I’m dying to know. If the only way I can find out what that sound was is to become a monk, how do I become a monk?”The monks reply, You must trave... the earth and tell us how many blades of grass there are and the exact number of sand pebbles, when you find these numbers, you will become a monk. The man sets about his task. Some 54 years later, he returns and knocks on the door of the monastery.He says, I have traveled the earth and have found what you have asked for. There are 145,236,284,232. She pressed the point of the knife to the back of his neck he woke as if he were struck bye lightning with a jolt.She said "Do what I say" She had him raise his hands above his head as he lay face down ,she clicked the cuffs on ,and had him in a blindfold.She told him not to make a sound he was in shock ,and could not comprehend what was happening never mind talk he felt the cold steel of the knife run down his spine she cut off his briefs threw them away like a used kleenx .He felt her legs. I didn’t hear Alex come down the stairs at all. I’ll add 'light on her feet' to her amazing qualities.“Hello. You startled me.”“Sorry. Can I sit?”“Of course. No need to ask. Where’s Claire?”“She’s taking a nap.”“Ah, I see. She loves her afternoon naps.”“Yep.”Alex and I shared a few uncomfortable moments. I didn’t know why she was down here, or why she was sitting right next to me. I didn’t love it, but I didn’t hate it either.“I don’t think I’m going back to school next semester.”“Huh?”“Sorry!. The Colonel sat back in his chair and gave a half-hearted salute back.Colonel Swartz had been in the air force for thirty-one years. He had served his country all over the world. He had flown sixty-four missions during Operation Desert Storm in the first Iraq war. A devout believer in air to ground warfare, he ran his base on a tough no nonsense basis.He looked at the officers before him, noticing the perspiration on their foreheads. His eyes dropped down to the medal ribbons on their chests..