15 1.15: Deep and Dark Secrets (1/2)

Wah seh... Action you full lah,” mimicked Cheng when I approached near them. ”Aiyah... Please do not mimic the way the old man talk la. It's not funny to make fun the way he talks,” I defended the old man as I had reached a level of respect when he had opened up my Third Eye and also activated my Qi.

”OK... Ok.. I don't make fun of you and the old man,” agreed Cheng as he tried to cool off the rest of his brothers into not mocking and poking fun in case the old man cast a curse on them instead.

”Eh, what can you do with your Third Eye? I heard the old man talked about dying.” queriedDing as he looked at me curiously. ”Nothing much, it just helped me to see clearly and opened up my mind about other matters of the supernatural world,” I added and assuring them that nothing would happen and only me had the ability to see things normal people see.

”Boy, the Keris I see now.” pointed Master to the Keris behind my back. ”This is my Father's. He left it for me.” I commented as I handed it to him.

He weighed the keris and raised an eyebrow. When he unsheathed the keris, I can see a slight throbbing from it. Using the Third Eye subconsciously, it seems that the keris was emitting a slight glow and throbbing as like it has its own heartbeat. Faint but noticeable using the Third Eye.

”Keris power small. Long time no bathe,” the old man explained and I really find it hard to comprehend. ”Bathe?” I asked. ”Yes, with bathe Sampaguita* and smoke ceremony,” the old man muttered while holding the hilt and turning the keris to one side and then the other.

No other words could describe that moment as I was truly lost at what the h*ll this old man is muttering about giving the keris a bathe with Sampaguita and then a smoke ceremony?!?

At this moment I became 'blurr like sotong'* and really cannot describe or have the faintest idea on what this old man was talking about. I guess he had passed his prime time and had gone senile already.

”Come.....” the old man gestured to me and the rest of the brothers followed me as well. We then headed towards his house.

The old man goes to his house and placed the keris in the middle of the verandah. The gestured all of us to sit and he then disappeared inside the house. From the position we were sitting, we are able to caught glimpses of the old man and his wife ambling about in the kitchen.

He reappeared in a while and brought a large green lime, a few bloomed Sampaguita flowers and a bronze bowl of clear liquid on a rectangular tray. A short while later his wife, came and brought a large clay incense burner with some burning pieces of charcoal and some crystalline rocks or stones and placed it alongside him.

The items were arranged in such a manner that the incense burner was set in the middle and the bowl of clear liquid beside it. The rest of the items were scattered with no preference.

”Now bathe. Properly see. You do every 2 weeks. Good?” he pointed to us to perform the bathe every 2 weeks. Ok, I understand and nodded in acknowledgment.

He first took out the keris from the sheath slowly and gently. He then placed the sheath diagonally across the incense burner. Then he placed the keris on top of the bowl and looked at it as if the keris was 'communicating' with him somehow.

Then he picked up the keris by the hilt and used the lime and slice it on one side of the keris into half but not thoroughly cutting it through. Then he flipped the keris and ran the uncut side alongside the keris as he had done earlier.

By now the keris had already cut the lime into half. I glanced and saw the three brothers looking at the old man's handling of the keris with awe with their lips forming the shape of an 'O'.

He took a slice of lime and he rubbed the keris in one direction from the hilt to the tip once. Flipping the keris again, he repeated with the other slice of lemon. Afterward, using one bloom of Sampaguita flower, he sort of caressed the blade following the wavy curve from the hilt to the tip. He then dropped the used Sampaguita into the bowl. Next, he then repeated the same procedure on the other side of the keris as well.