Red Boy#

On his red skin, talent may shine, Eyes glaring bright, a mischievous sign. Samadhi Fire forged, yet heart unrefined, The gate to Mount Lingshan lies within the mind.

For many years, Red Boy had been having the same nightmare. In his childhood, he shared this nightmare with his mother.

"Mother, there were so many people, they were all coming to kill me!""

"My dear, once you fall asleep again, you'll forget all about it by tomorrow."

Yet the boy was excited: "But I am very powerful. I defeated monks as tall as mountains, strange birds, and fire-breathing statues... I am not afraid of them at all."

"Oh, how brave you are, my dear!"

He continued: "1 dreamt that I grew up into an adult, with long horns on my head and long spikes on my hands. I could kill a bunch of bad people at once. But there were too many of them, I couldn't kill them all. Later, some strange people I had never seen before came. They hung quietly in the sky, not coming down, just silently watching me from above."

His mother pulled him into her arms: "If that day ever comes, your father and I will go to the sky with you and kill them all."

"Will we die?"

"..."

"1 dreamt that they killed me, and I turned into a red lotus flower. And mother, you picked this lotus flower, and I became your child again."

"..."

He continued to chatter: "Mother, if I die, would you be willing to give birth to me again?"

"Don't you ever say this again!""