The next morning everyone stepped outside the teahouse in Khumjung into fifty centimetres of snow. Bidya offered to give them a lift to Tengboche, where they intended to scrutinise the mystic drawings in the monastery's dungeon. It took a group effort to get the helicopter ready to fly again. The storm had passed away, and the air was cold, the sky clear.
When they entered the main prayer hall, Danian stopped in his tracks. Someone had tidied up. Prayer tables were assembled in several neat lines, and the alter sported a whopping assortment of fresh fruits.
"Hey, check this out!" Naoto shouted. "They really have a yeti here." He stood in front of the showcase with the yeti remains, pulled out a Swiss army knife and had it opened in no time. "This scared the hell out of you?" He teasingly dangled a curly piece of fur in front of his Danian's nose.
"Get this out of my face, Naoto!" Danian flung his arms up as if to swat a pesky fly. Involuntarily, he recounted the terrifying encounter with that monster and the heroic dog Pabu who'd saved his life by taking a well-measured bite out of the yeti's backside.
Danian was, however, reasonably sure that there hadn't been a curly tail on display when he'd first come across the yeti exhibit.
"This place has been swept," Tammy remarked with true copper instincts.
Indira suggested inspecting the party dungeon, which hadn't changed at all: hard rock posters and beer casks were still at the same spot. Naoto set up a tripod in the round chamber to take a spherical video of the visualisations that occasionally flickered up when they played the gong. The rest headed back upstairs.
"I love instant noodles. Japanese are the best," Danian proudly declared to himself, smiling over a bowl of noodle soup in his hands.
He looked around the temple. Indira sat meditating on the floor in front of the giant Buddha. Tammy must have decided to stretch her legs outside. Naoto had finished his work in the dungeon and gave Danian a thumbs up.
"Did you raid the kitchen?" he asked.
"Nope. Found the noodles back in Khumjung monastery. Next door is a kettle."
Danian munched on another spoon-full of yummy noodles. Instant noodles. Japanese instant noodles. Wait a minute. He looked at the plastic cup as if the soup had just turned against him.
Danian shouted Indira's name. It came out a bit blurry; he'd forgotten to swallow. "I got it!"
"You got what?" Indira looked up at him.
"Instant noodles from the land of the rising sun." Danian gleefully announced and showed off his snack as if it was a coveted trophy.
Indira seemed less than pleased, having her daily meditation interrupted for such blatant news. But Danian kept his enthusiasm.
"Remember when Kurna told us that you could only get instant noodles from China up here?"
Indira nodded slowly.
"Who was the only living person we met in the monastery in Khumjung?" Danian poked.
Indira bristled. "I get goosebumps just thinking of him."
"But what's your point?" Naoto intervened, displaying a grotesque lack of patience.
It didn't happen often; to be honest, it probably hadn't happened before at all. Danian outsmarting his ultra-bright friend. He took some time to revel in the moment.
"Waiting." Naoto snapped his fingers.
"Remember Maya's strange guest? He was from Japan too."
Indira connected the dots. "We need to hurry back to Maya and warn her."
YOU ARE READING
Soul Heist - The Missing Mentor
Fantasy"I thought yetis were... hogwash." Happy-go-lucky Danian is surfing in Bali during term break when he finds himself smitten with Indira, a fervent climate activist. Eager to impress her and learn the true purpose of his life, he agrees to help find...
