Chapter 5 - Light

He still remembered what Mother taught him about death. But how could he bury his mother. What if she was not dead but in the deep slumber. What if she was getting cured from the cough? What if she was hungry? All kinds of thoughts bombarded his mind. He could not bear it. He came out of the cave, closed its mouth with a rock and started walking in one direction.

"I should bring some food for her. She must be hungry."

It took him a whole day to return to the cave with a big lizard in his hand. He moved the rock and called her.

"Mother"". no response.

"Mother?". Silence.

"Mother! I love you." Nothing. He was sure that his mother had died.

Hunting made his mind more stable and clearer. He remembered once she told him. "My love! I will die if I won't say "I love you" to you even for one day." She had not said that for three whole days. She sure was dead.

He went in the cave, kissed her Goodbye, came out and closed the cave again.

Realizing that his mother had died, and he will not be able to see her, hear her, feel her warmth, or speak with her, made him feel terrible. He had never felt like that. There was a lump stuck in his chest. A painful lump. "This must be pain" He realized.

He stood outside for a while. Then he walked in one direction to fulfill his duties towards the dead, just like Mother taught him. He found a big rock, big enough for anyone in this place to move. He moved it to the cave his mother was in. It was very heavy, so it took some time. He reached the cave, entered in it, kissed her cold body one last time, and closed the cave with the rock. He made her a grave in the cave. He could not bury his mother under land. This way it felt like she was asleep for long time i.e. forever.

For the first time in his life, he had lied to his mother. This cave was not rocky. It was muddy. He had to protect his mother from gases, so he brought her in here. It was nearest and was perfect size. If he knew, he would have brought her to a bigger, sturdier cave. Mother told him to pray for the dead, but she did not tell him how to pray, what to pray and whom to pray. He sat there leaning against the rock on the mouth of cave as support for a very long time, reminiscing every moment spent with his mother while eating the Lizard, her least "not favorite". After finishing the food, he stood up and walked in one direction. He was alive and he must live on as he promised his mother.

"Mother! I have not found the sun to bring to you since then. please wait a little more." Sitting in the cave he thought to himself. All those memories from that time made a lump in his throat. It always happened when he remembered his mother that day. The gases had settled a little. He was ready to move again.

"Bang, Bang, Bang..." The loud noise from the land of ghosts brought him back to reality.

He sighed. Now he had to wait for some more time before he could go out. He could go out if he wanted to because gases never hurt him in any way before, but he wanted to honor his mother's words. His body had adopted to breathe in such poisonous atmosphere just like his body had adopted for darkness or extreme cold temperatures.

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Two more years have passed. Lee Sai is twenty now. Nothing else has changed except the fact that Mother proved wrong about eating within seven days. Because he had not eaten in last thirty days and he was still alive-barely. He was lying on the ground. He had no power to move even a step. This past year, there had been continuous explosions in the land of ghosts. The explosions this year alone might be more than the explosions he heard his entire life.

He turned around and started licking ground there. This was frozen water. His mother told him that floor of this whole place was composed of frozen water. He could survive this long only because of this water.

Suddenly he heard a slap on the ground. It was a little far. he did not feel anyone there.

"This might be due to my weakness." He thought.

He mustered all the power in his body and stood up. As he got closer, he could feel a lizard. A ray of hope surely made him stronger. He started running as silently as he could. The lizard noticed him as he reached near, and the quest for survival started. The Lizard sure was healthy. It ran with full power. Sai followed but the gap between them kept on increasing little by little.

"It is unacceptable." he murmured.

He put all his strength, desperation, hope and focus into catching the Lizard and ran like he had never before. He started inching closer to the Lizard and at one time it was just at arm's length. His heart was about to give out. He felt that he will fall any moment. He grunted and dived with all his strength to catch the lizard.

"Aaaaaaahhhhhhhh." He screamed loudly. It was suddenly very bright. His eyes were closed as he stood up. He was shaking his head to block this brightness from entering his eyes. But that thing was still going in his body through his eyes. He was out of breath and in no condition to think straight. He put his hands on his eyes. It got a little better. But that thing was still going in.

"Whooooo aaaaaaaare yoooooooooooo?" He heard someone and collapsed. He had blacked out.