Tai Chi Boy
Kai was not exactly your standard, boring ten year old. He had been a Shaolin monk since he was 3 years old, as his father before him had been. But his temple was not in China – it was in Greenwich, England. For the past seven years now, he had not stepped outside of the grounds of the monastery, or even given the outside world much thought. The life of a shaolin monk was hard, but Kai knew no other way. The training that some may have found cruel, he just saw as normal. And his home was beautiful, especially in the summer and winter. His life was dedicated to strengthening both his body and mind, and every day he trained vigorously.
But then came the day his monastery was visited by a girl named Charlotte. One of the older monks had become ill, losing all his appetite and finding himself unable to sleep, no matter what he tried. A doctor was sent for, that doctor was Charlotte’s father – Doctor John Stern – and Charlotte had gone with him because it was ‘take your child to work with you’ day at her school.
As it happened, that day Kai was doing some solo tai chi training in a garden outside of that sick monk’s quarters. Doctor Stern had gone inside but had asked Charlotte to wait outside. As she waited, her eyes were naturally drawn towards this curious boy doing these strange movements. Strange… yet somehow beautiful. He moved with grace the likes of which she had never seen. And though he was clearly one or two years younger than her, with his bald head and baggy robes he looked oddly like a little old man to her. Yet no old man she’d ever met looked as strong as this boy did, standing on one leg or one hand seemingly with equal ease. And what concentration! She was standing not much more than ten metres away from him, yet his eyes had not once turned towards her. Though she knew she probably shouldn’t disturb him, she just had to speak to him.
“Erm, excuse me? Hi!” she called as she approached him.
Kai couldn’t believe it. He had never seen a girl in person before. When he’d seen her and her father approaching Master Windu’s quarters, he’d done his best to act cool, as though her presence was no big deal to him. But he’d started to do more advanced techniques (such as standing on one hand) with the hope of impressing her. And now she was speaking to him! He did his best to stay calm.
“Greetings.” he replied to her, bowing a little.
“Hi. My name’s Charlotte. I’m here with my father… erm, he’s a doctor. What’s your name?”
“Kai.” he replied, instantly regretting it. He should have said something cooler sounding, like ‘the wind does not need a name, it just is’. Well, too late now.
“I’m pleased to meet you, Kai. What was that you were doing?”
“The wind does not need a name, it just is.” What? What did he say that for? Surely she would think him rude now. What was he thinking?
“Oh… okay, cool.”
“But… we monks call it tai chi. Would you like to try?”
She very much did. For the next twenty minutes Kai showed her a few basic movements… after which his life would never be the same again.
Why does teaching Charlotte a little tai chi change Kai’s life?
Will Kai ever see Charlotte again after this day?
What affect does meeting Kai have on Charlotte?