Chapter 140. Brian

Proserpina

Brian and I connected as easily as we had done in the earlier years. It felt to me as though we had not been out of touch all these years. Impulsively, I grabbed his hands and we stood, grinning and speaking. Ria and Piers who had approached warily were thrilled to see him; in particular, Piers who hugged him in abandon.

As I stood with Claude in my arms, listening to Brian speaking in his calm, unaffected manner, I marvelled at his simplicity. I had read about his work online and I had been overwhelmed! He had been hailed all over the world as a man who was doing a lot of work in his field of spreading the message of peace via the teachings of the Buddha. He was also doing a lot for the people who were affected by natural calamities all over the world.

During a lull in the conversation, as we sat sipping tea, he asked,

“Do you know about the Mother’ His tone was sad.

I nodded. The Mother, the chief nun at the monastery when