Worlds Apart: Quick-Read Series, #3

By Allison M. Azulay

Ancient World:  A tale of good versus evil, set in a remote Himalayan valley where invaders shatter the peaceful safety of the temple where a boy studies to be a priest.

Forgotten World:  In a South American jungle, soldiers stumble upon a hidden temple and find unexpected danger.

• Language: English
• Publisher: ALLISON MARGARET AZULAY
• Release date: Feb 15, 2019
• ISBN: 9781989215616

Allison M. Azulay

Born to Canadian parents of mixed, predominantly British heritage, Allison M. Azulay spent her formative years in a village outside of the capital city of Ottawa and her teen years in the steel city of Hamilton, Ontario. Like her mother, she read voraciously, and she composed stories of her own at home as well as in school. Later, encouraged by her husband to explore her ideas and talents, she wrote poems, short stories, children's storybooks for relatives, and more. After the death of her husband, she began to write and independently publish novels and short stories.

Book preview

ANCIENT WORLD

1

Strangers

IREMEMBER WHEN THE BEAR MEN CAME.

That is what Master Chodak calls them because they have thick fur on their faces and bodies.  I have also heard them called White Men, though not all are pale enough for such a name and some are dark indeed.

It was soon after my father brought me to the monastery.  I was very young and every night I cried for my mother.  I thought my world had come to an end.  But the Old Master took pity upon me and said I could visit my family when the monks next went to the village.

Though it seemed to me a very long time, it was only a few days later that Master Thekchen, who was not a Master then, and Master Jampa, who was, took me with them to my home village.  We went to the marketplace, and there I saw strange men in strange garments carrying strange metal rods.  At sight of them, I pulled on Master Jampa’s robe to get his attention.  He leaned down to hear me, for I always spoke in whispers.

Who are those people? I asked.

Master Jampa said, They are warriors hired to protect our people from Chinese soldiers.

What are Chinese soldiers? I asked.

Foreign men who wish to call this place their own, He told me.

I wondered what anyone would want with a village not his own.  It occurred to me then that these Chinese soldiers must have lost their village, perhaps through fire.  I tugged at Master Jampa’s robe again and asked, If their homes are gone, why can they not live among us?

Master Jampa smiled at my naïveté.  He explained, They do not want to live among us.  They want to control us and steal from us.

I did not understand politics and war and violence at that time, but I had seen men of the village use sticks and tools to protect us from a snow leopard.  It disturbed me that we might need protection from men, as well.  And it disturbed me more that we needed strangers to protect us from other strangers.

I saw my mother and I ran to her.  She gathered me in her arms and hugged and kissed me