Your Turn

Toshi Ranbo - Imperial College Summer 1197

Hida Benjiro took a deep breath, and bowed deeply to the statue of the Jade Dragon. He had taken Hiroshi’s advice and had prayed to Lord Sun. He had also meditated and explained silently his troubles. Just before standing to leave, he burnt a small offering of incense.

That night when Hida Benjiro went to sleep, as he lay on his futon he could feel a change in the air, the insights he had gained when training in meditation with Hiroshi had settled his mind and he felt he was now ready to accept what the dreams were trying to tell him.

The dream had changed. He no longer was the towering man, but was walking beside him. He saw how that man defeated the Oni, how he threw everything he had into taking him down and how in the end the monster had fallen. He thought perhaps this was the end but he could see now that there was more.

The giant pointed at the oni, whose form was coalescing again, and crushed it. As years passed, the scene repeated itself countless times but the person doing it changed. Sometimes it was a towering man like the first, sometimes a woman, sometimes a smaller leaner Samurai was the one preventing the rise of the Oni. Hida Benjiro could see generations of Crabs maintaining vigilance and preventing the rise of the oni once again. Finally the last one, turned to him and said “Now it is your turn”.

Hida Benjiro woke with a start, he now knew there was a purpose to these dreams. Evil was rising and he was to stop it, but where was he to start? He did not know who the enemy was nor did he know who that man was. Perhaps it was time for him to talk about this to someone.