Pawns
Note: The scene between Master Po and Caine came from the pilot episode of the original Kung Fu.
*****
Caine breathed a deep sigh, then shuddered. Even though it had been several days since his ordeal, he continued to feel some of the effects of what the drug had done to him. He knew it would be a long time to recover. Annie had been by to check on him and had given him some of her homemade vegetable soup, perhaps at Peter's insistance. He was grateful that she had not suffered any lasting effects from being imprisoned by Masterson. When she told Caine what Masterson had done when they were separated, Caine had closed his eyes tightly and shook his head. Guilt filled him at not being able to help the mother of his son, but she assured him that she did not blame him. For now, he only wished the nightmares that have been a constant companion since his rescue would become a thing of the past. Still, in some way, he knew the nightmares were not his alone. Perhaps if he spoke to both Peter and Annie, it may help all of them to recover.
Caine shuddered again. Then a warm blanket was being wrapped around his shoulders, and he felt the presence of his son.
"Pop? Are you all right? Can I get you another cup of tea?"
"Peter. We need to talk."
"There's nothing to talk about," Peter said, avoiding his father's gaze.
"You have been avoiding the issue of what happened at the brewery."
Peter grew silent and bent his head. His father was right, as usual, but he really wasn't sure what to say or even how to say it.
"My son, you were not the first to act out of grief and pain. Your great-grandfather also acted out of that same grief and rage, killing the emperor's nephew because he had shot his Master Po. For him Master Po had been like a father and he loved the man very much. In that instant, when Master Po lay dying, your great-grandfather forgot all his training and merely acted on what his heart desired most at that moment, revenge. And when he did that, he brought shame onto himself and the line of Caine. Though Master Po tried to absolve him of that shame, he knew that his favorite pupil would have to flee if he was to survive, if the temple was to survive."
"Temple, what does the temple have to do with my great-grandfather?" Peter asked with confusion. "And what does this have to do with Masterson?"
"My father told me of a story that his father told him when he escaped China and was on a ship bound for America. My father told me how my grandfather had a conversation with the shade of his Master Po," Caine said.
"Shade? You mean ghost?"
"Yes." Caine continued the tale as if that conversation had taken place that very day, and as he spoke, images came to Peter just as clear as if he was witnessing the event himself.
***
On the great ship, in the hold where he had been smuggled away, Caine looked up to see Master Po sitting on a pile of crates. He blinked at first, not sure if the apparition was real. The expression on his Master's face was both tender and solemn. Then he spoke.
Po: You have escaped as I knew you would.
Caine: I do not know why, Master. I would rather have stayed.
Po: Why?
Caine: Because the temple has been destroyed. Because the temple is no more, the monks have fled, the order is broken. I have brought shame upon the people whom I love; it would have been better if I had stayed in China and turned myself over to the Imperial House for retribution.
Po: And would they have not destroyed the temple if they had you to destroy?
Caine: I would have hoped so. I would have made that offer, taken that risk.
Po: Don't be rediculous. They would have killed you and the temple. They wanted that excuse; have wanted it for decades. The temple has been destroyed before. It will be rebuilt.
Caine But perhaps . . .
Po: No. You must not wreak vengeance upon yourself. The temple has always been destroyed and has been rebuilt. The Imperial House does not understand what we understand. The temple exists within us. You are the temple. They can only destroy it through you but if you flee then you are saved and the temple is saved. Don't you see that? Don't you see that now? WE are the temple. That part of your life is over. There will be another part. You will go through all of it.
Caine: And will you be with me?
Po: In your memory. For life is without end. You are not to blame for what has happened but indeed have committed an act of great love and sanctity. You attempted to salvage the temple because you would not see one of us destroyed. I will always be with you in some part of yourself.
*****
"As I will always be a part of you, my son," Caine finished.
"I, I never thought about it in that way before," Peter said. "Was that why you didn't rebuild the temple, because it was always a part of you?"
"As it is a part of you. The temple may be rebuilt some day, when there is a need for it, but for now, the temple will always remain within us. We are the temple, my son."
"I still do not understand what this has to do with Masterson?" Peter questioned again.
"In my grandfather's journal, there is an entry referring to a time two years prior to the death of his master. He learned that the emperor's nephew had wanted to enter a Shaolin temple, but he had been rejected. He wrote of his confusion why someone would be refused entry. He had seen it many times with children, seeing that they lacked the patience, but he believed that being it was the Emperor's nephew, he would receive special treatment, but he had not. Perhaps the nephew also felt, because of his position, he would also be accepted. And when he had not, felt a deep rage of jealously and rejection, and upon seeing Master Po, sought revenge for his rejection. Master Po was merely his instrument for that revenge against all Shaolin at that point in time. Was not Masterson acting out his rage at being rejected? Was not Annie and I that instrument, pawns, for his revenge?"
"I guess so." Peter responded.
"Because the emperor's nephew died, there was no opportunity for him to learn that perhaps there might have been another chance for him to enter the temple and learn the ways of the Shaolin. By destroying Master Po, his feet were set upon a path that led only to death. By allowing Masterson to live, perhaps there may be another opportunity for him to know love once again, to know acceptance, rather than rejection."
"Then if you would have died, and had I succeeded in killing Masterson, I would have been the one to bring shame back upon the line. And then the line would have ended with me, because I would've chosen to kill myself. I truly would have been the last."
"But I did not die, and you did not kill Masterson," said Caine, swallowing the lump of emotion that formed in his throat as he continued. "Or yourself."
"Then perhaps there's hope for both of us. Pop, I'd like to try to help him. I never realized how much pain he must have felt to have done what he did. Do you think he'll let me? I mean, if I try, maybe it may help me to forgive him and to understand more."
"Yes, my son. I think that is a very admirable suggestion."
"I love you, Pop."
*****
Masterson sat in his cell at the small table that was used as a desk. Slowly he picked up the marker and began to draw. Crude images of a man appeared. A rope was around the image's neck. 'You should have been the one to die,' he thought. 'You were the one who did this to me. I had everything. Father, you and your sense of family.' Suddenly, tears began to fall. 'I'm sorry, Caine. It wasn't your fault. I know that now. It was his, his because he turned his back on me. One day, Father. One day.'
End.
Alisa Joaquin & Linda Schwartz Copyright@2000.
This story cannot be reprinted or sold in any other form without strict permission from
the author. It is being distributed here solely for your enjoyment.
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