The Last Honor

12. When the body clock turns back

Fortunately, it was not far to the mountain sheep village. They moored on the bank, and it wasn't long before, after some searching, they found a couple of mountain sheep who could help them with the repair. Since night was also slowly falling, the crew decided to start the journey the next day. And the mountain sheep insisted on that the passengers rest in their village. It was no problem for them to accommodate old acquaintances. Shen wasn't so delighted with that. But Po, on the other hand, was on fire. He even asked if anyone had seen or heard of Yin-Yu. But unfortunately, no one could give them any information about her.
When it was finally night, they withdrew to the sleeping quarters of the huts. As soon as Po sat down on the bed, he fell asleep.
It wasn't until a few hours later that a dull rumble woke him from afar. He sat up sleepily and looked out of the window. A mass of clouds had gathered on the horizon, from which lightning flashed from time to time.
The panda rubbed his face. The thunderstorm was still too far away and it probably just passed. He was about to lie down again when he noticed the white figure on the hill. Po screwed up his eyes several times. But he wasn't dreaming. What was Shen doing out there at so late an hour?
On the spur of the moment, the panda stood up and went to the front door. As he stepped over the threshold, a wave of familiarity came over him. He knew this picture from somewhere. Yes, it was like in the past. Many years ago, the white ruler was standing exactly in the same place as they were in this village. At that time, Shen had received the letter from Yin-Yu, where she had confessed her love to him, but this letter had never reached him until this day.
Po sighed heavily. Slowly, he walked towards the white ruler. Shen had turned his back on him and was staring into the distance. Like long ago.
Po cleared his throat. When there was no reaction on the part of the ruler, he tried to start a conversation alone.
"Back then there was snow here," Po began. "And that was pretty cold. Now grass is growing everywhere here. That's kind of crazy, isn't it?"
Again there was no response from the white peacock.
"What's going on, Shen?" Po dug deeper. "Are you worried about Yin-Yu?"
The next phase of silence forced the panda to continue the conversation.
"Or is it about this afternoon? Okay, that was really tough today... But luckily nothing happened! You agree, don't you? That's right, isn't it? No? Say something."
But all that remained was a silence.
"Fine."
With disappointment, Po turned around.
"It almost happened today."
With surprise, Po turned around again. The lord's voice was barely audible, but clear enough that the panda understood every word.
"What almost happened today?" the panda asked, worried.
"I was there," Shen continued in a low voice. "But I couldn't help her."
Po swallowed. "But Shen, that somebody mess up a move, this can happen to anyone anytime. I mean, look at me. I was thrown through the air today. Otherwise, this happens very rarely. Well, mostly it's always my friends who give me my back cover... speaking of my back, I still feel the bruise under my fur..."
He broke off. Shen had raised his wing, a clear sign that he should be silent. The peacock sighed softly before he started to speak.
"I don't like to talk about my childhood," he began. "But I see, that today I have to break this vow of silence so that you understand it."
The panda raised his head in interest. "I'm all ears."
Shen hesitated a few more seconds before he worked himself up to say what he had always avoided until now.
"You know, panda, I haven't been as strong as I am today since I was born. I've been sick quite a few times. And through my whole childhood I was shown to so many doctors that the first years of my life were shaped only by treatments. I had pretty much everything. Including these sudden feelings of faintness."
He raised his wings a little and looked at them as if they were hung with dirt.
"But over time, I gradually got to grips with them and after intensive work of my training they even disappeared completely."
He looked at the panda. Po bent his head. "And now? Are they...?"
The peacock sighed. "Yes, I can feel that my strength is weakening again. It all started a few months ago. I was hoping it would go away, but I'm afraid it won't this time. For me that means that I will be unable to fight - in the future, if it doesn't improve."
Po was silent for a moment before hesitantly opening his mouth. "Is it ... Isn't it curable?"
Shen twisted the corners of his mouth. "As a child, I often had to take medication. Then it worked. However, I refused to take it any longer. So I stopped the treatments and healed myself. But gradually that doesn't work anymore."
Po scratches his head. "Then ... then you have to go to the doctor again..."
"No."
Shen turned and went a few steps away. The panda looked after him in surprise.
"No? Why not? That's what doctors are for..."
"In case of injuries, yes, but not in general condition!" Shen crossed his arms resolutely. "I'm still normal. I'm sick of being treated like a guinea pig by doctors. One had even dared to try a healing drug on me that had not even been tested."
Po's eyes widened when he noticed the white peacock begin to tremble slightly.
"I'll do this alone," Shen hissed. "Just like I did long ago."
The panda raised his eyebrows. "You said you can't do it alone..."
"I know what I'm doing!" the peacock interrupted angrily. "And if it takes longer. I never want to see a doctor again."
Po swallowed. "But Shen. Everyone should see a doctor if they are not feeling well. I also went to the doctor once..."
"For what?! Because of your overweight?! It was even believed that I wouldn't even reach the age of 10! But I have proven that they were wrong."
To Po's astonishment, Shen looked down and he was afraid that Shen would be faint again. But the white peacock just no longer had any inhibitions about hiding his dejection. Even if it was his ex-rival. Instead, the white peacock hugged himself as if he were afraid someone would reach for him.
"But my older age weakens my resilience," he continued quietly. "As if it wasn't bad enough being a rich child that the palace walls were almost never allowed to leave, I couldn't do anything in the palace that could harm my health. There were even days when I could hardly breathe."
Po put his palms together sadly. "Well, okay, I've never been that sick, but I know what it could be like never to see my tenth age. In any case, my mother never saw it."
Immediately, Shen turned away from him. "You vowed never to talk about it again!"
Po looked down. "I'm sorry, it's just... what I want to say is... Does Yin-Yu already know about it?"
Shen shook his head.
"But maybe it would be a very good thing if you talked to her about it..."
"Don't you get involved in my family affairs!" Shen snapped. "It's enough for me that a certain master manipulates my daughter..."
"Okay, okay, then just like that, but think about it. What would have happened if I hadn't been there today? Perhaps you would blame yourself for the rest of your life if you had not accepted medical treatment beforehand - and something bad had happened to your daughter instead."
That silenced Shen for now. For a while they stared hard at each other. Finally, Po avoided his gaze. "The decision is yours. But remember, if you don't clarify this medically, you cannot guarantee Shenmi's safety in an emergency. You should be aware of what is more important to you now. Your pride in not being seen as weak and not accepting help, or the safety of your family. Think about it."
With that, Po turned away. Shen looked after him and watched the panda disappearing into the hut. Then he looked into the distance again in the direction of the high mountains of the Hunnic border, where dark clouds had piled up and obscured the starry sky.
The white peacock's eyes narrowed. His mind was as troubled as the storm. And Po felt not different. The panda lay down on his bed and hadn't noticed how two little silver eyes had been watching him the whole time.