The Lost Secret of the Tao

The Lost Secret of the Tao is a short fiction.

Annotated Story
When Shinsei finally retired from the Empire he travelled south for many days. On the road many travellers would stop him and beg him for some final word of wisdom. Shinsei refused them all, claiming they already had their answers and he had nothing more to give. As he was reaching the end of his journey he found an old woman offering rice balls to travelers, and he stopped to take one. The woman recognized the Little Teacher and instead of asking him for answers she asked if he had any final questions. Shinsei laughed and admitted to Someisa that he had one question, but if he told her she could never tell it to another creature who could repeat the tale. Someisa agreed and Shinsei whispered into her ear his final riddle. Someisa lived for another three hundred years, but the secret nagged at her. The first hundred years she told the trees in her garden, and the blossomed thousandfold. The next time she told the river, and it burbled with joy and ran silver. In the end an Emperor came to her home and ordered her to tell him Shinsei's riddle. Someisa bowed but before she could speak her body changed into that of a tortoise, the wisest of all creatures under the heavens. The Emperor understood and bowed back to the tortoise. From that day on the tortoise has not said a word, but makes patterns on the sand and remembers the riddle only Someisa knew.

Characters

 * Shinsei
 * Someisa

Not Present, But Mentioned
n/a