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Shenzu and the Temple

Living a secret life.

By Silvia C CorellaPublished 3 years ago Updated 3 years ago 9 min read
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Buddhist Temple in Japan

In my hair salon, we usually received packages daily. The staff on occasion would have their personal packages delivered here to avoid porch thieves. This day was a little different. The package was midsized, wrapped in brown paper and not addressed to anyone. It did not have a label on it. Nor does anyone remember it being brought into the business.

I asked the ladies and nobody seemed to remember ordering anything. I decided to open the package. To my dismay, it was empty. Who or why in the world would someone leave an unopened package in our salon? I decided to check the video footage of the salon to see who would have left it. Again, I was disappointed because it showed up after a glitch. This was odd. I did not pay any more attention to it and threw the box in the trash.

After a few weeks, the same thing occurred. The box mysteriously appeared back on the counter, on the same spot. The box was the same size, same wrapping in brown paper and not addressed to anyone. This time I held it up and asked the ladies who was pulling a prank. The girls stood around and laughed because they thought I was pranking them. Before any customers walked in, we went back to the office to check the security footage and again, after a glitch, the box appeared. The thing was, we were all in the salon when the box appeared. How could no one notice who brought it in? Or better yet, why did nobody notice it had appeared.

I let the staff know the first box was empty when I opened it. This one also felt empty. The staff and I stood around the box as I proceeded to unwrap it. No surprise there. It was empty again. We laughed about it and thought who ever was pulling this prank on us had nothing better to do. If it was their way of having a good laugh, then so be it at our expense.

For the next five months, nothing out of the ordinary occurred. We did not receive any more mysterious packages.

It was one lovely night, arriving home, there was a package on my front door. I picked it up and looked around because it was the same type of box we had opened a few months ago. It had brown paper wrapping with a note attached to a string. The note said my name on it on all caps. As soon as I saw this, I dropped the box and ran inside. I checked the security footage, and again, a glitch and the box appeared.

I took a shot of whiskey to calm my nerves. This time I panicked because the package was at my home. Then I overthought as I usually did and calmed down. This package had my name on it. There was nothing suspicious about this. Right?

I walked out and grabbed it. This time it felt different because the box made noise indicating it contained something inside. This calmed my nerves. I took it to the kitchen and opened it. I was careful at first not knowing what the contents could be. I looked at the tag and turned it around. It had a smiley face on the back side.

The inside of the box contained a small dusty rose compact mirror. I opened it and dropped it immediately. The inside contained a woman dressed in white. She was beautiful. This scared me. Then I thought it could be an illusion. I picked up the mirror and reopened it. The woman smiled at me. My eyes were wide, and I asked if this was a joke.

“This is not a joke.” She spoke in a calm tone.

“What is this?” I asked staring into the mirror.

“Hannah, you’re not imaging this. We’ve been trying to reach you about your extended car’s warranty.” The woman said. She paused and laughed after her serious statement.

I started laughing because surely now this is a joke. A very good prank I might say.

“No, I’m kidding Hannah. About the warranty. We really have been trying to reach the correct Hannah Monroe.” The woman said as she also laughed.

“I am real. You have been chosen. And by the way, my name is Eve.” She spoke.

“Eve. This is insane.” I responded placing the mirror on the counter.

“I know, it is insane. You honestly do not know how many times I have this conversation within a century. It gets better each time.” Eve stated.

“A century? How old are you?” I asked.

“A lady never reveals her age.” Eve responded with a smirk. “Now, let us get to know each other and our reason as to why you were chosen.”

“Alright. Let us say I play along.” I responded. “Then what happens?”

“It is not a game. You will be a part of an elite group with special powers. We choose our members based on the qualifications one might have.” Eve said.

“Alright. I have no special qualifications. I think you might have the wrong Hannah.” I responded.

“You are wrong.” Eve said. “You have a special set of skills that drives you unlike anyone. When you set your mind to doing something, come rain, shine, or snow, you figure out a way. We have been watching you for many years. You have not unlocked your full potential. Thus why we are here.”

“Full potential? I do not have any special skills. What you speak of is determination. Nothing else.” I responded. I felt uneasy.

“Eve?” I asked lifting the mirror. “How can I unlock the skills you think I have?”

“Simple. You must travel to a temple located outside of Japan. You will receive training from the monks who live there. They will assist you to unlock your powers.” Eve said.

“Uh huh. And how is this going to work with my job, my home, bills and my life?” I asked.

“That will be taken care of. We have planned for you to leave next week. Your life will be taken care of. As a matter of fact, Shenzu should be knocking on your door right now.” Eve said looking towards the door.

I walked over and saw a gentleman standing with a suitcase. Wow. This was planned to perfection. I only thought this happened in the movies.

“Shenzu?” I asked after I opened the door.

“Yes. I am Shenzu.” He replied and bowed his head. “I will be here to assist you with your salon, home and pets. I will take my rest right now and, in the morning, you can begin to show me your daily routine. Where will I be sleeping?”

“Um. I’m sorry Shenzu. I was not aware I would have company tonight. I did not prepare the guest bedroom. Can you give me a few minutes? I will put on fresh linens and towels.” I responded.

“I will wait in the living room.” Shenzu said walking in.

I quickly gathered the linens and towels and prepared the guest room for Shenzu. When I came back to the living room, he was hovering above the sofa meditating. I freaked out and fell to the ground.

Shenzu opened his eyes and smiled at me. He lowered his legs and stood up. He walked to the guest bedroom and closed the door.

Over the next week, Shenzu was a dream to live with. I would wake up and he had breakfast, lunch, and dinner ready. He also had material for me to be familiar with the temple. They had specific rules on clothing and behavior that I had to learn before arriving.

I showed Shenzu my daily routine and introduced him to my staff from the salon. The girls loved him. He was helpful and knowledgeable. He settled in well.

When it was time for me to leave, Shenzu dropped me off at the airport. Arriving in Japan, another monk by the name of Aishi met me at the airport. From there it took us a few days to reach the temple.

The temple entry was beside a mountain. The road to it was not public knowledge. You would have to know your way to the temple to find it.

There was no time to navigate around the temple to get to sight see. In time is what Aishi advised me. He took me straight to my living quarters and gave me a shawl to change into. He provided me with care instructions. I would have to be careful with it and treat it as a sacred piece of clothing.

I was immediately thrown into training with other people. I was out of my element. The first few weeks were difficult. Months later I was advised I could go home for a couple of weeks. This could probably help me to loosen up and let my mind relax. I was too stressed not being able to unlock my powers.

At home in the salon, the girls talked wonders about Shenzu. Shenzu had returned home for the two weeks while I was back. I was more muscular and in shape than when I had left. I was a little overweight and the girls noticed my change.

By the end of the two weeks, I was not ready to head back to Japan. I meditated before heading to the airport and found myself back in the temple. I felt someone tap my shoulder and opened my eyes. It was Shenzu and I was in the temple.

“You have mastered your powers. You can teleport. What else can you do?” he asked.

“I am not sure. I was imaging myself doing better than I had and I am here.” I responded confused this had occurred.

I imagined myself back at my house and when I opened my eyes, I was there; alone. I then though of being at the salon and I appeared in my office. I quickly closed my eyes and imagined I was back home. I did not want the staff to see me back when they saw me walk out the front door.

I missed my flight and imagined myself back in the temple. This time, a more experienced monk assisted me to open up my other skills. Most of the monks who trained here had more than one skill and anxiously awaited for my other skills to reveal themselves.

Soon after a few more months, I mastered telekinesis, teleporting, invisibility, and mind reading. My favorite was invisibility. I felt like Harry Potter with his invisibility cloak. I was to keep my talents a secret.

Shenzu moved in with me because we were assigned secret missions and thus my world was turned upside down once again when we received our first one.

We were to stop a scientist from unleashing a deadly virus that would kill millions of people across the world. We were successful.

Shenzu and I were partners. His abilities were shielding us from harm, throwing flames from his hands, and flying. Both of our skills worked well together on missions.

Who would have thought such a small package would help me find my abilities to save the world. Shenzu and I made a fantastic team to stop the bad in the world. Who knew we would end up working together? We lived our daily lives normal and would take “vacations together” when the temple would send us on missions.

Life as I knew it was changed forever and for the better.

Short Story
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About the Creator

Silvia C Corella

Just a nerd with a very active imagination. I love writing and glad I found this platform.

Thank you for viewing my stories!

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