Karma of the Sun


 
 
 
 
 KARMA OF THE SUN
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 BRANDON YING KIT BOEY
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 CONTENTS
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 Part I
 
 
 
 1. The Yak
 
 
 2. The Gathering
 
 
 3. The Fortune
 
 
 4. The Dark
 
 
 5. The Minister
 
 
 6. The Tabernacle
 
 
 7. The Dawn
 
 
 8. The Basin
 
 
 9. The Bandits
 
 
 10. The Nun
 
 
 11. The Burial
 
 
 12. The Rebels
 
 
 
 
 
 Part II
 
 
 
 13. The Grotto
 
 
 14. The Prisoner
 
 
 15. The Knife
 
 
 16. The Foothills
 
 
 17. The Shadow
 
 
 18. The River
 
 
 19. The Fortress
 
 
 20. The Mission
 
 
 
 
 
 Part III
 
 
 
 21. The Scroll
 
 
 22. The Skull
 
 
 23. The Battle
 
 
 24. The Child
 
 
 25. The Rebels
 
 
 26. The Council
 
 
 27. The Storm
 
 
 28. The Crossing
 
 
 
 
 
 Part IV
 
 
 
 29. The Frontier
 
 
 30. The Song
 
 
 31. The Snows
 
 
 32. The Night
 
 
 33. The Lamentation
 
 
 34. The Tomb
 
 
 35. The Herd
 
 
 36. The Friend
 
 
 37. The Labyrinth
 
 
 38. The Mountain
 
 
 39. The Stone
 
 
 40. The Beyond
 
 
 41. The Otherworld
 
 
 42. The Beginning
 
 
 
 
 
 
 Acknowledgments
 
 
 About the Author
 
 
 More from CamCat Books
 
 
 The Secret Garden of Yanagi Inn
 
 
 More Adventurous Reads from CamCat Books
 
 
 CamCat Books
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 CamCat Publishing, LLC
 Brentwood, Tennessee 37027
 camcatpublishing.com
 
 
 This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are either products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously.
 © 2023 by Brandon Ying Kit Boey
 All rights reserved. Printed in the United States of America. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews. For information, address CamCat Publishing, 101 Creekside Crossing Suite 280, Brentwood, TN 37027.
 
 
 Hardcover ISBN 9780744307603
 Paperback ISBN 9780744307610
 Large-Print Paperback ISBN 9780744307627
 eBook ISBN 9780744307634
 Audiobook ISBN 9780744307641
 
 
 Library of Congress Control Number: 2022941018
 Cover and book design by Maryann Appel
 5 3 1 2 4
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 For Cristina
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 . . . After a last great interval, a seventh sun will appear and the Earth will blaze with fire until it becomes one mass of flame. The mountains will be consumed, a spark will be carried on the wind and go as far as the worlds of God. Therefore, monks, even the monarch of mountains will be burnt and perish and exist no more—excepting those who have seen the path.
 —Pāli Canon (29 BCE)
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 PART I
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 There were also monks residing in the
 midst of forests, exerting themselves
 and keeping the pure precepts as though they
 were guarding a bright jewel.
 
 
 
 —The Lotus Sutra (1st cen. CE)
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 1
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 THE YAK
 
 
 
 
 
 Karma knows it is a bad omen.
 He feels it in his body. A sudden chill in the summer air. A passing shadow in the white Tibetan sky. A hush in the rustle of the yellow grasses.
 One moment, the yak calf was with the herd. Now it is gone—the gift for the shaman on his visit. The benefaction. Their offering. Missing.
 Karma hastens frantically up the rise, climbing hill and dune as he searches, the little boy beside him scampering to keep up, three little steps for every one of his.
 Bad omen. Bad luck.
 This day, of all days.
 The shaman is to arrive at the village tonight. Soon, the fathers of the valley will bring their sons, and the mothers their daughters, to have their fortunes told, the spirits consulted.
 It is Karma’s turn to graze the herd. His lot. His fate.
 His fault.
 Karma’s heart pounds as he scales the last hill. The tattered prayer flags of the village outskirts come into view, trembling slightly in the uneven wind. They have been placed here purposely, auspiciously, adorning the rusted ruins of the iron wreckage said to have once been able to fly, a stupa to a miracle of the time before the destruction known only by the name of the Six Suns—six fires said to have consumed all the earth, leaving only the barrens of this remote hinterland. Now the cloth images of the Four Dignities float like ghosts against the sinking of the western sun: the snow lion, the tiger, the phoenix, and the dragon—chained to the east, south, west, and north.
 An incongruous form catches the corner of Karma’s eye, only paces away from the wreckage like some offering delivered before the stupa: white fur. No movement, except for the fluttering of a few woolen strands. His heart plummets. Before he can even fully comprehend what he is seeing, he already knows it is something terrible.
 The calfling.
 It lies on its side. Coming down the dune, Karma flinches at the sight of the animal’s belly. A large hole gapes from sternum to flank. A jumble of intestines bulges out like