Yonten’s Pilgrimage

But Was It to Life or Death?

Yonten gazed out over the sacred lake. She‘d been meditating by the shore for two hours, her breaths in sync with the ripples blown across the water by icy spring gusts. Focusing on her parents helped stave off the cold.

She had sworn to visit Lake Manasarovar ever since they had been killed five years earlier in an accident. Yonten had saved every spare yuan to make this pilgrimage.

The journey of over 1,000 miles across the inhospitable landscape had been arduous, requiring every ounce of energy. And when transport wasn’t unavailable, she hiked.

Her goal, a 24-hour vigil in memory of her parents, sustained her. And now, finally, she had arrived.

No matter how hard she tried to meditate, a flood of memories intruded, creating mixed emotions of joy and grief and sorrow and peace. And gratitude, that she could be here, all alone in this holiest of isolated places, surrounded by awe-inspiring scenery that was both raw and sculptured.

Evening fell and her breath was freezing when she exhaled. Yet she relished her emotional and physical suffering, and realized she wouldn’t mind if this was her last night on earth if it meant rejoining her parents.

This story is in response to this weekly challenge.