Chapter Sixty Seven. Tao Love

Tao Love

She talked and the words danced in the air like glistening icicles until they formed bubbles that ascended and floated to heaven. Her eyes were captivating. "Green? Hazel? Sometimes green...sometimes hazel...can Asians have green eyes? Her last name is Johnson. Must be from a parent. So beautiful...."

Bai Ling Johnson was talking about something. About Yan and Ying or being rooted in the ground of being or something. Her voice was melodic and harmonic and charming and peaceful. Her lips pressed softly and formed each word succintly. Her skin was pure and fair. She radiated a gentle energy. Justin Scoville was there listening. Trying with all his power to concentrate on the meaning of whatever it was she was saying. But her song was too powerful as music, so he let himself be swept away by the melody and harmony as he watched the words as some inexplicable art form, dancing as a vision of icicles and bubbles.

"And so the hexagram describes your situation as dangerous and unavoidable." Bai Ling continued to inform Scoville. Lesson upon lesson, exactly as Umpa had prepared her to do. "To be in accord with the times, you are told to VENTURE and FALL!"

Justin heard the words. He watched them formed on her lips and escape. Each shining and bright and carefully formed. Clear and glistening and then rounding and forming rubbery wet bubbles, gradually diminishing until they were so light, they would float away, followed by other shiny crystals, that in turn would form irradescent orbs, and on and on, her song making a vision of dancing elements.

"The I-Ching was not written for fortune tellers and magicians," she explained. "We all are well informed of what fortunes we stumble upon and we all have magic power beyond our faintest idea."

The faintest idea? Justin Scoville didn't have the faintest idea what the 29th hexagram of the I-Ching meant or could mean, or what it followed or what it preceded or what the I-Ching was for that matter, or why he was seated in 64D, being hypnotised by a Smiling Buddha's apprentice. All he knew was that he no longer had any notion of fear or worry or anger or sadness or judgement.

"The reason we had to come back here, to Cabin Five," said Bai Ling, "is because of the energy which surrounds us here, compared to the energy we would have faced in First Class. You see, here, you're able to loosen the shackles of your imprisonment."

Bai Ling paused to watch for the reaction from her audience.

For Justin, the words were just a dance of bubbles and crystals. He sat smiling, contented as a puppy dog that had settled down for a nap after a good romp and play.

"Mr. Scoville. Do you understand?," she probed. "Do you know what I mean about your imprisonment and your shackles?"

All smiles and puppy dog.

"Why are you smiling Mr. Scoville?," Bai Ling persisted. "This is important. We've gone to great lengths to make sure that the atmosphere would be conducive to your advancement in the Tao."

Bubbles and ice crystals floating happily to heaven.

"Really Mr. Scoville," insisted Bai Ling. "I really need you to stop smiling and listen to me!"

Happy shining ice crystals turning to glistening floating orbs, floating happily up, up and away.

Finally exasperated Bai Ling just stopped and looked at Justin Scoville. He had such a distinctive jaw. And when she looked into his eyes she noticed something she hadn't before. In fact, when she looked in to his eyes she saw something she had never seen in anyone's eyes, as far as she could remember.

"What is that," she wondered to herself as she stared deeply into the eyes of Justin Scoville, the man. The eyes of the rich and powerful publisher who was accustomed to people succumbing to his power. But now she saw them simply as the eyes of a man. A man who seemed to be connected to something, which strangely reminded her of Umpa. 

"Yes," she thought. "His eyes are true. This man is good. This man is fair."

"Ms. Johnson," spoke Justin Scoville. "May I have this dance?"