with thick canopy, “I want to know why you want to seek Wuting.”

The wide leaves of the giant tree were white but in the glare of blue Sheme, they shone like tiny flames of hot stars.

Ubal sat beside him, and rested his back on the trunk of the tree. He tried to remember the past. “When I was little,” Ubal began, “my parents took me to Forest Loa to meet the renowned sage Pokis. You can say that I was Pokis’ last visitor. And before he passed away, he left me with Wuting’s name…”

Ubal narrated everything that he could recall of the journey to meet the sage 20 years ago.

He was only 13 years old when Ubal and his parents crossed the sea of fire surrounding Forest Loa, where the famed wise man Pokis lived.

The journey to see Pokis was arduous, not only because of the surprise spouts of fire that come from underground but also because of the legion of fierce and fearsome skorkis – winged fireblowers, lurking in the dark. But his father Tormon took up some courage because his wife wouldn’t give him peace until Ubal’s condition was remedied.

In addition, in the forest of Loa, there were plenty of shapeshifters that changed their forms and mien in a blink. But his sickly mother Mirda braved all of those. Tormon’s wife silently climbed the rocks, and swung from tree to tree on the vines, all in the hope that the wise man would have a cure for her child.

Pokis had three eyes. He also had three hands, and three feet. It would seem like his eyes did not blink at all. He is said to be all-knowing so that even before Tormon and Mirda explained their purpose, he had already guessed it.

Pokis swayed his three arms, and a cloud of green smoke appeared before him. “Each man or woman among us,” he started, “is a wandering murderer. If you were a man, you would have struggled, and prevailed upon the woman who was born with you in the same body. If you were a woman, you would have conquered and killed your male twin.”

“What happened to Ubal? Why is he sexless?” Mirda asked in quick succession.

“In Ubal’s case, the struggle that I have mentioned is still ongoing.”

“How is that put to an end?” asked Tormon.

Pokis swayed his arms once more, and this time, red smoke gathered around them all.

“Let the child focus his attention to the ongoing battle. Whatever the child chooses, the child will be.”

Mirda eyed Ubal as if to confirm. “You really want to be a man, don’t you?”

“But if I do, I will kill your daughter, and isn’t that a crime that needs to be punished?”

Upon hearing Ubal’s reply, Pokis swayed his arms once more. Blue smoke materialized. The wise man smiled, and said ceremoniously, “The words came, not from fear, but from overflowing generosity. Go home. I am telling you, before you reach your house, the child will be a male.”

The couple was very happy. (To be continued/PN)