Later that night Soni stared out of the hotel rooms window looking at the late night dwellers on the street below. Everybody in the room was sleep. He didn't know why but he could sense that nobody in that room was awake.

He stared at his hands, arms, legs, feet, and examined his fingernails again.

"It all started from the body parts," he thought to himself. "How far can I go?" He questioned himself looking back out of the window. He took a deep breath tinted and walked back to his bed. He laid on his back and took

Deep breathes until he was in his dream world. He tried to focus on his surroundings but found it hard to. He saw something fuzzy dash to his left behind an object he couldn't identify. He tried to focus his attention on it.

Failing, he tried the basic technique his grandmother taught him when his dreams were no longer in his control. He looked at his hands, feet, then to his surroundings. Then back down again to what he had on.

“Ahhh… she trained you well,” Nines voice said from behind.

Breaking his focus, Soni starred at the blurred figure.

“What type of game are you playing with my eyes?” he asked aware of Nines presence suddenly. I must've been distracted, he surmised.

“You claim this your world,” Nine said holding his arms out to his sides. “Let's see you clear it up?”

“What is this?” he asked eyeing Nine suspiciously, “some kind of test?

“One thing you will learn quickly young one is that I don't waste time. As the saying goes, life is too short, no?”

Soni could have sworn he heard Nine laughing at him. He once again tried to focus on other objects around him trying to identify anything familiar.

“You have to do better than that,” Nine taunted. “You're not even close.”

Soni looked at Nine’s blurred figure frustrated.

“What do you suggest?” Soni asked waiting anxiously for a response.

“You must think first then act as if nothing has changed.” Nines blurred body approaches him. “Act on instinct.”

Soni tried his hardest to focus on the Nine’s blurred figure.

“You're trying too hard,” Nine added sternly. “Think about your situation first.” Nine started walking around Soni slowly circling at an even pace.

"I don't understand. How ?" Soni asked following the figure.

"You know who I am. You know up to this point what I'm capable of. Use your mind and not your eyes." Soni followed the figure with his eyes as he walked around him. Then Soni stopped following him with his eyes. As Nines figured walked behind Soni, realization struck him. He could sense the presence of the figure behind him. "You're catching on quick," Nine said from behind Soni.

Soni closed his eyes and saw himself from an angle in the sky. Almost as if he were watching a video of himself from the sky. He could see Nine standing behind him. Soni opened his eyes to see a clear view of a dessert with a river flowing down a ravine.

"Lesson one my friend. The mind is a terrible thing to waste." Nine started laughing surprising Soni, but yet it made him feel more comfortable. Soni looked at Nine's appearance. He could tell Nine was older by three or four decades, maybe more. It was hard to tell. The robe Nine wore hid his physique from view. The bald head didn't reveal the hidden gray hairs that should've been there. 

"You know my name," Nine said simply. Soni was confused got a moment.

"Oh.. My name is Soni." Soni didn't know whether to approach with an outstretched hand or bow. Nine smiled, "Soni? And you laugh at my name. You were named after a television." Nine laughed again irritating Soni now. " Soni with an "I" not a "Y". Okay? Now if you don't mind telling how you manage to get into my dreams and the hotel room."

Nine looked at Soni for a moment then pointed down the river. "Let's talk," he said changing the subject. Soni obliged and started walking beside Nine. As they walked down the ravine Nine started speaking softly. Soni had to walk closer to Nine in order to hear him.

"I'm sure you know that the mind is the most peaceful, most underrated and last but not least, the most abused weapon on the planet," Nine started.

Soni thought about what the monk said, and started nodding to himself. Nine's theory made sense. "Man and woman made the world what you see today."

Soni was confused, "What do you mean by that?" he asked.

The river’s bank they were walking on got steeper as they progressed. Soni had to keep looking down to make sure he didn't trip over anything.

"You have been living only twenty-five percent of your life in that body." Nine said seriously. Soni looked at him got a moment then started laughing out loud. Nine stopped walking and looked at Soni with a quizzical expression on his face. Soni saw that Nine wasn't laughing with him and calmed down.

"Come on," he said. "I know what I have done all of my life. My achievements, downfalls, birthdays, hell all of the holidays." Nine shook his head.

"You misunderstand. Those are days you live for. Your mind had been set by the human standard way of living." Nine looked at Soni and saw that he was still puzzled by his last statement. "Tell me, Soni," he started moving on. "What did you do on your twelfth birthday ?" he asked. Soni looked at Nine as they continued walking.

"Well, I didn't have the usual or normal life if any twelve years old," he stated averting his eyes from Nine. "I was orphaned at a young age," he finished.

Nine nodded, thinking about how much they have in common.

"But I do remember the kids I stayed in the dorm with, gathered a bunch of books together from the local libraries," Soni said reminiscing about his childhood. He smiled and looked at Nine. "They put them in a box and gift wrapped it. A bunch of fiction. I was a heavy reader back then."

Nine nodded, "Now tell me what happened the day after." Soni looked at Nine then the water, racking his brain about what he did so many years ago, on the day after my twelfth birthday. He shook his head.

"I don't remember," he stated honestly.

Nine smiled, "Can you even remember using the bathroom that day?" he asked laughing lightly.

"Why would anyone want to remember anything about using the bathroom?" Soni asked, again perplexed by what Nine was saying.

"What did you gain from both experiences?" Nine asked. Soni was tired of all the questions.

"Look, you're boring me with your silly questions. What point are you trying to get through to me?"

Nine looked Soni straight in the eye and pointed to his own ears as if he were about to clean out his ear. Soni listened to his surroundings to hear if anybody was approaching. Everything was quiet, no sound from anything. Soni looked toward the water crashing into the rocked on the river. He couldn't remember if he had heard the river earlier.

"Your awareness is very weak young one," Nine said calmly. Soni now understood Nine's strategy.

"It would be impossible to remember everything that goes on in life. I've read about studies on the human.." "Books have no meaning Soni." Nine said cutting Soni off. "No man can tell you your limits, or how long you can do certain things." The sound of the birds caught Soni's attention. He cocked toward the sky and saw two eagles gliding beside each other. The sound of the river startled him. Thunderous sounds came from the water hitting the rocks. "There are no limits to your mind," Nine said looking at Soni. He admired the way Nine brought the sound back. He had never tried it. 

"Life is precious, the mind is extravagant, but your spirit is most important. The spirit controls all of the others but from a distance."

"How's that?" Soni asked, "Without the mind, I wouldn't make sense of a lot of things, let alone walk." Nine laughed at Soni's remark.

"Where is your mind right now?" Nine asked. Soni thought that it was a trick question.

"I'm in it now," he said not sure of his answer. Nine howled with laughter. He clutched his stomach and bent over laughing. Soni stopped walking and watched Nine unsure of what was so funny that he had said. Nine wiped tears from his eyes and gained his composure back.

"What was so funny about what I said?" Soni asked. Nine looked around and pointed to a tree stump.

"Let's talk over there," he said walking in that direction. Nine sat on the tree stump, leaving very little room for Soni on the edge.

"Right now you're inside a sphere I designed for you and my personal use," Nine said looking at Soni. He waited for Soni go ask a question, but none came from him. "You're a long way from your body."

"But how?" Soni asked. "In my experience of dream controlling I've never been in this type of dilemma."

"How old were you when first started?" Nine asked curiously.

Soni shrugged his shoulders, "I don't remember exactly, maybe 4 or 5 years old." Nine nodded, now understanding why Soni was so strong.

"The woman who taught you to dream control was smart." Nine said looking Soni in the eye again.

"Excuse me?" Soni said confused.

"The woman who taught you didn't teach you more than you needed to know. At that age, you would have experienced and hurt somebody or yourself ."

"Experienced with what?" Soni asked.

"Your spirit," Nine said.

"So you're saying I'm in my spirit right now?" Soni asked. Nine nodded in affirmation. It was Soni's turn to laugh.

"So tell me Nine, if I couldn't make it this far before now, how is it possible now?" Nine held up a finder and smiled. "That is the question I've been waiting for. When you sat down across from me yesterday, I felt. A hidden power that I feel from my brethren." Nine looked out toward to river. "The only difference," he said looking back at Soni. "is that I have never felt that type of power."

Soni tilted his head like a dog confused by what it was seeing. "Is this a good thing or bad?" he asked with an air of uncertainty. Soni waited for Nine's response. A full two minutes passed before Nine answered.

"It's a good thing for you," Nine said looking back toward the river again. "And bad for any man not on your side."

Soni was taken aback by Nine's words. Soni stood up and walked a few steps from the tree stalk. He looked up at the sky, staring at nothing.

“Just think yesterday," Nine said from the stalk. "I pulled you into my sphere."

"How?" Soni asked. "You were in the process of dream controlling when I snatched your spirit. It was then I realized that your spirit has been building power all of these years that you were performing dream control. You never knew. Your spirit came into my sphere willingly.” Soni turned around and took a step back toward the tree stump.

"How come I didn't remember?" Soni asked. Nine said nothing. He just smiled at Soni. Soni thought

about the question he'd just asked. And dropped his head. Nine broke out in laughter again.

"You are catching on now," Nine said enjoying himself. Soni thought about how Nine had asked about the day after his twelfth birthday. 

"Ninety-one percent the people living on this planet are just living to die. They walk this planet all of their lives only to be awake on holidays, trips, surprise visits, etc. You know the days." Nine looked at Soni with a serious expression on his face. "The average man or woman lives 18 percent of their life."

"Whoa," Soni was shocked by Nine's statement. "You don't expect me to believe that?" he asked.

Nine shook his head, surprising Soni. "No, I don't expect for you to believe everything I say," Nine said with a smile crossing his features. "But," he said holding up that one bony finger. "Take heed to what I do tell you." "Oh, what's this, a training session?" Soni asked. "Not necessarily. I'm giving you something in return for nothing."

"And that is?" Soni asked. "Knowledge, wisdom, and freedom." Soni stared at the monk sitting Indian style on the tree stump. All of his life he'd been waiting to get adopted so that he could have a father figure to look up to. An older stepbrother would've been nice, but he wasn't greedy. But now a stranger he'd just met a day ago sounded sincere about what he'd been telling him.

"To answer your unasked question. Yes, I do want to teach you. Nine said breaking Soni's train of thoughts. “What about when I leave Sunday to go home?" Soni asked. Nine smiled at Soni's confirmation and stood down from the stomp. He held his arms out to his side as if he were about to hug Soni. The tips of his fingers began to glow an aqua blue light. Everything around them began to shift. The river faded, leaving a shiny grey marble sidewalk in its wake.

Soni spun around looking at his surroundings change. The trees faded into the blackness only to leave lights forming. When the scenery was finished Soni noticed tall buildings in the distance. He noticed that they were standing on some sort of huge ramp. He walked to the edge of the marble and stared down in awe. The view was breathtaking. He spotted a river flowing a short distance away.

Puzzled, Soni spun around when he finally realized where they were. “Hey your good,” he expressed enviously.

Nine walked to the edge of the marble walkway, standing beside Soni. “I love this part of St. Louis at night,” he said looking down from the top of the Arch.