I As I moved toward the pond to pluck the blue lotus, an invisible force suddenly pushed me far away.
It felt as if someone was guarding all the flowers in that pond.
I gathered my courage and went toward the pond again. As soon as I reached a short distance from it, I heard a terrifying voice:
"Stop! If you move forward, you will die."
Hearing the voice, I stopped and said,
"Who is there? Come before me."
As soon as I said this, a huge, powerful, and frightening demon appeared before me.
He said,
"Leave this place, or I will kill you."
I replied,
"I have come to take the blue lotus, and I will take it no matter what."
The demon laughed loudly and said,
"So, you have come for the lotus flower.
If you want to take it, you must answer my three questions.
If you give even one wrong answer, I will kill you.
Ha ha ha ha ha!"
I said firmly,
"Alright. I will answer your questions and take the flower."
First question:
"Tell me, what is that power which can reach anywhere in less than a second?"
After thinking for a moment, I replied,
"The answer is the mind. The mind is so powerful that just by thinking, we can reach anywhere."
"Correct answer," he said.
Second question:
"Now tell me, what is that thing which increases when shared and never decreases?"
After thinking for some time, I answered,
"That is knowledge. The more we share knowledge with others, the more it grows within us."
"Absolutely right," he said.
Third question:
"Now answer my final question, and the lotus will be yours.
Tell me, what is darker than black?"
I replied,
"A stain is darker than black. We can remove a mark once, but a stain of disgrace cannot be erased."
"Correct answer," the demon said.
"Go now. The lotus flower is yours."
I stepped into the pond and plucked the lotus flower.
The moment I plucked it, a path opened in the middle of the pond.
I followed that path and went underground. As I moved forward, I saw four caves.
Now I faced a problem—out of the four caves, which one contained the sacred water?
I calmed myself and focused my mind.
Slowly, I went in front of each cave, one by one.
I tried to feel which cave had air flowing from it and which did not.
I realized that air was coming from three caves, but the fourth cave had no airflow at all.
Then I understood that this was the correct path.
I entered the cave. It was completely dark inside, but as I moved forward, I saw a very bright light.
When I reached closer, I saw a bottle that looked like it was made of gold, shining brilliantly.
As I stepped closer and was about to lift the bottle, I noticed a bird trapped inside a cage.
The bird spoke and said,
"First, free me from here, and only then touch the bottle.
If you touch the bottle before freeing me, you will burn to ashes."
Hearing this, I became frightened.
But I asked,
"Who are you, and how are you able to speak to me?"
She spoke again and said,
"First, free me from this cage."
Listening to her words, I quickly released her from the cage.
But the moment my hands touched her, she transformed into a very beautiful young woman.
It felt as if a celestial nymph had descended directly from heaven.
As soon as the bird turned into a woman, she thanked me sincerely and repeatedly.
Then she said,
"Now you may take this bottle."
"But before you leave," she continued,
"I wish to grant you a power that will always protect you."
Hearing this, I felt joy rising within me.
I said,
"Alright. Please keep your blessings upon me."
The celestial woman then granted me the power of fire.
At first, it caused me great pain.
It felt as though all the veins in my body were about to burst.
But after some time, I felt calm, and soon after that, I sensed a completely new kind of power flowing through my body.
I then quickly took the bottle of water and ran from there at great speed.
At that time, my running ability was not very fast, yet within some time, I reached near the sea.
By the time I arrived there, evening had fallen.
I walked a little further and saw my boat.
I got into my boat and sat down. I do not know when I fell asleep.
Before sleeping, I placed the bottle safely under the boat beside me.
As soon as morning came, the first thing I did was look out from the boat to see whether the fish had arrived or not.
Then, from a distance, I saw the fish approaching me on its own.
As soon as the fish came near, I poured the water over it.
The moment the water touched the fish, it transformed into a very beautiful young woman.
For the first time, I was witnessing all of this with my own eyes.
I could hardly believe that any of it was real.
I could not believe that I now possessed the power of fire.
However, I was not yet able to use that power properly.
I then made a decision—to stay in this forest and become a better person by training myself.
Just then, the woman who had been the fish spoke to me,
"Come out of your thoughts."
She then asked,
"Tell me, what do you desire?"
She reminded me,
"I told you that if you freed me, I would take you from here back to your village."
I replied,
"I want to stay here for a few more days. I wish to practice my powers and improve myself,
so that I can use them at the right time."
Hearing my words, she became pleased and said to me,
"Alright. I will help you. I will grant you a power that will allow you to train at an even faster pace and keep you filled with great energy."