Empty Hand Revolution

Herding Goats

The rattling bus transitioned from sprawling farmland to forested foothills soon after nightfall. A few hours later the driver stopped for fuel and a short nap. After a trip to the toilets, the students returned to the bus. Some fell asleep while others chattered in low voices near the back.

In the front seat, just behind the doors, Cosmo remained vigilant until the driver awoke and resumed their trip northward toward the Himalayas. Invisible in the darkness, Cosmo knew the mountains watched their approach.

Mark yawned and shifted in the seat next to him.

Cosmo couldn’t believe the course of events over the last nine months, or the impact Mark had orchestrated in his life.

Three months after meeting Mark at St. Stephens, Cosmo had quit his job with Bhupinder Dhawan. A month later, Dhawan had led the Indian team to a gold medal in the World Bench Press Championship. Happy for his ex-employer, Cosmo didn’t regret moving on.

Mark helped him pay for an apartment he now shared with other Athletes in Action staff. Mark had also helped Cosmo recognize the difference between intimidating people and interesting them in what he had to say. Mark had taken on the role of teacher and mentor before Cosmo knew he was open to being mentored.

For the last six months, Cosmo had been splitting his time between coaching martial arts at St. Stephens and working for Mark with Athletes in Action. Instead of pining for his old friends and his old way of life, Cosmo focused on learning from Mark’s expert instruction in the Christian faith.

The more Cosmo shed his layers of anger and the need to prove himself, the more he found satisfaction in simple tasks. He learned it was one thing to face a Goliath in humility, and quite another to face the mundane with the same humble enthusiasm.

“Thank you.” Cosmo spoke softly into the hushed mood on the darkened bus.

“For what?” Mark leaned against the window and yawned.

“For letting me come along.”

“You know I’m not into doing people favors. I plan on working you like a dog.”

“So you’re saying this will be a vacation compared to Delhi?”

Mark scoffed. “Always with the persecution complex. Are all Nagas as personable as you?”

Cosmo scratched his chin. “I’m more amicable than most.”

Mark shook with silent laughter and then tried for the hundredth time to shift his bulk into a comfortable position. Soon after that, he fell asleep, leaving only Cosmo and the driver awake. After the driver had insisted he’d be fine, Cosmo let his eyes drift shut.

Cosmo jarred awake and flopped onto Mark as the bus hugged a tight curve. Both men rubbed their bleary eyes. Sunrise hadn’t yet come to the shadowed side of the Himalayas, but evidence of the sun spilled across the sky above them. Thin wisps of cloud appeared as pink and orange cotton candy clinging to jagged slopes.

Cosmo checked with the driver. He gave the thumbs up and indicated Cosmo had been asleep for three hours.

“How much further to the first village?” Mark stretched his legs beneath the barrier separating the front bench from the stairs leading on and off the bus.

“Not long, if the road remains clear.” The driver swerved around fallen rock in the narrow mountain road. “Maybe three hours.”

Mark eyed Cosmo dubiously. They both knew three hours was optimistic at best. They’d been on the bus for twelve hours so far. They wouldn’t be needed in the village for another six or seven. No need to panic.