The Three Samurai and the Forest of Ghosts.

There were three apprentice Samurai, approaching their graduation.

The first was deadly, fast and aggressive.

The second was smart, stealthy and slight.

The third was strong of will and body, hearty and forthright.

It was time for their final test.

To enter the Forest of Ghosts, overcome their adversary and retrieve the Golden Akebi fruit.

Or to be lost to the forest forever and become one of its ghosts.

The first Samurai leaped up and sprinted into the forest.

Sharp sunlight illuminated the forest floor. The air was clear.

He called out, beckoning his enemy to appear.

A figure appeared, and with an instant and precise blow, the Samurai cut off its head.

As soon as it fell to the ground, the same figure reappeared behind him.

And so again, within the blink of an eye, he cut off its head.

Only for the figure to reappear…

Meanwhile,

The third Samurai rose to his feet, raised his barrel chest toward the sky, and marched toward the trees and into the forest.

He entered the thick vegetation, stamped his feet through deep mud and pushed his way through tangled vines.

He heard loud, deliberate footsteps to his right.

He turned to face the sound and was met by his enemy.

He drew his sword, as did his enemy.

He swung a powerful blow, knocking his enemy's sword from his hand.

Seeing the sword on the ground, the Samurai, too, threw down his sword and grappled with him.

Now, the second Samurai slowly rose to his feet.

He surveyed the forest ahead and considered his best point of entry.

Finally, he entered the forest.

Once inside, a mist descended, and an eerie silence fell upon the forest.

He climbed into a tree with the thickest foliage and waited for his enemy…

By now, the first Samurai was surrounded by 100 headless bodies of the same figure, and yet another appeared.

He was starting to tire.

“Perhaps I must strike with more precision and speed.”

He refocused his attention and slew the next… before the next appeared.

By this point, the third Samurai was bound deep in a relentless struggle.

He gripped his enemy, and his enemy gripped him.

They pushed and pulled, neither conceding, neither gaining.

“He is strong,” he thought to himself. “I must summon more strength if I am to defeat him.”

And he dug in his heels.

While the second warrior waited, his mind started to dart.

“Why is he so elusive? When will he appear? What will he be like?”

His nerves prickled, his stomach turned and his skin beaded with sweat.

Day turned to night, night to day, and so it went for seven days.

The first Samurai, now surrounded by 1,000 bodies, faced yet another.

His reactions were slowing, his eyes beginning to blur. He threw an indecisive blow, missed his mark and struck the figure's armour.

As he drew back to find his position for a second blow…

The figure held up his palm, signalling for him to stop.

The Samurai paused.

The figure pointed upward.

The Samurai looked up, and there, hanging high above him, was the fruit.

The figure knelt down, offering the Samurai his shoulders.

The Samurai climbed onto his shoulders, and the figure lifted him high enough to pluck the fruit.

The second, now gripping the tree with white knuckles, swung his sword aimlessly in the air at every sound the forest made.

One wild swing too many, and he fell from the tree with a loud thud.

The sound alerted a figure that had concealed itself in the forest, and it charged toward the Samurai.

The fear that once haunted him now energised his limbs and sharpened his focus.

He looked directly at the oncoming enemy, readied himself and stood his ground.

The enemy raised his sword.

The Samurai drew back his own, planted his feet and slowly exhaled.

The figure rained down a blow upon the Samurai, who blocked it with his sword.

He drew his attacker close, met him squarely in the eyes, and in them saw his own reflection.

The attacker turned to stone, then crumbled to dust, leaving a Golden Akebi on the ground.

The third, panting and puffing with exhaustion, rolled with his enemy on the ground, locked together in their grapple.

With nothing left to give, the Samurai surrendered, letting go of his opponent.

His opponent pinned him to the ground, stood up and rested a Golden Akebi on his chest.

Each man left the forest, with his fruit in his hand,

and the ghost of his adversary within him.

Until the next time

Peace and love

Alex