99 Palms: Horn OK Please (23 page)

Epilogue

We left for Dharamsala early morning. We let them sleep as we quietly slid away. It was a beautiful, sunny morning.

“What’s the plan, Derek? You seem lost. We have 4 pieces of the ‘Philosopher’s Stone’. Now what?” I said, as I saw Derek lost in his a world of his own.

“You’ve got all the 4 pieces, bro?” said Goose, looking at Hound as I enjoyed driving down the regular, bumpy roads on earth.

“Here, I’ve kept them safely. It just needs to be giftwrapped!” said Hound, carefully opening a small wooden box that contained the four pieces of the ‘Philosopher’s Stone’, carved beautifully to look like pearls.

“Did we get the appointment to meet His Holiness, the Dalai Lama, Derek?” I said, keeping my eyes on the road as I shifted gears.

“Yes, I did, Chief. We’re meeting him sharp at 9:00 AM. They have been very kind to have accepted our request at the last minute”, said Derek, looking out the window, still lost.

“What is bothering you, bro? Our challenge? Want to chicken out?” said Goose, whacking Derek on his head.

“No way, Goose! I’m very happy we decided not to make any gold but hand over the stones to His Holiness, The Dalai Lama, for safekeeping. I’m happy that we’re doing this. We don’t need free money! But couldn’t we have had spent more time in Shambala? What was the hurry? We’ll never be able to get back there!” said Derek, unable to hide his frustration.

Peals of laughter followed as we drove down to Dharamsala to meet His Holiness, the Dalai Lama XIV.

We had learnt that there was a reason behind everything. We are proud, not arrogant. We are ambitious, not greedy anymore.

The challenge we faced had to do with the stones. Should we be creating gold with the help of some intelligent alchemist or should we give it all away? We had enjoyed the adventure. We could do without the Philosopher’s stone. We were happy with what we had, which is pretty much close to nothing. But we were happy. We chose to remain so. It was a tough call.

We know how to keep secrets. For some things are best kept secret.

Here’s wishing the Nine Unknown women the very best. They’re sweet people. Ask me, I’ve known one of ‘em very well.

Now, buckle up for our next adventure!

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Smack!!
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