Journey to Rainbow Island (25 page)

“What type of rules?” Yu-ning asked curiously.

“I don't know where they come from,” Percy said, shrugging his shoulders. “She says they are the rules of tradition and the elders of this school. But I want to write and learn something else. There is new information out there; I know there is,” Percy said, looking unhappy.

Yu-ning placed her palm on the right-hand pile and moved it toward Percy. “Then why don't you write something else?” she said. “Write the things that make you smile.”

Percy looked at her wistfully and smiled. “I want to, but I can't. I have to follow what everyone else is doing or I'll get in trouble. Everyone must follow the rules here, or you are punished. If I get punished too many times, they call my mother, and it makes her sad. She works two jobs now that my father is gone, and I don't want to make her sad. I can't do what I want to do.” His eyes were downcast and forlorn.

“Why don't you tell the teacher what's in your heart?” Yu-ning persisted, filled with empathy.

“No, she won't listen.” He spoke with the weight of one too old to be eight. “Who's going to listen to me? I'm eight. I would have to move from here and find another school.”

Yu-ning nodded with wide eyes and said, “I know where that is.” But Percy just looked at her blankly and then at the blackboard at the front of the room.

The stern teacher whipped around at that moment and lowered her glasses to her nose. She slammed the chalk
down, breaking it in two, picked up the bamboo reed, and walked briskly over to them, looking very angry. “Oh no!” Percy said, panic-stricken, as he quickly pulled out his writing assignment.

The teacher hovered over him. “Percy! What is this? No talking! Do your assignment!” She turned to Yu-ning and snapped irritably, “Who are you? Do you have permission to be in this classroom?”

“Hi, Teacher, my name is Yu-ning,” she said with innocence. “I'm here to see the classroom, and to bring colors if you allow me.”

The teacher scoffed dismissively. “What color are you talking about? Whose class are you in?”

“I'm not from any class, Teacher. Why don't you let Percy write freely?” Yu-ning asked. Percy sank into his chair, trying to disappear.

“No one is allowed to go outside the rules,” the teacher said sternly. “Everyone must follow the rules.”

“Teacher, where I'm from we don't have rules that force us to be someone we are not,” Yu-ning countered politely. “We draw, we play music, we write, we read, we create freely. You don't need to teach the rules, you allow your heart to guide you.”

“I don't care where you are from,” the teacher snapped. “There is a right way to do things and that is the way
we
do it here, little girl. Now get back to your class! Are you in Fujimura Sensei's class?”

Yu-ning felt quite small standing next to the teacher, yet she didn't flinch. “There are so many other, different ways to do things,” she continued. “You can't live your life by rules
alone. We are each different and unique, and what we discover within our heart is the best path for each of us.”

Percy was completely dumbfounded, watching Yu-ning stand up to the teacher. The other children had stopped writing and were also watching with keen interest, which made the teacher irate. Her eyes on her class, she addressed them as a whole. “Now listen to me, class. We all know that if you don't follow the rules, you will get bad grades. If you get bad grades, you won't be able to beat your peers and you won't be successful in the future. The rules allow you to earn a title, get a superior job, and make money. That is success.”

Then she turned back to Yu-ning and said, “I am Genju Sensei. You will address me as Sensei. If you are not in Fujimura Sensei's class, you must be a new student. Therefore, I will allow you this one mistake of challenging our rules, but it must not happen again. Did your parents bring you to the school? Why haven't you checked in first with the headmistress? Never mind, take a seat and we will sort it out at lunch.” Sensei pulled out a chair from a desk next to Percy.

Yu-ning nodded as she sat down in the chair. “Yes, Sensei, but where I come from we have no titles. We create freely; we don't compete and we aren't judged or graded. There is no older or younger, bigger or smaller; everyone is the same and has something special to offer, so there is only healthy interaction, which builds us all,” Yu-ning explained wholeheartedly.

The teacher was taken aback by Yu-ning's precociousness and intelligence. This vexed her, and she rapped her bamboo reed on Yu-ning's desk with full force. “That's unacceptable. You will follow the rules and the system like your classmates, and you will follow my instructions. Now, no more talking!”
she said in a loud voice as she thwacked the reed again on the desk.

Percy and the other children were stupefied by Yu-ning's audacity and courage to confront the teacher. They murmured among themselves, creating a commotion that was heard in the other classrooms. Percy looked up at the teacher and said softly, “Sensei, Yu-ning is right. You don't need to follow the rules, either.”

The teacher threw Percy a wilting look, and through her teeth she said, “All of you, keep writing.” Then, in a lower voice for only Yu-ning to hear, she said, “How dare you question me! Everyone must follow the rules. Anyone who breaks the rules will be punished.”

Yu-ning was sitting peacefully at her desk, unfazed by the teacher's anger. “But, Teacher, why can't everyone just do what they love?” she questioned forthrightly. “A book holds only the view of its author. We should be free to express different views, especially those that flow from love and light.”

Percy looked at Yu-ning with deep respect and appreciation. “Yes, Sensei, can we write our own thoughts and inspirations?”

The teacher glared at Yu-ning and Percy. She looked up to see the whole class watching, as well as many children from other classes gathering in the hallways and looking through the windows in stunned silence. They were whispering to one another and nodding. One twelve-year-old girl said, “Wow, that little girl is so brave, and that boy, too.” Her friends nodded.

The teacher, feeling self-conscious, began to lose her resolve. She smoothed out her bun and said calmly and firmly, “Listen, everyone. The rules of this school have been in place
for two centuries. They create the rules and laws we follow as a people. As your teacher, I have been trained in these studies and I have mastered them. I have more knowledge and more experience than you. I know what is right. You do what I tell you to do, and then you will not make mistakes. You will do well in life.”

The teacher took a deep breath. Yu-ning realized that she wanted the best for the children, and that the teacher believed order and regimentation would guide them on a path of righteousness and success. “If you don't listen to me,” repeated the teacher for the whole class to hear, “I will have no choice but to send you to the headmistress's office.” She said this while looking straight at Yu-ning. She turned to Percy and said, “And you know what that means for you, Percival. Didn't I overhear you promising your mother better behavior in our last conference, when she was crying?”

“My mother just wants me to be happy, Sensei,” said Percy. “She has only ever wanted my happiness. But in this classroom I am not happy. There is no inspiration here. You don't allow us to think for ourselves. How can I be successful if I am not happy?”

“Follow the rules!” the teacher exclaimed bitterly. “You climb professional ladders. You become elite members of society. You gain financial security. You succeed in life.
That
is what makes you happy. And if you don't follow the rules, you will have to leave this classroom at once!”

The teacher pulled down her shirt and smoothed back her bun. “I have to attend a faculty meeting, and I want you all to open your books to page thirty and do lessons one through fifteen five times until I return. All the teachers are meeting with the headmistress now, and you are on the honor system.”
She looked at her watch and added, “And I am already late! If you return to your studies immediately, I will not report you. The headmistress is the most powerful person here, and she will make your lives miserable if you do not listen to me this instant!”

She thrust a textbook at Yu-ning and said, “And that goes for you too, young lady. We will sort this out at lunch, upon my return.”

Y
U-NING REMAINED IN HER CHAIR
as the teacher returned to the front of the classroom, the eyes of the class following her. From the back of the classroom where Yu-ning was sitting, she had a view of the only window whose shade was not drawn. The only other student with a view of the open window was Percy, who was looking at Yu-ning.

A sudden flash of color drew Yu-ning's attention to the trees outside. As she peered through the window, she saw a familiar sight: Suparna, standing at the edge of a grove of pines! He had arrived in time to get the message from Cristobel, and had obviously made excellent time to arrive at the school just when Yu-ning needed him the most. Suparna was peering at the school, looking for any signs of her. Yu-ning raised her hands and began waving her arms back and forth to get Suparna's attention.

Suparna, however, did not see her. She continued to wave her arms, trying to get him to look in the direction of the
window. She saw that Suparna was gazing right at her, but he wasn't able to see her because the sun was reflecting off the window from the outside. She quietly stood up, tiptoed to the window, and with all her effort, tried to pull it open. The window didn't want to budge—it was apparent that it had been closed for quite a time.

Yu-ning felt the window move slightly, which allowed her to slip her fingers under the frame. She pulled with all her might, and to her surprise, the window flew open, making a loud
bang!
as it did. Yu-ning looked toward the tree line and saw that Suparna had heard the noise and was looking in her direction.

“You! What are you doing?” came the angry voice of the teacher from the head of the classroom. Yu-ning continued to wave her arms at Suparna, motioning for him to come to the classroom. Just as she thought Suparna had seen her, she felt a firm hand on her shoulder and was spun around by the teacher.

“I said what are you doing at the window? Students are not allowed to touch the windows,” the teacher said, pointing her finger in Yu-ning's face. Then, glancing outside, she added, “And why were you doing exercises?” Yu-ning was hopeful as the teacher peered toward the nearby grove of trees. But no one was there; Suparna had disappeared.

“I . . . I wasn't doing exercises, Sensei. I was trying to get the attention of my friend Suparna,” Yu-ning said.

The teacher slammed the window shut, threw down the shade, and told Yu-ning not to move from her seat again until the break. “I don't know who you are, young lady, but you are in big trouble. The headmistress will be very interested in talking to you, I can tell you that!” Yu-ning was crestfallen.
Had Suparna seen her signaling for him to come to the classroom? She just knew if Sensei could meet Suparna, her attitude would change. She decided to appeal to the spark of life she sensed in the teacher, in spite of her stern warnings.

“Teacher, my friend Suparna is one of the most beautiful creatures you will ever see. He comes from light and love, and uses his gifts to help others—not to control them.”

“Suparna?” Percy asked quizzically.

Yu-ning nodded emphatically. “Yes, he's here with us today—in the trees at the edge of the grass. He is magnificent, with colorful wings that fill up the sky. He is very powerful, with a vast heart and a noble mind. When Suparna expands his wings, a rainbow of colors shines brilliantly to inspire all people to do their best, because their best comes from the qualities that characterize him! His bright, colorful wings have touched my heart, and they are here today to touch your heart. I'm telling you this because I am hoping he will come today, and this is your chance to let go and surrender.” The children were quiet and riveted. Even the teacher was speechless, and just stood there breathing deeply.

“Oh wow, I want to see Suparna!” Percy exclaimed.

“I hope you can see him, too,” said Yu-ning. “Each of you needs to believe and you need your teachers to guide you from this path of habitual learning to illumination.”

“Nonsense,” muttered the teacher. “Stop wasting time imagining impossible things!” But her voice had dropped, and she sounded hesitant.

Yu-ning noticed this instantly and appealed to her. “Sensei, you have been misguided as well. Deep down you know this. You want the best for your students; that is why you have followed the rules. But what if this isn't the best path for
them? What if anything is possible, and all you had to do is say, ‘Maybe, I don't know for sure'? Can any of us, really without a doubt, know all the mysteries of this beautiful universe?”