The Last Tear of the Samurai

There is an ancient Japanese legend about a mighty samurai’s four tears. It was unusual for a samurai, normally so composed and formal, to cry. However, a wealthy trickster made a deal with the samurai. If he cried four tears before he turned fifty, the samurai would become his servant forever. If the samurai didn’t cry, the trickster would give him one half of all he owned. So the bet was made. At first, the samurai couldn’t help but cry. The first tear was shed when his parents died. The second was shed when he lost his brother in a battle with a rival shogun. The third tear was shed when his wife died in childbirth. The first three tears fell within a matter of months. And then, there was peace in the samurai’s house. 

Without the constant battling and warring, the samurai had time to raise his only daughter. She grew from a plucky, adventurous young child to a confident and beautiful young lady. She was so strong-minded and wise that she decided to go and apply to a prestigious learning center for young women. The samurai had his apprehensions, he could not accompany her due to his duty to his shogun, but his daughter would not relent. And when a family friend agreed to supervise the long journey, he finally agreed.

The family friend though was secretly a recovering drunk. The trickster knew that the samurai was turning fifty soon, and he would not lose his bet. The day of the journey, he gave the family friend some special alcohol that intoxicated the drinker quickly. The family friend drank far too much. When he and the daughter were a few miles from home, he made a pass at her. She pushed him away, but he was not to be deterred. In the ensuing scuffle, the daughter fell and broke her neck on a thick stone. The friend ran away and said nothing. The samurai found her a few days later on a trip to the market. He found his former friend and ran him through. The damage was already done though. 

At her funeral, the samurai cried one last time. The last tear of the samurai fell as he saw the coffin go into the ground. The samurai died of a broken heart in the trickster’s service, never able to cry again.

Sam Hiroto carried his keys as he walked toward the cell block for prisoner transfer. Prisoner 225-A was being moved today. That was a relief. Sam wouldn’t have to look at his stupid, smug face any longer. Klink! The keys fell to the floor. Sam had distractedly dropped them. 

“Focus, strong focus.” The prison guard whispered to himself. He bent his impressive frame down to retrieve them, briefly flashing the tattoo of a dandelion he had on his wrist. It was the matching tattoo that he had gotten with his daughter, Misty. That was her favorite flower, she always lit up with a huge smile when she saw one. That smile had been gone for far too long. 

Keys in tow, the guard continued down the long corridor. His superiors had offered another guard to do the transfer. They had insisted he take time off. However, Sam Hiroto’s strong focus could help him endure anything. The corridor just kept stretching on and on, every step boomed in Sam’s mind. Finally, he was there.

He rapped on the door. “All ready in there?”

A low voice replied. “Maybe you should come in here and look.”

The door swung open. Sam couldn’t even look at his former neighbor. Tim Cho sat there looking as smug as he always did. “They sent you to pick me up? Wow, pretty special day for us both. It’s been a long time.”

“Save it. On your feet, it’s time to go.”

Tim stood up and walked out of the room. He began sauntering towards the other end of the hall.

“Whatever you say. Oh, by the way, how was the service? I did want to be there you know?”

“Focus, strong focus.” The thought echoed in Sam’s mind. 

“It was everything she deserved, and nothing like what your service will be.”

“Oh I’m not going any time soon. I’m pleased to see you’re still angry though.”

“Shut-up.” For a time, the two walked in silence. The hallway ended in a right turn, which led down another hallway. This then brought them to a fork. The right turn here said “Checkout”, and the left turn said “Lot.” They went down the left turn.

“Sam old boy, I don’t claim to be the brightest bulb. I know that we should have turned right back there though. I’m being transferred out, right?”

“Yep, keep going.”

The two men walked towards the door at the end of their latest turn. It led into the prison yard. It was early though, and no one else was out there. Tim turned and lifted his hands up.

“If we’re going outside, can we get these cuffs off?”

“When we get out there. Now move it.”

Right near the door was a poster holder. Sam had left the long, black tube there the night before. Grabbing it, he opened the door to the yard.

The mist of the early morning swirled as the two men stepped outside. One lone camera hung on the ceiling near the door. The wire was cut though. The gravel of the yard crunched under their feet as the two men walked towards the middle of the yard.

Tim turned, “I’m not taking another step until you get these cuffs off. No one gets released from the prison yard. What are we doing out here?” Sam took his keys and removed the cuffs from his former friend’s hands. Tim rubbed his wrists in relief as Sam opened the tube. He reached in and pulled out a short, thin katana.

“What in the world! Sam, have you lost your mind?”

“Do you remember when we went to the dojo together when we were children?”

“Sam you can’t do this, you have a job to do, you can’t get your revenge this way!”

“We trained with wooden swords just like these. My daughter went to that same dojo and trained with wooden swords just like these. She would have been a professional swords-woman by now.”

“Misty wouldn’t have wanted this.”

“You aren’t allowed to say what she would have wanted. You took everything away from her! Everything! Now pick up your sword!”

Sam threw the other katana on the ground towards Tim. He also took the keys from his belt and threw them behind him.

“Kill me and leave, I don’t care. This is your only shot at freedom though.”

Tim got into the proper sword stance. “Fine, if this is how you want to die, so be it. You’ll be reunited with your daughter soon enough.”

With this last exchange, the two men raced at each other. It had been some time since the two men had spared. This time though, the stakes were higher. The two swords came together and apart again and again. The long-practiced skills came right back to them. Sam would not stop advancing with furious strokes. Tim blocked them masterfully and returned with some of his own. 

“Focus, strong focus.” The thought echoed in Sam’s mind once more as he faked left and then slashed right. The trick caught Tim off guard, now his hand was cut.

“Grr, you’ll pay for that.” Tim whipped his blade across Sam’s knee, forcing him to kneel.

Sam knew that his former friend was too powerful. He needed to end this quickly.

“For Misty,” he whispered. He thrust up quickly.

“Beep, beep, beep!” The alarm clock sounded at the old man’s house. The calm, elderly eyes opened once briefly, then stayed open. He needed to get ready, his grand-daughter was coming today. Shifting himself out of bed, he began getting dressed. He carefully avoided hitting the shorts on his bad knee. Even all these years later, the scar on his knee still hurt. 

“Let me see, I have to dress light today.” The old man thought as he pulled out a short-sleeved shirt. “Mimi doesn’t like doing anything indoors. She’s always gotta be outside.”

The old man went and brushed his teeth, combed his hair, and put on his moisturizer. It was so hot in Niger, where he had lived for several years after the incident. He always needed to keep his skin from getting too dried out. “This is the price I pay to live free,” he thought as he rubbed his tattoo. Dressed and ready, the old man heard the doorbell ring. He walked to the door and grabbed his grand-daughter’s present before he left. It was a beautiful bouquet of sunflowers. After all, they were her mother’s favorite.