Return to the Truth

Ten years passed by quietly like the wind on the grassland.

Dawa has grown into a thirteen-year-old boy with his father's deep eyes and his mother's resolute mouth. His favorite thing is to sit under the redwood tree and listen to his parents tell stories about time and space that seem real and imaginary.

"Dad, have you really been to a place where there are singing stars?" Dawa looked up and asked Tashi Phuntsok, with curiosity glittering in his eyes.

Tashi Phuntsok stroked his son's hair, his eyes warm. "Those places are both far away and close. They are so far away that it takes countless miles of time to reach them, yet so close that you can see them just by closing your eyes."

Qi Diao Yanfei, mending clothes nearby, listened to the conversation between father and son, a gentle smile playing on her lips. Ten years of peaceful life had allowed those thrilling adventures through time and space to gradually settle into precious memories deep within their hearts. Now, they were respected physicians and sky burial masters on the grasslands, leading simple yet fulfilling lives.

However, beneath the calm, undercurrents are still surging.

One evening, while performing a sky burial for an elderly man, Qi Diao Yanfei suddenly felt a familiar vibration in space and time. As she guided the deceased's soul to the other side, a subtle rift in space and time flashed across the ceremony. In that instant, she saw what lay on the other side of the rift—a grand ceremony taking place at Xingchen Academy, and at its center were statues of herself and Tashi Phuntsok.

"Did you see it?" She described the scene to Tashi Phuntsok that night.

He was silent for a moment, then nodded. "After the Origin Light fell asleep, those connections between time and space were not completely severed. They are like underground rivers, occasionally surfacing above ground."

The aftermath of this time and space not only affects them, but also begins to affect Dawa.

The boy began to have strange dreams in which he was a time-keeper, traveling between worlds. Even more disturbing was that he would sometimes speak languages ​​that did not belong to this era or display knowledge beyond that of an ordinary person.

"Today, when Dawa was helping me sort out the herbs, he accurately described the properties of three medicinal herbs that can only be found in the future Buddha Kingdom." Tashi Phuntsok told Qi Diao Yanfei worriedly, "He can't possibly know this."

Qi Diao Yanfei recalled the strange visions she had experienced during her pregnancy, and a sinister premonition rose in her heart: "Is the bloodline of time and space awakening?"

Their worries became a reality on the full moon night.

That night, Dawa suddenly developed a high fever, his entire body emitting a soft blue light. As he cried out, objects in the room began to levitate, and the walls became transparent, revealing the galaxy flowing behind them.

"Balance...balance is needed..." The boy muttered to himself in a coma, using the tone of the Origin of Light.

Tashi Phuntsok tried to treat his son with medical skills, but to no avail. Qi Diao Yanfei felt the surging space-time energy within Dawa's body. That energy was both familiar and unfamiliar, like a fusion of all her and Tashi Phuntsok's experiences in space and time.

"It's an atavism phenomenon." A voice suddenly echoed in the room. The figure of the Primordial Light gathered beside Dawa's bed, but it was fainter than in his memory, as if it would dissipate at any moment.

"What did you say?" Qi Diao Yanfei asked anxiously.

The Primordial Light gazed at the painful Dawa: "As my fragments, you have experienced too many miracles of time and space. These experiences have been encoded deep in your souls and are now manifesting in your child. He is inheriting all your time and space characteristics."

Tashi Phuntsok stood guard over his son's bedside: "Is there any way to stop this?"

"Why stop him?" The Origin of Light asked, "This isn't a disease, it's a gift. He's destined to become the new generation of Guardian of Time and Space."

Qi Diao Yanfei shook her head: "We choose an ordinary life, and we also hope that he can have an ordinary life."

“Some choices,” the Origin Light whispered, “are not made by parents.”

At that moment, Dava suddenly sat up, his eyes turning a star-like silver. When he spoke, his voice was a cacophony of voices: "The fabric of space and time has cracked again, and a guardian is needed. This child is the chosen successor."

Tashi Phuntsok angrily stood in front of the Source Light and said, "You promised not to interfere in our lives anymore!"

"This is not interference," the figure of the Origin Light began to dissipate, "This is the call of destiny. When the bell rings, the guardian must respond..."

As the primordial light disappeared, Dawa fell into coma again, but the blue light on his body became brighter.

The couple stayed by their son's side all night. At dawn, Dawa's fever subsided, and the blue light gradually faded. When he awoke, he had no memory of the night before.

But some things have changed.

From that day on, Dawa began to show amazing talents. He could switch between different languages ​​​​freely, understand the most complex philosophical concepts, and even predict some small things that were about to happen.

"Mom," he asked Qi Diao Yanfei one day, "Why do I always feel like my heart is filled with so many memories that don't belong to me?"

Qi Diao Yanfei didn't know how to answer, so she could only hold her son tightly in her arms.

Over time, Dawa's extraordinary abilities became increasingly apparent. He could converse with animals, heal injuries, and even travel to other times and places in his dreams. The herders of the grasslands began calling him "Little Living Buddha" and flocked to pay homage.

This attention did not bring glory to the family, but rather trouble.

One day, a group of monks from afar found their hut. The old lama in the lead claimed that he had received a revelation from the Buddha and was coming to welcome the "reincarnated soul boy."

“This child is no ordinary soul,” the old lama said to Tashi Phuntsok. “He contains within him the wisdom of countless lifetimes. Please allow us to take him to the monastery so that he can receive the education and offerings he deserves.”

Tashi Phuntsok flatly refused: "He is our son, and we just want him to live an ordinary life."

But similar visitors keep arriving. There are messengers from a mysterious organization, claiming to protect the "Child of Time and Space"; there are travelers from the future, asking the "Guardian" for guidance; and there are even beings from other dimensions, coming to pay homage to the "Original Incarnation."

Their peaceful life was completely disrupted.

On a stormy night, Qi Diao Yanfei and Zhaxi Pingcuo had the most intense quarrel since they met.

"We should leave here!" Qi Diao Yanfei said excitedly, "Let's go to a place where no one knows us and let Dawa get away from all this trouble!"

Tashi Phuntsok shook his head: "Escape will not solve the problem. Dawa's talent is innate. No matter where we go, these troubles will find us."

"Then what do you say we should do?" Qi Diao Yanfei's eyes were filled with tears. "Watch our son being worshipped as a god? Watch him lose his ordinary childhood?"

Tashi Phuntsok was silent for a long time, then finally said, "Perhaps...we should tell him the truth. Let him choose his own path for the future."

This suggestion shocked Qi Diao Yan Fei: "He is only thirteen years old!"

"But his mind is already far beyond that of an ordinary person," Tashi Phuntsok sighed. "You and I both know that he is no longer an ordinary child."

The argument ended in nothing, and that night they slept in separate beds for the first time.

Late at night, unable to sleep, Qi Diao Yanfei wandered alone beneath a redwood tree. Raindrops trickled down the leaves, soaking her clothes. She stroked the rough bark, remembering the countless vows she and Tashi Phuntsok had made there.

“I thought we had finally found balance,” she whispered to the night sky, “Why won’t fate let us go?”

"Because true balance is dynamic, not static." A familiar voice replied.

Tashi Phuntsok came up behind her at some point and put his coat on her. "Just like the river on the grassland, it seems calm, but in fact it is always flowing. Our love and our life also need constant adjustment and adaptation."

She leaned on his shoulder, feeling the familiar warmth: "I am afraid of losing Dawa, afraid that he will be forced to bear those heavy missions."

“Perhaps,” Tashi Phuntsok said softly, “we shouldn’t view those missions as burdensome. They are part of us and will be part of Dawa. The key is how to integrate these parts and find his own balance.”

The next day, they decided to have a frank conversation with Dawa.

Under the redwood tree, they told their son all the truth: time travel, the original light, the guardian's mission... and their final decision to choose an ordinary life.

Dawa listened quietly, his face lacking the surprise that a thirteen-year-old boy should have, only a deep thought beyond his age.

"So," he whispered after hearing the whole story, "I'm not sick, nor am I possessed. I'm just... inheriting your past?"

Qi Diao Yanfei nodded, tears in her eyes: "Yes, child. The blood of time and space flows in your body."

Dawa thought for a long time, then asked, "If I say I want to explore these abilities and understand these memories, will you be disappointed?"

Zhaxi Pingcuo and Qidiao Yanfei looked at each other and saw the same answer in each other's eyes.

“No,” Tashi Phuntsok said, “We just want you to be happy.”

"Well then," Dawa stood up, his eyes gleaming with determination, "I want to learn. Not in a temple, not with those strange emissaries, but from you. Learn how to balance these powers, how to find my place in this world."

This answer was beyond their expectations, but also reasonable.

From that day on, their lives entered a new phase. During the day, Dawa learned herding, reading, and arithmetic like any other teenager. At night, under the redwood trees, they taught him how to control time and space, and how to understand knowledge from different dimensions.

Qi Diao Yanfei taught him the wisdom of a soul-ferryman, how to respect life and death, and how to guide souls; Tashi Phuntsok taught him the compassion of a doctor, how to heal wounds and soothe pain. They did not worship Dawa as a god, but rather as a child with special talents.

In the process, their own mentality has also changed. Those memories of time and space that were once considered a burden have now become precious teaching materials; those extraordinary experiences that they once wanted to avoid have now become a source of wisdom.

One evening, while practicing controlling his precognitive abilities, Dawa suddenly said, "Dad, Mom, I think your choice is right."

"What choice?" asked Qi Diao Yanfei.

"Choose an ordinary life," Dawa smiled. "Because only in the ordinary can we truly understand the value of the extraordinary. Just like only in the darkness can we see the stars."

Tashi Phuntsok hugged his wife's shoulders with emotion and said, "It seems that our son has understood the true meaning of balance earlier than we did."

As Dawa gradually mastered his abilities, the number of uninvited visitors began to decrease. The young man responded to every request with wisdom and compassion, neither arrogant nor self-deprecating.

A year later in the spring, Dawa officially held his coming-of-age ceremony. Witnessed by the grassland elders, he vowed to use his special abilities to serve his people while living an ordinary life.

That night, the image of the Origin Light appeared again, but this time, it simply nodded in greeting from afar, not approaching, as if expressing respect for the family and approval of their choice.

When the guests left, the family of three sat under the redwood tree and looked up at the starry night sky.

"Dad, Mom," Dawa suddenly asked, "If one day time and space really need a guardian, I will answer the call. Will you support me?"

Qi Diao Yanfei and Zhaxi Pingcuo held hands and saw the same answer in each other's eyes.

"Whatever path you choose," Qi Diao Yanfei said gently, "we will support you."

Tashi Phuntsok added: "Because true love is not about restraint, but about letting go; it is not about protection, but about trust."

Dawa smiled contentedly and continued to gaze up at the starry sky. In those young eyes, there was both a youth's longing for the future and a guardian's awareness of responsibility.

Qi Diao Yanfei leaned on Tashi Phuntsok's shoulder, feeling the hard-earned peace. After so many twists and turns, they finally understood: returning to nature is not about returning to the starting point, but about bringing all the experiences and wisdom with you, finding extraordinary meaning in the ordinary.

Like the redwoods on the prairie, their roots are deeply rooted in the soil, yet their crowns touch the sky. Witness the infinite within the finite, and embrace the miraculous within the ordinary.

And this is the true balance.