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The Books of Oyja I: The Tenju
Chapter 9 In Power

Kiem came and hugged me and I hugged her back. I was finally a Tenju! All the hard work I had done had finally paid off! I looked over to where the fruits were. The fruits were bright red with dark green strips on them. The baskets that held them were brown. Liem, Kuhn, Kiem, and I walked over to the fruit.

The grass was calm beneath me and I breathed a sign of relief. “What type of fruit is this?” Kiem asked curiously.

“They were created by me.” Kuhn said, smiling proudly. “I raised them and I haven’t given them any name. Because you really don’t have to call them anything.” He handed me one.

“The idea for these fruits wasn’t created by you.” I replied. “They are a symbol of Tas.” I pointed to the red portion. “This represents death.” I then pointed to the dark green strips. “This represents life, which keeps everything in check.”

Liem smiled and patted me on the back. “An excellent observation, Oyja. But they taste wonderful, no matter what the origin was.” He took a big bite out of one. Kiem and Kuhn followed.

I placed another in my hand and made it sit on air that I had hardened. The air then turned gray. The fruit and air went over to Kiem. She caught it and took a bite out of it. “So you’re training Kiem, Kuhn?” I asked.

“Yes,” Kuhn answered. “She has grown much since her becoming a Slave. Kiem is loyal and true.”

“You realize she may not always stay that way? She may not always tell the truth.”

“I realize that.” Kuhn growled. He was still probably upset over my ‘betrayal’ of Kino. I had since stayed away from Falleens, except when it was necessary for me to come into contact with them. Seeing Kino’s face on each one isn’t very pleasing to me.

“It’s unsettling to see you as neither male nor female.” Kiem replied. “I thought it was always good to have a basis in reality. Your base seems totally lost.”

I pondered over this. I thought I had a basis, even though it might not be the best one. “My basis is my faith. If I removed my faith I would have nothing. Faith is the basis of everything. It is the basis of trust and love. Without faith we are nothing.”

“What about faith in your sexuality? I think you were too afraid of yourself, so you decided to take away your sexuality to be safe.” Kiem said.

“My faith in my sexuality is clear. Male or female, it doesn’t matter, what matters is what you do. There’s a great lake here, don’t you guys want to swim?”

“The point of this ceremony is to be calm, not to swim!” Kuhn yelled.

“Come on, Kuhn, we do need to relax. This might be the last time we have to do so.” Liem replied and motioned for us all to go to the lake. “I hope none of you mind swimming in your clothes.” And with that he jumped in.

I jumped in after him and felt the cool water surrounding me. This was water of the mind and soul, a perfect thing for Master Tenju to do for us. There was some wildlife, but not much. The sand underneath was warm. “I’ll race you!” Kiem shouted in joy.

Kiem and I lined up. Then we raced for the other shore. Breaking water felt very good and the air breaking felt even better. We got to the other shore but it was a tie. Kiem and I laughed hard because we had had so much fun.

“I don’t know which is better.” I said to Kiem. “You or nature. It seems like the two of you go together. It doesn’t seem as if you can ever grow apart. You have a power that will be unleashed.”

On this shore there were many small flowers and Kiem picked one up. “If we are one then it doesn’t matter. Does it?”

“No,” I replied. “It doesn’t matter. I guess I don’t have a decision to make anymore.”

I sat in a meditation chamber and thought. I thought about how far I had come. From being Carrie Minaz, I had completely changed into Oyja Tenju. Was it right to give myself up for power? I didn’t really want power; I just liked feeling the connection of everything.

The walls of the room were a pale white and seemed to gather sunlight. There was a fountain in the middle that poured out crystal clear water. The floor was made of yellow grass and the whole room felt calm.

I was going to be taken as a Tenju with all the rights. I knew I was going to have to take a Padawan soon, so I could prove my worth. I decided I would look for a Padawan tomorrow. The Padawan would have to be understanding and have a good connection to nature.

I love nature and would hate to train someone that didn’t share that respect with me. It would be horrible to have someone that didn’t wake up to a cool breeze. Someone was needed that could garden with me. I had an idea for a garden that I was about to get started and I wanted some help.

I went out of the room and saw Liem. He was a great master and I wish I could’ve stayed with him forever. But things must change; I had to move on. “I am happy to see you like this.” Liem said.

“I am honored to have trained under you. I will remember you forever.” I promised and we went our different ways.

Author’s Note: I am very happy to announce that this is the end of book one. I had a great time writing this and I hope you enjoyed reading it. I want to thank Nicole and Maya for reading it.

Description
The Books of Oyja I: The Tenju
Chapter 9 In Power

Kiem came and hugged me and I hugged her back. I was finally a Tenju! All the hard work I had done had finally paid off! I looked over to where the fruits were. The fruits were bright red with dark green strips on them. The baskets that held them were brown. Liem, Kuhn, Kiem, and I walked over to the fruit.

The grass was calm beneath me and I breathed a sign of relief. “What type of fruit is this?” Kiem asked curiously.

“They were created by me.” Kuhn said, smiling proudly. “I raised them and I haven’t given them any name. Because you really don’t have to call them anything.” He handed me one.

“The idea for these fruits wasn’t created by you.” I replied. “They are a symbol of Tas.” I pointed to the red portion. “This represents death.” I then pointed to the dark green strips. “This represents life, which keeps everything in check.”

Liem smiled and patted me on the back. “An excellent observation, Oyja. But they taste wonderful, no matter what the origin was.” He took a big bite out of one. Kiem and Kuhn followed.

I placed another in my hand and made it sit on air that I had hardened. The air then turned gray. The fruit and air went over to Kiem. She caught it and took a bite out of it. “So you’re training Kiem, Kuhn?” I asked.

“Yes,” Kuhn answered. “She has grown much since her becoming a Slave. Kiem is loyal and true.”

“You realize she may not always stay that way? She may not always tell the truth.”

“I realize that.” Kuhn growled. He was still probably upset over my ‘betrayal’ of Kino. I had since stayed away from Falleens, except when it was necessary for me to come into contact with them. Seeing Kino’s face on each one isn’t very pleasing to me.

“It’s unsettling to see you as neither male nor female.” Kiem replied. “I thought it was always good to have a basis in reality. Your base seems totally lost.”

I pondered over this. I thought I had a basis, even though it might not be the best one. “My basis is my faith. If I removed my faith I would have nothing. Faith is the basis of everything. It is the basis of trust and love. Without faith we are nothing.”

“What about faith in your sexuality? I think you were too afraid of yourself, so you decided to take away your sexuality to be safe.” Kiem said.

“My faith in my sexuality is clear. Male or female, it doesn’t matter, what matters is what you do. There’s a great lake here, don’t you guys want to swim?”

“The point of this ceremony is to be calm, not to swim!” Kuhn yelled.

“Come on, Kuhn, we do need to relax. This might be the last time we have to do so.” Liem replied and motioned for us all to go to the lake. “I hope none of you mind swimming in your clothes.” And with that he jumped in.

I jumped in after him and felt the cool water surrounding me. This was water of the mind and soul, a perfect thing for Master Tenju to do for us. There was some wildlife, but not much. The sand underneath was warm. “I’ll race you!” Kiem shouted in joy.

Kiem and I lined up. Then we raced for the other shore. Breaking water felt very good and the air breaking felt even better. We got to the other shore but it was a tie. Kiem and I laughed hard because we had had so much fun.

“I don’t know which is better.” I said to Kiem. “You or nature. It seems like the two of you go together. It doesn’t seem as if you can ever grow apart. You have a power that will be unleashed.”

On this shore there were many small flowers and Kiem picked one up. “If we are one then it doesn’t matter. Does it?”

“No,” I replied. “It doesn’t matter. I guess I don’t have a decision to make anymore.”

I sat in a meditation chamber and thought. I thought about how far I had come. From being Carrie Minaz, I had completely changed into Oyja Tenju. Was it right to give myself up for power? I didn’t really want power; I just liked feeling the connection of everything.

The walls of the room were a pale white and seemed to gather sunlight. There was a fountain in the middle that poured out crystal clear water. The floor was made of yellow grass and the whole room felt calm.

I was going to be taken as a Tenju with all the rights. I knew I was going to have to take a Padawan soon, so I could prove my worth. I decided I would look for a Padawan tomorrow. The Padawan would have to be understanding and have a good connection to nature.

I love nature and would hate to train someone that didn’t share that respect with me. It would be horrible to have someone that didn’t wake up to a cool breeze. Someone was needed that could garden with me. I had an idea for a garden that I was about to get started and I wanted some help.

I went out of the room and saw Liem. He was a great master and I wish I could’ve stayed with him forever. But things must change; I had to move on. “I am happy to see you like this.” Liem said.

“I am honored to have trained under you. I will remember you forever.” I promised and we went our different ways.

Author’s Note: I am very happy to announce that this is the end of book one. I had a great time writing this and I hope you enjoyed reading it. I want to thank Nicole and Maya for reading it.