156I don't own any of KFP character or location.
It was another normal, sunny, summer day. It wasn't an early hour. Actually, it was long after the hour of the morning gong. But no one in the Jade Palace was thinking of getting up to their work. Mantis was still sleepy but he couldn't lie in his bed any minute longer. And for some reason, he felt that he shouldn't. He heard that someone was in the corridor, so trying not to yawn so widely, he pulled the door and left his room unhurriedly. Viper, Monkey and Crane were there whispering quietly, not stopping when they noticed his presence. Somehow, they had rarely talked about Master Shifu lately. They seemed to avoid that topic, and probably everyone had their own reasons to do that. Monkey squeaked the door to Po's room open a little and he peeked with Viper inside.
The giant panda was lying in his bed, still covered with his blanket, although it was already very warm. The warriors couldn't see his face, because he had turned to the wall at night and now he seemed to sleep soundly.
"Close the door." Viper whispered to Monkey, seeing that the panda still needed some rest.
"Maybe we should leave a message for him?" Monkey asked equally quietly, his expression betraying signs of genuine concern. "'Come to us when you get up' or something like that?"
"No, let him sleep." Crane whispered to them. "Maybe he just needs to think everything over... He knows that he can count on us, doesn't he?"
They didn't know that Po had woken up very early that day, but he was still lying in his bed, staring blankly at the wall, hidden safely under his hot blanket. He just couldn't get up. He heard the warriors' quiet talk and he started to breathe slowly, pretending that he was still asleep. Apparently, it worked because the warriors closed the door and walked away. Po knew that Tigress had already left her room and she wasn't in the barracks. She had had trouble sleeping after what had happened.
Po knew also what that day would look like. They would sit in the Training Hall courtyard and start to wonder what to do with their lives. They would not be training, but this time, Monkey would not ask for the tenth time what they should do, Viper would not be crying, she would not say anything at all. Po didn't want to be with them there now. He wanted to be alone. They would only try to stop him again.
After almost a year of being someone else's body, he felt more like an empty shell.
When he finally decided to leave his room, he had to force himself to use all his might to get up, and he left his room, trying to walk as quietly as he could, although he knew that nobody would follow him and he went to the Jade Palace, hoping that he would not run across a goose servant or someone else.
He opened the door leading to the Grand Master's bedroom. Shifu was in his bed as every day. When he glanced at Po, the panda noticed that he looked a bit resentful, but Po smiled anyway because he always smiled whenever he saw the red panda. "Hi..." he said quietly, but Shifu didn't reply. The worried expression on his face was so unchanging. Po walked up to him with the same effort as while getting up and sat down beside the bed, he laid his arms on the blanket and his head on his arms, gazing sleepily at the small panda master.
He was still so tired.
Po reached out his hand and started bending the toes in Shifu's right foot slowly. "I saw some new creams yesterday..." The panda said and Shifu looked at him. "...but I didn't buy any." Po confessed. "I didn't know if you preferred a cream with honey or with almond oil." Shifu looked away as he was mulling over his words. The giant panda felt disappointment when a long moment of silence passed between them but he never heard any reply from the master.
"You don't talk to me anymore.." Po remarked a little reproachfully. Even though he could see Shifu's face very clearly, it was rather difficult to read something more from the small panda's blue eyes and expression except for sadness. "You can't stay here forever, Master. This day is so beautiful. I'll take you to the Peach Tree so that we can meditate a bit, OK? I'll bring some water to drink... You know that I can carry you wherever you want." he assured sniffling.
"Po..." he heard someone's soft voice behind his back. "We're worried about you." Shifu's ears fell a bit when he heard the voice too. Viper had slithered into the room so quietly that Po hadn't heard it and she had a hard time looking at Po crumpling a fold of the blanket which seemed to be the red panda's foot to him and he was talking to the pillow on which their master used to sleep. Did he really see Shifu there? Or wanted to see? His friends weren't sure.
"It's unnecessary." the panda assured, pulling his hand automatically under his head, irritated that someone was bothering him.
"He's not here."
"He IS here, OK? I can still see him, so he IS here."
Viper looked unconvinced at the empty bed where their master used to sit or lie every day after his accident. It really was painful to look at that empty place. But despite that she understood Po's pain well, she couldn't see the red panda there. "You know where he is now. I can go there with you if you want."
The panda raised his head and looked at her wondering intensely what to say and Viper was sure that he would agree in a second. "No." Po suddenly decided. "I'll go there alone."
Trying to avoid the Five's looks and questions, Po left Jade Mountain, not taking anything with him. He didn't care that it was a hot day and although it was almost noon, he went to the Wu Dan Mountains. Fortunately, there was enough shadow and he could take a breath. The mountains were still a little wet after the last rains. The grass and trees were so juicy green and the cool air was so refreshing that the short trip was almost pleasant to him. He reached the Sacred Pool of Tears and when he smelled its fresh, cold scent, he knelt down on the shore and splashed his face with the cold water. He looked at the blurry reflection of his face for a moment, not thinking of anything. There was so quiet... The panda sighed involuntarily when he realised that he was very close.
He found the place near the big boulders where he and Shifu had eaten breakfast once. There was a stone in the middle of the small, peaceful meadow veiled in mist shining in the rays of sunlight there. Po sat down on the cold grass and leaned his back against the rock when he felt that his legs were weak again. He knew that the red panda would not be angry for that. And he knew by heart the sentences engraved on the stone:
Here lies Grand Master Shifu.
He lived and died like a warrior,
he had a heart of pure crystal.
Besides, the second line was his idea. Po wondered for a long moment what to tell him and the longer he was wondering, the more he felt his throat clench, making his eyes water. "I feel so lonely." his voice sounded unsure in the silence among the swooshing wind there.
"My life is so empty now..." he said and he felt his tears warming his eyelids, he didn't even know why. But he needed to tell him everything.
"I wake up very early and the first thing I want to do is going to your bedroom to bring you water... because I don't remember that you're not there."
"I enter your room and see you there. And I don't know what to do with my life because I can't believe that you don't need me anymore." Po sniffled when his tears started to run down his face and he wiped them away.
"I make the Five something to eat and I want to save a portion for you and then I stop because you will not eat anything again."
"And you know, I feel so stupid without you."
"You think that I've got my life back and I'm finally free but it's not true. I feel completely lost in my freedom, Shifu."
"I don't even know if you suffered." he confessed bitterly and he felt a sudden urge to hug the red panda. "I wish I knew if it hurt, whatever happened to you. Do you know how hard it is to not know?"
Po turned to the stone and embraced it as if he believed that the red panda could feel his hug somehow. It was painful that the surface of the stone was cold, rough and hard but he felt as if he really was touching Shifu. The Five would think again that he had lost his mind if they saw him hugging Shifu's gravestone and crying so desperately. "I'm so sorry that I wasn't with you that night." he said and felt that he couldn't find any words. "So sorry..."
He got up and started to walk away wiping the tears away again and again before he broke down more. The silence of the grave disappearing in the fog behind his back and around him was riling. Did the red panda not know that his stubborn silence was the cause of his suffering? Did Shifu not know that he needed him? Then, all of a sudden Po felt something he had been trying to suppress.
"IT'S NOT FAIR!" he stated angrily turning to the grave. "YOU LEFT ME LIKE MY PARENTS, YOU LEFT ME LIKE MY 'FRIENDS'!"
"YOU LEFT ME LIKE EVERYONE!"
"YOU COULD HAVE CHOSEN ANY OTHER DAY!"
"HOW COULD YOU DO THAT TO ME?!"
His tears started running down his face again but he didn't even find any strength to stop them. But the worst thing was the silence... because nobody replied to his shouts. He realised that he was talking such bullshit because he was so fucking lonely. It wasn't Shifu's fault that he died. He didn't even expect that it would happen so suddenly. Po could at least hope that Shifu had died happy sleeping and waiting for him as every night.
He felt weaker again.. He gave up. He returned to the gravestone and fell to his knees before it, leaning his hands and forehead against it. He took a deep breath and exhaling, he felt so relieved as never before. With another breath his tormenting feelings started to go away and disappeared in the cool quiet mist, leaving only solace in his mind.
"Forgive me." he whispered when his heartbeat slowed down and he closed his eyes, leaving a small kiss on the cold surface of the stone. "I'll never forget you..."
He saw everything now. His mind was smooth and white again. There was no pain, no loud questions, and no regrets. His mind was resting peacefully and he felt that his body was totally relaxed and light. After a moment, he sighed quietly and it woke him up.
What happened?... Po thought raising his head surprised. He felt... better. I must have fallen asleep... or it was some deep meditation.
Po looked at the grave again, smiling sadly. "You were right... this air can heal..."
The next minutes passed quietly when Po was sitting on the ground not thinking of anything again. Shifu's presence was so comforting. The panda decided to go to the palace when he would feel calmer.
Then Po remembered the key. He still hadn't opened Shifu's cell.
When Po was leaving the mountains, he had much time to think of his life. He realised that his task as the Dragon Warrior was finished, he had defeated Tai Lung and had given Shifu a new life so he could rest in peace. Now, when nobody needed the Dragon Warrior, Po wondered what to do with his life. He could cook well but it didn't mean that he wanted to do that all the time and work at the restaurant. Of course, he liked helping his dad but he never wanted to run a shop.
But that day helped him to find peace and harmony and he made an important decision. He wanted to leave the Valley of Peace and join a monastery. He really could imagine himself as a monk, he had lived like one for almost a year. Maybe then he could help sick people to find happiness in the worst moments of their lives. Now he was at least experienced in it. Po knew that his plans would break his dad's heart but it was the high time to start his own life and Mr. Ping would have to understand it some day...
Po asked Zeng for the key to the outside door and he entered the dungeons. He smiled sadly again when he realised that now he didn't feel any fear when he was going further into the dark corridor, holding only two burning candles. He found the door at the end and looked at Shifu's key once again. Well, we both kept our promises.
He put the key into the lock and soon the door opened. Po's heartbeat quickened although he didn't see any reason to react like that; he stepped into the dark cell expecting... he wasn't even sure what. He felt some fresh air blowing through some narrow air holes in the wall. Finally, he saw the things hidden inside the room: there were some metal weapons leaning against the wall and a layer of dust was covering them. Actually, everything was covered with dust there... Shifu must have had a good reason to forget those blades. Maybe Monkey would take them. Po didn't think too much of those swords because he saw other things. Some old colorful flags hanging here and there. There were also very old, time-worn pieces of furniture and when he opened one of the wardrobes, he saw there many old silk robes still in vivid colors Shifu had abandoned there probably years earlier.
Those clothes surprised the panda, who hadn't known that Shifu used to wear something so... expensive. He found there also an old night table and two beautifully carved wooden boxes on it. He put the candles onto the old cabinet and opened the boxes. There was some old jewellery. A silver intricately decorated bracelet, a few of tiny gold rings with red, green and blue gemstones. Maybe they had belonged to Shifu's mother? Po suddenly regretted that he hadn't asked Shifu about his family. He shouldn't have been so much considerate. Maybe Tigress or Zeng knew something about the red panda's family? Po then saw a necklace with a gold pendant decorated with a big cut purple gem. He was confused... maybe Shifu had got those things as gifts for helping other people? He had been a kung fu warrior... The red panda had surely had a good reason to keep the jewellery instead of giving it away. Anyway, Tigress would surely want to take the necklace.
Po opened the drawers and he found many old books, yellowed pieces of paper and scrolls full of beautiful characters. "The Art of Dying" he read the title of one of the scrolls and when he glanced at the text, he managed to read something what looked like random philosophical reflections.
'I'm like a rag doll in the huge world full of fog...
the strong wind throws my body about
I can't feel the ground under my feet...
And suddenly I see everything in that chaos.'
Po was confused for he hadn't known that Shifu used to write. But when he read the author's signature and dedication at the end of the scroll, he was stunned.
'For Shifu, a good friend of mine.
Zhuangzi'
Zhuangzi? Po thought to himself surprised and impressed. The teachers at school loved to kill us with his boring works. And Shifu knew him personally? He looked at the other papers and he found also humoristic poems, everything was signed the same. Zhuangzi's poems even managed to make him laugh. Po regretted that nobody had ever published them. The next papers were long, old letters from Shifu's other friends (apparently kung fu masters) and family and Po knew that he would keep the letters at least for some time to get to know Shifu's kin. He almost forgot about the wooden chest, which was still standing in the middle of the floor as the red panda had said. Po left the documents for a while and knelt down with the candles on the floor to open the big wooden box. He took a deep breath when he felt that his heart was beating fast again. What did Shifu want to give him? It could be anything. He put his paws onto the lid and he couldn't wait any second longer. He lifted the lid carefully and looked inside...
A look of complete shock appeared on his face. He stared at the content and he couldn't believe his eyes.
Shifu was... rich?
The wooden chest was full of money. There were kilograms of coins glittering in the candle light. It must be some mistake. Po thought disoriented and started taking the money out of the chest, putting the coins on the floor and scattering them around. There must be something else!
There was nothing else inside. Only yuans. The panda stopped rummaging in the chest and took another deeper breath resignedly.
I lose my best friend... and you give me... money?
He felt disappointment. Utter disappointment. Po sat back down and thought for a moment trying to understand Shifu's intentions. His eyes watered when he felt pain in his heart. I didn't know you had so low opinion of me. I never wanted your money.
Po tried to remember what Shifu had said about the chest. That he needed it or something like that... Then the panda realised something. The money wasn't an ordinary payment for his service. It was a gift for Po and Mr. Ping. For every day which Po couldn't spend at the shop. For every yuan the goose had lost because his son couldn't work at the restaurant. Po knew why Shifu had wanted him to take his money. To be even.
He gathered up the coins and put them back into the chest. He decided to give Mr. Ping the most of the money in recompense for his leaving.
The goose was very surprised when his son came to his home with a big chest full of 'old robes' as Po said so that the money and his dad could be safe. Mr. Ping was even more surprised when it turned out that the box was full of money as a gift from Shifu. The goose was touched and he couldn't hide his tears when he remembered the red panda. Normally, he would refuse to take such a present, but he wasn't going to ignore the Grand Master's wish. After longer reflection, Po couldn't tell Mr. Ping about his plans to leave the village yet... It would be cruel to say 'Dad, I'm leaving. Here's your money, feel free to employ someone else.'
He decided to prepare his father and the Five for the news. And he was going to begin with taking his things from the Jade Palace and giving Tigress the key to Shifu's cell. When he went up the Thousand Stairs, he entered the arena and he saw Tigress... she was standing there motionless like the golden dragons and she was reading some scroll.. No, she was staring at the scroll dumbfounded.
"Tigress?..." Po asked when he was approaching her. She didn't move even a muscle for the first few seconds and Po had very bad feelings. The panda suddenly felt very sorry for her and the Five, he had been too focused on himself for the past month. "Is everything alright?..."
She turned to the Dragon Warrior and he saw a look of utter shock on her face when she looked at him from the scroll. "Po.."
He knew that something terrible must have happened. He just knew.
"Someone has attacked Gongmen City." the feline said finally but it was not the worst thing she was going to tell him. "Master Thundering Rhino... is dead."
