Page 195 - SpontaneousSuccessFINAL6

SPONTANEOUS SUCCESS
"As I entered the monastery courtyard, Raghu
emerged from the shadows, his eyes still twinkling with
warmth. He was the Abbot. He opened his arms, and I
felt the same sense of calm wash over me. Gone was the
brown woolen cloak. In its place, a simple elegant
celestial blue robe tied with a narrow golden silk sash
that seemed to blend into the misty mountainside. On
his feet he wore woven straw sandals, secured with
simple leather straps."
“'You have come home,' he said, his voice gentle as
the breeze. He invited me to stay and I accepted.”
Thomas dragged a folding chair across the floor. He
positioned it directly in front of us, his eyes locking onto
each of ours in turn. His eyes softened, and his breath
caught. Memories, long buried, began to resurface. His
gaze drifted inward, and for an instant, he was lost in the
depths of his own soul.
“I resigned from my post and for one year surrendered
to the monastic life. I learned Portuguese, lived by the
sun and stars, and worked with my hands—nurturing the
gardens and restoring ancient documents." His fingers
seemed to grasp at an unseen matrix. "Piecing together
forgotten knowledge."
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