XII. Time

“Do not dwell in the past, do not dream of the future, concentrate the mind on the present moment.” ~Buddha

Year 972 (23^rd year of King Gwangjong’s Reign.)

At Haeinsa Temple, inside the Abbots meeting room.

Gyeo and Leom stood inside the Abbots meeting room with documents in hand.

“Welcome back.” The Abbot greeted them both.

Both monks greeted the Abbot,“We are happy to return, Abbot.” Leom said.

“How was your stay at the palace?” The Abbot asked.

Leom and Gyeo approached the Abbots desk. Leom set down the book on his table.

“Our work is complete; The King has received a copy of the fully translated book.” Leom stated.

“He asked that the book be kept away from the palace in a safe place. Therefore, we have brought it back with us.”

Gyeo addressed the Abbot, “Here is our full report.”

The Abbot took a few minutes as he read Gyeo’s report.

Both monks waited patiently.

The Abbot stopped reading, looked up, and asked, “Ji-Mong?”

Gyeo, answered, “The King’s star diviner. On our arrival at the palace, he met us.  We remained as guests in his tower.  He proved instrumental in helping us decipher the more difficult parts of the book.”

Gyeo stopped for a moment before continuing. “He died a year later. He drowned at the Daminwon during an eclipse.”

The room was quiet for a minute as the Abbot remained in thought.

Leom then continued, “We believe the information in the book was as much of interest to Ji-Mong as to the King.”

“Go on.” The Abbot said.

“The book contains specific dates. 1,000 years into the future. It records the relationship between the eclipses, the Daminwon and a way to travel between incarnations. We believe Ji-Mong was searching for this information.” Leom said.

“What relationship would that be?” The Abbot asked.

Leom answered, “Certain events can trigger the door to open.  For example, the eclipse, when it reaches totality. It is a marker that shows the door has opened.”

The monk continued, “The Daminwon, and travelling thru water, we believe it changes the traveler. The nature of the trip. It helps them retain their memory after reincarnation.”

Then Leom said, “And something else….”

The Abbot’s eyes stayed on Leom.

“This, Ji-Mong did not learn of this before leaving. The way a person reincarnates affects the traveler….

The lady’s reincarnation as an adult. It interrupted the usual cycle.

The Heaven’s way of keeping balance. The natural order of being born from childhood to adulthood.”

Gyeo chimed in then, “Ji-Mong was searching for this information. He understood the door would open, but he wanted to understand the side effects affecting the traveler. He didn’t understand the relationship with the lady’s heart condition.”

“He was seeking confirmation from the lady’s writing.” Gyeo finished.

The Abbots face remained calm, as he nodded deep in thought.

In a calm voice the Abbot added, “The Heavens kept balance. They provided Lady Hae Soo with a heart in Goryeo strong enough to help King Gwangjong to become King.  What she gained in strength she lost in time.”

Silence filled the room again.

“He has returned, then?” The Abbot asked.

Both monks nodded.

“We believe after his second trip to Goryeo, Ji-Mong has returned to that future.” Gyeo said.

Both monks met the Abbot’s eyes then.

All three stood in silence again.

The Abbot’s gaze traveled to the window. 

He then slowly gathered the materials on his desk, and with a small satisfied smile said, “Well done Leom and Gyeo. Thank you for your work.”

“Please ensure the book is kept in a safe place.” The Abbot added.

Both monks nodded in agreement.

Then bowed to the Abbot before exiting.

Inside the Palace at the Daminwon

King Gwangjong stood watching the outside pool at the Daminwon.

Two ladies approached carrying tea to refill his cup. He turned seeing them approach and dismissed them with a wave of his hand. 

He stood alone by the pool in contemplation.

A memory of another time, came back to him. 

He had returned to the palace as a prince after being a hostage.

King Taejo had asked him to return for the rain ritual. Ji-Mong had suggested he bathe at the Daminwon pool. 

He had entered this same pool then.

That day, as he entered the pool, he had met Hae Soo.

Emerging from the pools depths, she had moved as fast as a water dragon, startling him into taking a step back.

From the start, all their encounters had been far from ordinary. 

He had first met her in the town street, as he galloped towards 8^th Prince’s home.

She had ended that encounter riding his horse, as he tried to keep her from falling into a creek.

Afterwards, she restrained his horse with her bare hands. A feat few soldiers would even attempt.

Their second meeting had ended with him physically restraining her from beating prince Eun.

No one else would have dared touch a prince, but she had pushed the young prince to the ground and sat on him.

Everything about Hae Soo had been different.

As the memories returned, he felt a sense of amusement now looking back at all of it.

He remembered the time a young Prince Jung had been attacked, and she had come to his rescue.

She had single-handed fended off a gang of criminals with just a stick.

Prince Jung, Prince Wook and himself had been too surprised to do anything but just watch her as she ended that encounter with a big smile and a hug for Prince Jung.

Only now did he understand enough to know why she was different.

Only now did he understand the courage it must have taken for her to keep this secret for so long.

He knew now, that whatever the place Hae Soo came from, or whatever her name, it was her heart he had fallen in love with above all else.

The heart that had allowed for Goryeo to have a King Gwangjong.

That heart had changed the King he became.

She had been as trapped by the constraints of the palace, as she was by time itself and his own history.

Ji-Mong had been a puppet master all along in this play that fate seemed to have set for them.

Pieces in the puzzle he had spent most of his reign searching for, now fit into a complete picture.

He knew enough now, to make sense of their life together.

Scenes of that life replayed in his mind.

He had analyzed every detail, so that he felt like he had lived several lifetimes with Hae Soo instead of just a portion of one.

Without her, things would have turned out very differently.

He spoke her name out loud slowly, trying to familiarize himself with the sound … “Hae   Jin.”

Time, the work of two persistent monks, and mounting evidence had all brought him to stand at this pool today.

The Daminwon had held its secrets for too long.

Ji-Mong had died at this pool during an eclipse.

King Mu had drowned here too.

Hae Soo had traveled to him in this pool, as well.

He moved to take a step down into the pool, but before he could reach it, waves suddenly stirred in the pool.

The ground shifted under his feet.

He struggled to keep his balance.

He heard ceramics shattering on the floor behind him.

Yelling inside the Daminwon followed as the ground continued shaking more violently.

The ground slid away under his feet as the waves from the pool increased in strength and splashed him.

The thought of that water dragon came to him again.

He almost expected it to come rising out of the pool.

Small rocks from the rock wall surrounding the pool, fell into the pool adding to the churning waves.

The columns shook, and he expected them to fall into the pool as well.

For a moment he couldn’t understand what was happening. 

Shouts inside the Daminwon echoed from its first and second floor.

“Earthquake!”

XI. Your Road.

“It’s your road…..and yours alone……others might walk it with you, but no one can walk it for you. No matter what path you choose really walk it.”   =Buddha

The horse’s legs had the strength to keep galloping. As Crown Prince Ju held tightly to the reins, he wrapped his legs around his teacher’s horse letting his legs help him control the horse.  

He had ridden him before and knew his teacher had picked this horse for speed.  He knew what the animal had in speed would mean he needed to also be careful not to overexert his stamina.

The King rode next to him also at a full gallop. His horse was a full half body length ahead of his own horse.  Out of the corner of his eye Prince Ju could admire the King’s speed and control of his horse.  The King looked like he was enjoying himself challenging his son as they rode out into an open field.

Prince Ju rode as low as he could be trying to catch up to the King.  Ahead of them a flag bearer stood waiting for them to cross the finish line.

As they approached at full speed, Prince Ju forgot all thoughts and just imagined himself melting into his horse, throwing everything he had learned about riding into trying to run as fast as he could to the finish line. 

His horse seemed to read his intent and gained a little on the King’s horse.  The finish line was just ahead.

Then the King bore down on his own horse as both animals rode side by side.

They crossed the finish line, as the flag bearer raised his flag.

The soldiers at the finish line cheered. 

Prince Ju sat on his horse after the race looking at the King.

His Father’s wide smile left him feeling unguarded for a moment and then he realized he too was smiling. 

The King had won the race.

Prince Ju let his horse walk slowly, trying to cool him down. Then allowed him to approach a creek and drink.

The King stood close by, letting his own horse drink.

“Persistence and endurance carry their own reward.”   The King’s words took him by surprise.

Prince Ju turned to see his Father focusing on the creek and his own horse. The King’s back did not let him see his face.

For a moment he felt frustration, all this time he had wanted his father to acknowledge him. Now he stood next to him and words failed him.

“It takes courage to go up against a wild pig by yourself. What went wrong?” The King casually added.

Prince Ju stood quiet for a moment letting the King’s words sink in.

“I didn’t expect the pig to turn away so quickly from the arrows path. I wasn’t prepared to shoot a second arrow at him.” He answered.

After another silence the King spoke again, “It was good timing to have your teacher arrive when he did. Had things not worked out this way, who would be mourning your choice today?”

At the King’s words, the first face that filled Prince Ju’s mind was his Mother, Queen Daemok.

The realization filled him with sadness as he thought of his Mother alone in the palace.

Prince Ju understood the sacrifices his Mother had made to help him become the Crown Prince.

 After a pause, the King continued, “Courage is not always enough….

A King travels his own road alone; always.

His every choice can both help and hurt those around him.”

The King’s horse had stopped drinking.

As he turned away from the creek, Prince Ju could now see his face.

“King Taejo, favored Crown Prince Mu during his reign. 

My oldest brother managed to survive being the target of the King’s advisers who continuously asked for his removal as Crown Prince.

They attempted to poison him, and sent assassins to kill him before he became King.

He persisted, but was unable to endure.

His reign lasted three years.”

The King’s eyes looked sad as he remembered.

“Sometimes, endurance can be the true measure of a King’s success.

This applies to you as well, Ju.

A father’s acknowledgement, isn’t always a blessing.”

Prince Ju walked next to the King as they both slowly led their horses back to where the soldiers were.

Then the King added, “Travelling this road alone as Crown Prince, has afforded you the freedom to remain by your Mother’s side.

An enduring Kingdom as Goryeo’s next King will be your biggest challenge.”

 In a lighter tone the King added, “You have received good training from your teacher, you kept your head when that pig turned against you.”

Prince Ju stopped walking for a moment and said to the King, “I was scared.”

Prince Ju’s words made the King smile again. 

Before reaching the soldiers camp, the smell of roasting meat reached them first.

The King’s last words before reaching the camp were soft and for his ears only.

“The path ahead of you is being cleared. You will need to be strong enough to walk it alone.”

As Prince Ju’s thoughts returned to the present,

The King’s words still echoed in his mind.

He shot his last arrow.

Then walked to the target himself to retrieve them.

As he approached the target he stopped for a moment in front of Goryeo’s  royal flag, the wind made it sway.

He held three arrows that had not reached the bulls-eye in his hand,

and slowly walked back preparing to shoot again.

X. Courage

Year 971 (21^st year of King Gwangjong’s Reign)

What is Courage? Courage does not always roar. Sometimes, it is the quiet voice at the end of the day saying, “I will try again tomorrow.” ~ Anonymous

Inside the Archery Grounds at the Royal Palace.

The soldier joyfully announced, “It’s another bulls-eye your highness!” The arrow had embedded itself at the center of the target.

Crown Prince Wang Ju stood preparing to shoot a third arrow.  Archery was something he had mastered easily from a young age.

Martial arts and swordsmanship had also been skills that he had mastered.  However, it was archery where his skills truly shined.

He had practiced endlessly, when he was young, hoping that if he excelled, his Father, King Gwangjong would recognize his skills and that this would help him gain his acceptance.

Persistence was his strong suit.

 His mother, Queen Daemok had frequently praised him for his determination. 

Queen Daemok and his Father had spent most of their life as monarchs in a silent war with each other.

The Queen hoped to continue to empower the noble families and build alliances to strengthen their position.

The King had done everything within his power to weaken the clans and noble families and to wrestle power from them.

The King had inherited a kingdom under the power of the clans. 

He had freed slaves in a move that had managed to weaken the clans and strengthen the King’s power. 

Slaves became citizens of Goryeo, paying tribute and taxes.

The King’s purges had removed many nobles from the court, also strengthening the King’s position.

It had been a calculated move to remove inherited positions.

Creating new openings through merit and testing, rather than family ties.

The King’s reform had attempted to remove entitlement and replace it with talent and competence.

Prince Ju's movements flowed as he continued preparing another arrow, it  became a form of meditation.

“Kings are rarely understood.” Prince Ju whispered his thoughts as he prepared another arrow.

King Taejo would be proud of his son King Gwangjong and his work strengthening the kingdom he had founded.

Many at court and among the noble families would say that the opposite was now true of the Crown Prince’s position at court.

His Father did not acknowledge him publicly.

Some whispered that he suspected and mistrusted his own son.

They believed the King’s son might not become King or even perhaps survive the King’s wrath if it ever turned against him.

In the matter of gaining a stronger position for her son, Queen Daemok had spent years trying to have the King openly recognize her son and help him get an official position of trust with his Father. 

All her efforts in this regard had failed.

He had once overheard the ladies-in-waiting to his mother speaking about the King and how he ignored his own son.

They had thought the King did not consider him worthy to be the Crown Prince and suspected the Prince would be poisoned or killed before becoming King.

He calmly took another arrow from his quiver, quietly aiming.  He let the arrow fly once again.

“Another bulls-eye your Majesty!” the flag bearer announced.

The Crown Prince’s eyes traveled to the target and the center.

He remembered one time when he was an 11-year-old.

He had been trying to prove to his Father, that he was indeed worthy to be Crown Prince.

He had set out during the afternoon alone to hunt a wild pig that had been spotted around the palace grounds. 

Surely, he thought the tale of his bravery would reach his Father’s ears.

He had packed his arrows and bow and had spent most of the morning tracking the pig, trying to find any trace of the animal.

He knew it had been sighted the day before, during the late evening, inside the palace grounds.

He hid underneath a bush, waiting the way his teacher had taught him.

Even, as the light started to fade he continued to wait.

The sound of every living thing around the grounds kept him at the ready.

He heard snorting nearby. 

It was unmistakable.

He realized the animal was fast approaching his hiding spot and he nearly lost his courage.

After a moment’s hesitation, he had readied his bow.

Suddenly, the animal burst out of the brush.

He tried to steady himself and aim the arrow.

He let his instincts guide him then, as he always did when practicing.

He loosed the arrow.

It traveled straight towards the animal. Abruptly, the animal moved out of the arrow’s path.

He had barely registered his failure, before he saw that the animal had spotted him.

The fury in its eyes was enough to make him scramble, as fast as he could, towards a tree.

The wild pig ran towards him.

He had reached the base of the tree, but he knew the animal would reach him before he could climb up.

He turned and stood frozen.

His back against the tree as the animal charged him. His instincts took over again as he barely managed to move out of the way.  

The pig rammed straight into the trunk, so close to him he could feel the heat from its body.

The animal was stunned.

He moved to run away again, trying to position himself where he could shoot again.

Then a spear hit the animal across it’s middle, and it collapsed on its side.

He stood there staring at the dying animal with his legs shaking.

He saw his teacher approach him, with a calm knowing look on his face.

As his teacher moved closer to him, he slowly turned.

Behind his teacher rode his Father, King Gwangjong on his horse.  Next to him, the other soldiers who had also come to hunt the animal.

 

IX. Encounters

“Everything you encounter is your life.”

                                                      
                                                = Kosho Uchiyama

Modern Day Seoul South Korea

Hae Jin stood outside the coffee shop folding her umbrella.  The rain had come suddenly.

She tried to enter the building to keep her shoes and herself from getting any wetter.  She stopped once inside the shop, looking around trying to spot the person she was meeting.

He sat at the back of the shop in a table next to a window and saw her enter the building. Rising from his seat, he walked to where she stood frozen for a minute inside the door, feeling chilled.

“You look cold. We should get you something warm to drink first.” He said as he approached her with a smile. Taking her umbrella and letting her walk to the counter to place an order.

“I’m sorry for making you wait. My bus was late. Probably due to the rain.” She said in an apologetic voice.

“No need to apologize. I enjoy watching the rain.” He gestured towards the table where his drink waited.

They sat next to the window.  Hae Jin sipped her tea trying to gather her thoughts. She was at a loss as to where to start.  None of this felt real yet.

Seeing the exhibit in the gallery, and the images of her life in Goryeo had brought back all her memories and feelings of the past. 

She had thought time travelling was hard.

It was nothing compared to having 10 years of memories rush at you at once. 

Especially when those memories involved tragedies and mistakes made in those 10 years and so many of those memories had copious quantities of regret.

She had arrived in Goryeo trying to learn how to live like Hae Soo and keep everyone from learning about Hae Jin.

Now, she was back to being Hae Jin, but after the gallery she now found Hae Soo’s memories and life super imposed and trying to fit into Hae Jin’s modern life.

Those drawings were intimate portraits of moments she shared with the princes.

She could think of only one person who could find out about those moments in detail. She recognized his drawing style. The answer led to Prince Baek-Ah.

The memories regained at the gallery  had shifted  her reality violently again.

She no longer just had concerns about getting back to work and reestablishing relationships with friends and family. Living a life every modern person experienced.

She had lived a life as Hae Jin before Goryeo, broken by love and friendships.

Her second life had started in Goryeo as Hae Soo.

She had learned about love that was strong enough to withstand betrayal and attack on all fronts. The word friendship had acquired new meanings.

She had started her third life as Hae Jin, after a year in a coma. Returning to work, starting a life after drowning.

Today, she began a fourth life.  She was now Hae Jin and carried Hae Soo’s experiences and memories. She was a time traveler. 

It seemed the unexpected encounters in her life were starting again.  These encounters defied logic, and the laws of Physics.

She should not be having these encounters. Meeting them again and again…but here she was.

How deeply her life had just changed would be determined from this meeting.

She stopped gazing into her tea cup and looked outside the window.

The rain left drops clinging to the large window, sliding off slowly as they hit the glass.

Leaving traces of their path as they slid into their inevitable fall, pulled by gravity. She used her finger to trace their path.

She felt just as fractured and fragile as those drops clinging to the glass.

She only had one certainty now.

She would not be swept away by circumstances, just waiting for each day to unfold for her the way she had done in Goryeo.

King Taejo had advised her to close her eyes when things became too much to bear. Do nothing. Be a witness.

She couldn't be just a witness anymore, always afraid of changing history.

She would not follow that path again.

She would not think so much about consequences anymore. 

She understood now, that forces were at work that where beyond her control anymore or full understanding.

This was the modern world. Her world. 

She had the home court advantage this time.

This time she would be an active participant not just an observer.

He sat watching the wheels turning in her head.  

Determination filled her eyes. 

Sensing her discomfort, he spoke first. “This has come upon you suddenly. You must still be trying to make sense of it.”

She looked at him trying to read his thoughts. Not satisfied with what she read there. 

Questions flooded her mind one on top of the other. She couldn’t stop them from filling her head and didn’t know where to begin.

Why am I travelling back here?

And you?

Why are you here?

Is anyone else travelling too?

Why is this happening?

Breaking the silence, looking at her, he said, “What is it you are trying to ask me?”

Finally, with mounting frustration, she asked, “Who are you?” 

VIII. Travel

Year 968 (19th Year of King Gwangjong's Reign)

“The only real failure in life is not to be true to the best one knows.” =Buddha

The fields stretched out in front of him. They always did. More than home, palace, friends or family, it was the fields that where his companion.  

13^th Prince Wang Baek -Ah sat under a tree recording the words to a new song he had heard in town that morning. 

 The song was hummed and sung by a mother to her child as she rocked the baby to sleep and he drew them. 

The song was now in his head and he knew until he recorded the words and tried to replay the tune it wouldn’t leave his head.  He was grateful for the quiet and the lack of interruptions. He wanted to practice playing the tune.

The words to the many simple songs he had heard over the years sung by the common people, spoke of their suffering, their fears, their resilience and sometimes as did this song, their hopes for their children. 

King Taejo, his father, had set him on a quest to record his people by drawing them when he was younger. Little had he known then, that this path would become his salvation. A place that allowed him to live with some measure of freedom.

As a Prince, living inside the palace, he had witnessed the death of family and friends in pursuit and defense of a throne.

He had known the rise and fall of kingdoms. Including his own royal house in Sillas. 

Kings rose and fell trying to strengthen and unify their kingdoms.

As an artist he traveled and lived among the common people.

He recorded their hearts, through songs, and drawings.

He knew now, that true unification in any Kingdom relied on a King understanding their own people.

His own brother, King Gwangjong ruled with the same hope.  He had once stood by his side. In the time before she was gone.

Her face came back again filling his mind. Every shape, curve and outline. He remembered her, all of her.

She had been too young to carry the full weight of her people and their fallen kingdom.  He had been too young to understand, she carried the weight alone.

Until it was too late.

Until his arms had filled with her fallen, broken body.

He knew loss, it traveled with him every day.

Thoughts of the palace, and of her made him stop recording the words to the song. Instead, he picked up the book he used for his drawings and opened its pages.

The King had asked to meet with him and embark on a new mission. 

Ji-Mong’s death a year ago had raised new questions for the King concerning Hae Soo.

A part of him had understood the King’s request. 

His heart understood his brother.  The King had wanted more than a picture drawn of her, to remember.

He wanted to capture her heart as well in those pictures. The moments she had shared with them, the Princes.

She had brought out the best in them. She had changed them.

Those times had been a spring for all of them, when brothers had met as brothers. 

Time would change them all.

His own memories of Hae Soo had been narrated to the King when he returned to the palace and they had met.

Ji-Mong  had seemed to think Hae Soo came from a different world.  He had said that thinking back, there where many instances that showed this.

The King had asked him,“Baek- Ah, you knew her well. Do you know of such instances?” 

As a result of that meeting, he had spent part of the last year traveling.

Meeting his brother’s.  Visiting their homes.   

In doing this he was also recording his brother’s stories of their time before the all out fight for the throne.

Her story involved his brother’s too.

8^th Prince Wang Wook had been able to provide details of her life outside the palace and the time she had lived in his household.

14^th Prince Wang Jung had returned to his home after an earlier stay at the temple while recovering from an injury. He too had added a story of an encounter between him and Hae Soo in which she had come to his defense.

He had drawn a few sketches of his own.

Memories of moments shared with his brothers. As his own testament to those days.

He looked through all the sketches in his book. He planned to turn them into full color paintings.  He would add his signature signet once they were finished and send them to the palace.

He turned the pages to the sketches stopping when he reached the sketch of Prince Wang Wook carrying Lady Myung Hee on his back in her last moments. Hae Soo had walked right behind him.  

The sketch triggered a memory of him and Hae Soo drinking after Lady Myung Hee's death.

Every day they had drunk, and drunk.

Hae Soo and him, caring only about how to drown the pain and loneliness they both felt after her death.

Both of them might not have started out as friends but Lady Myung Hee's death had changed that too. 

He had tried to explain to her customs any royal family member understood,

but Hae Soo never fit, or seemed to know what should have been second nature to her station in life. 

Everyone blamed this on her memory loss, but he could see it was more than that.

During one of their many conversations she had taught him about the importance of freedom and she had said to him,

“Please stop talking about taking people. This place always treats people like they are property. Just wait a thousand years.   There is no one above you. There is no one below you…..How long is life anyway?

Your status is this, the Prince is that……

Listen to me Baek -Ah.

You could be living well, and still just end up dying someday.

You can fall right out of the sky.

Then end up living in a place like this;

so, just follow your heart and live.

Do everything you want to do.

And live however you want to,

OK?”

13^th Prince, turned the pages in his book.  The last sketch he had drawn he would keep for himself.

It was of Hae Soo walking in an open field.

Her hands outstretched to touch the tall sunflowers.

He had used lighter tones to represent the moment, letting light stream into the drawing.

The drawing showed him the young Hae Soo he remembered. 

Still hopeful, still following her heart, before loss too would fill her days.

Above her he had drawn an open sky.

He spoke to her drawing as if she could listen, “I hope you find your open sky. 

1,000 years from now, with no one above or below you.

I’ve tried to keep your secret, friend,

but time is unfolding the truth. 

Perhaps this too is just another part of all our fates.”