The Tiger Scroll

I train at an old tai chi studio every Monday and Thursday. The floors are concrete with paint splashed on top. There are black and white photos of old masters and students hung up and there are weapons mounted on the wall. It leaks when it rains and it's boiling hot when it's sunny. There are plants everywhere and there's always a boiled kettle for green tea.

In the studio there is a scroll painting of a tiger coming down the mountain. It hung at the entrance for years. I was told a lot of accidents happened during that time: people would fall, arms were broken, head injuries happened. When it was moved inside the studio it completely stopped.

The studio isn't haunted or anything but you can feel the decades of tai chi training that has happened here. After a long session something changes. The air feels charged or maybe I've been charged. I can't tell.

The eyes of the tiger watch over us as we train. I never even noticed the scroll when I first went but now I always look at it when I enter.