The Path to a New Beginning
Nothing could be seen in a room shrouded in absolute darkness. Some lights soon flickered, revealing that someone was in here. They then began doing it more frequently. A muscled back with scars could now be made out. It was a man in his briefs sitting in zazen.
He sat there with his eyes closed.
The lights flickered on all of a sudden. Under this dim lightening, it was shown that the man has some strange lines of shadow on his face.
He opened his eyes, revealing their seriousness.
'What, indeed?'
The lights in room lit up bright before going out. He closed his eyes and became one with the darkness again.
It was sometime in the morning.
Within the confines of a high security penitentiary, the siren blaring, as the main gate was opening. Once it was opened, the man, the same one from the room, walked out but then mysteriously stopped. Dressed in light clothes, he shut his eyes and listened as it close behind him. Believed the man would be waking up soon, however, once the gate lock then it was realized that this was no dream. He was free.
'They would let anyone out these days,' said someone from his past.
He opened his eyes and saw a face that he hoped on not seeing again. Maybe the man was not so free, after all.
He glared. 'What do you want, Isaiah?'
Dressed in a brand name suit, this Isaiah person was standing there with a black SUV behind him.
'Can a friend just come and see you,' asked Isaiah.
The man noticed Isaiah's shadow. It, too, was dressed in a brand name suit. Unlike Isaiah, his piece was showing through his jacket. He could see this one was green.
He glared back at Isaiah. 'No.'
'There is no reason for you to be like that, Bone. I mean, how long has it been since we last saw one another?'
'Not long enough,' remarked Bone.
He began walking away from here but then stopped, as the suit with no name blocked him. Bone gave this one an unflinching gaze before looking back at Isaiah.
'Father also wants to see you,' informed Isaiah.
In an undisclosed location in California, the SUV was traveling down a street that has almost no traffic.
Isaiah sat at the helm. 'Father did want to come and see you himself. But, he had to handle some business, you understand?'
His shadow quietly sat beside him.
'Did you make a nice memory with someone in the pen,' asked a grinning Isaiah.
Bone sat behind the suit. 'Pull over.'
Isaiah paid him no mind and continued driving.
'Now,' demanded Bone.
From the rear view mirror, Isaiah saw Bone give a look that chilled him down to the bottom of his costly shoes. It was against orders but he did as told and pulled the black SUV over to the side of the street.
'Thanks for the lift,' said Bone.
He then stepped out of the car, however, it was realized that his departure here would not be as simple as first thought. Nameless suit has done so, too. Bone snatched the piece out of this one's jacket and clocked him in the face with it. He hit the concrete with a thud. Out the car already, Isaiah went for his weapon but then suddenly became stiff. Bone stood there, having the gun on him.
Isaiah glared at him with hands raised. 'Father is not going to like this.'
Bone walked over and took away his piece while still having the gun on him.
'So what else is new?'
He let the clip out Isaiah's weapon then disassembled it in his hand.
'Be sure to tell the old man that I am out, of course, when your lips are not too tied up with kissing his ass.'
Bone soon did the same to the other piece he had before walking out on the street with incoming traffic.
Isaiah grinned. 'You are going legit? I mean, do not tell me you think you can have a civilized life out here? Face it, Bone. You cannot be like these people.'
He was walking still.
'I already know how Father is going to take this. But, you know, I wonder how Scarlet is going to feel about it.'
Bone paused for a brief moment before walking again.
'Bone,' called Isaiah.
He stopped and stood there in the middle of the street. Bone turned around and faced him with an unflinching gaze.
Isaiah, too, looked at him with the same gaze. 'We cannot let you just walk away.'
He managed to sneak a hand back behind him. Isaiah then drew out his second piece and went to shoot Bone but did not do it, as a passing bus was in his shot. He began looking around once it passed, but Bone like a shadow has vanished into thin air, as this infuriated him.
'You shit.'
The lights in the room were back on but everything here, including Bone, has taken a dark shade of crimson now. He remained seated in the same position with his eyes closed.
'Isaiah could be perhaps correct.'
His face like stone as a look of absolute seriousness was etched on it.
'For someone like me, a former con, it is hard to gain the approval of the people of this society.'
He took a deep breath then let it out.
'No one said making it out there would be a sure thing.'
The room then killed the lights all of a sudden as this returned everything to darkness.
It has been a year since Bone's encounter with Isaiah. He found employment at a Chinese restaurant in San Francisco as a dishwasher.
It was just past midday.
In the kitchen, Bone, dressed in his work clothes, was at the sink washing dishes. The cooks, also dressed in their work clothes, were here, too, preparing meals for customers. A waitress soon came in and gave them more orders. A cook snatched at the waitress' arm, but she managed to get away from him.
'Hey,' called the cook.
She walked up to Bone.
'Hi,' said a smiling waitress.
Bone looked and gave her a nod before doing dishes again, as this depressed her somewhat. She went back out there with the customers. The cook saw this and gave him a cross look. Bone no more than continued on with the task at hand.
It was evening now and closing time for the restaurant.
Bone went out the back door and walked down an alley. He stopped all of a sudden before reaching the end.
'Who is there,' asked a demanding Bone.
From around the corner, a person came out, revealing that it was the young woman, the same one from the kitchen. She wore a cheongsam still as this was the uniform for the waitresses here. She walked up to him.
'Oh, it is you, Mai. What are you doing here?'
This woman, Mai, looked at him with a nervous gaze. 'I was waiting for you.'
'Me?'
Mai nodded. 'I was wondering if you wanted to have dinner with me.'
'No thanks.'
He began walking again but then stopped, as the young woman blocked him.
'If not dinner, then we can have a drink instead,' said a smiling Mai.
'I do not drink.'
Bone continued down the alley, as she just stood there letting him leave. She looked down, causing some of her long, raven hair to fall over her eyes.
'Is it me,' asked a sad Mai.
Bone stopped. 'No.'
She raised her head a little and looked with a curious gaze.
'It is me.'
He then walked out the alley, leaving Mai there more depressed than before. She soon leaved here, too.
Meanwhile, the cook, also from the kitchen, had watched all this happen from the back door with a can of beer in his hand. Chugged it down then crushed the can as he glared out with anger in his eyes.
It was the following morning.
Bone arrived at the restaurant for work but walked in on the workers having an argument in the dining area. They were doing this in standard Mandarin, of course. It, however, became silent all of a sudden as their attention was on him now. Bone saw them looking with leery eyes.
'What went on here?'
An older woman walked up to him as this was the owner of the restaurant, Miss Kwan.
'Where is it,' asked Miss Kwan in somewhat decent English.
Bone gave her a strange look. 'No clue.'
'Fess up,' demanded an enraged worker.
Bone was giving the workers the same look now.
'We know you took it.'
'Quite enough, Lee,' said Miss Kwan.
Among his fellow, angered workers was Lee, known as the top cook here and also the one Bone had unknowing encounters with on the day before. Bone saw him looking shrewd unlike the others.
'Mister Bone,' called Miss Kwan.
His eyes were on her again.
'I was planning on paying you all at the end of the day, however, that cannot be done because the money was taken last night.'
Bone looked with a straight face. 'You think I did it.'
'He did not do it,' said someone familiar.
Everyone looked and saw that it was Mai. She had been standing at the front door for some time now, hearing more than enough. Miss Kwan was giving her a strange look.
'How do you know?'
Mai walked up and stood beside Bone with her arm around his.
'It is because we were together last night.'
Bone stood there and gave her a confound look, as the workers were discussing this. Lee soon walked over and pointed a finger at Mai.
He glared. 'You lie! You went home alone!'
'Is this true,' asked Miss Kwan.
Mai looked down and freed her arm from Bone's.
'Why lie?'
Mai raised her head and looked her fellow workers, including Miss Kwan, with disappointment in her eyes.
'It is because you are accusing him of something he did not do. I mean, think about it. Why would he now steal our payroll after working with us for almost a year?'
Lee was giving Bone a cross look now. 'It is because, my delicate naïve Mai, that he had get us to trust him. Once trusted, then it was just him buying his time until a chance like this presented itself.'
Bone looked at him with an unflinching gaze.
'It was him,' said one worker.
'We should get the police,' said another.
He looked and saw his fellow workers were becoming restless now. Bone saw that this cook was giving him a smug look, too.
'Do you have anything to say for yourself, Mister Bone,' asked Miss Kwan.
'I quit.'
Mai gave him a shock look.
'Running away, are we,' asked Lee.
Bone paid him no mind.
'However, for the kindness that you showed me during my time here, I am going to hand over the money, and the one responsible for taking it.'
Everyone, including Miss Kwan and Mai, were giving him strange looks now. Bone soon walked up to the cook, having absolute seriousness his eyes.
'Where is the money?'
Lee grinned. 'You hear this? He is pinning this on me now. I mean, he is just making things worse for himself.'
'I am not going to ask again.'
Lee turned his back on him and headed for a swing door.
'If no one is going to call the police, then I do it.'
He pushed the door open and went inside, but before the door could close, Bone stopped it and gone in himself.
Within the cook's room, Lee was making the call, as Bone no more than just stood behind him looking at his back with an unflinching gaze.
'You should stop this charade, because I already know you were the one that took the money.'
Lee ignored him.
'If you consider keeping this up, then someone is going to get hurt, and it is not going to be me,' said a now threatening Bone.
'Now adding assault to the list,' said a grinning Lee.
He saw a knife on a nearby counter.
'If that is how you want to do it, then you give me no choice.'
He spun around and threw the phone at him, but Bone avoided with a quick sidestep. Bone saw the cook lunge with knife in hand now, however, Lee soon found himself thrown through the back door. He tumbled on the concrete hard. Bone then walked out and looked down at the fallen Lee with seriousness in his eyes still.
'Want to confess now?'
Clenching his chest tight with his hand, Lee felt like a truck has struck him. His pain subsided as a somewhat smug grin soon appeared on his face. Bone gave Lee a strange look but then saw four workers were standing behind him.
'Do you really want to do this? I mean, Lee was the one that took your money. It would be a great dishonor to defend him.'
He saw them not moving an inch.
'Suit yourself.'
Elsewhere, a young, frustrated man, dressed in a cheap suit, was walking down a sidewalk.
'I am in California, and no one has what I am looking for. Maybe I have better luck in Georgia, or some place around there in the boonies.'
He headed for his car but then stopped, hearing some kind of a commotion going on in an alley.
'What is going on,' asked the man.
He walked there and saw something that brought chills down his spine.
Back in the alley, Bone was engaged in combat against Lee's allies.
He grabbed one at the wrist and flipped him down on the concrete, hard.
Another came and began throwing fast punches at him, but Bone was slipping through them with great skill. He then threw a straight, however, it was soon realized that this one has fallen into Bone's trap, as he blocked it and knocked him out with a thunderous one-two punch to the grill.
One came up and grabbed him from behind. Bone felt he was being forced back to a nearest wall. Before getting slammed into the wall, he ran up it some, then pushed off it and did a flip over this one's head. He went to turn around, but got himself a sharp roundhouse kick to the head from Bone, knocking him out.
Another came charging straight for him. Bone obliged him and charged, too. Before colliding, Bone leaped up and soared in the air, ramming his knees in this one's chest. Stopping him dead in his tracks, this sent him straight down to the concrete, real hard. Clenching his chest tight with his hands, this one felt like an iron beam had plowed into him.
One, the same that got thrown to the ground at the beginning of this brawl, was up on his feet again. He walked over to some garbage cans and began rummaging in them until finding a lead pipe. Bone saw this and gave him an unhumorous look.
'Stand down.'
This one came at him with weapon in hand. He soon went for a swing, but Bone blocked it in mid swing with his foot then sprung up and landed a snapping spin kick across this one's face with the other foot. He spun around in the air before hitting the concrete, too.
Bone was no more than standing there, seeing that his once fellow workers were either writhing in pain or being unconscious.
'It did not have to come to this.'
Lee came from out of nowhere and slashed Bone in his arm with the knife from earlier. Holding his bleeding arm tight, Bone backed away and gave the cook a glare.
'You would be heading back to jail for this that is for sure,' said a grinning Lee.
Bone continued glaring at him.
'You have nothing to say? Well, I guess I rough you up some more before the cops come and take you away to be someone's bitch.'
Lee soon came at him with the knife but was stopped, as Bone has grabbed his arm and struck at the joint with a shotei. Releasing the weapon, the cook was wailing and holding his arm now, as Bone has broke it. Bone then brought him down to his knees with a hard kick behind the kneecap. Lee was soon silenced as a sleeper hold has been applied on him.
Mai came out and saw all this carnage before her. She was standing there in disbelief, but then saw that Bone was choking out Lee.
'Bone,' called a rattled Mai.
She then saw he has blood in his eyes as this chilled her to the bone. Swallowing her fear, Mai went and tried stopping him.
'Stop this! You are going to kill him!'
He just shoved her off and continued tightening the hold on Lee.
'Bone,' screamed a weeping Mai.
He went to snap his neck but stopped all of a sudden, as a grinning Isaiah has popped up in his mind.
'You cannot change, Bone. You cannot change what you are.'
Blood soon disappeared from his eyes and he released the hold. Lee fell on all fours, coughing and gasping out for air. Bone looked up at the morning skies but then closed his eyes and stood there with a look of shame and anger on his face.
Mai looked somewhat shaken up. 'Bone?'
Everyone, including Miss Kwan, soon came out.
Bone opened his eyes and looked over at the cook, seeing him crawling away. Lee did not get too far, as Bone had came up and grabbed him by his broken arm. Lee winced and groaned in pain.
'Confess,' said Bone.
Lee no more than gave him a glare, but soon Bone snuff out the fire that he had left in him with a sudden twist of the arm. Lee winced again and this time screamed out.
'Confess,' said a now demanding Bone.
'I took it!'
'Where is it,' asked Bone.
'It is under the sink!'
Once his arm was released, Lee took hold of it and began crawling away again.
'You could have forced him to tell us that,' said a worker.
'I still think you did it,' said another worker.
Bone gave them all an unflinching look. 'It is clear that everyone here knows I have had time in the pen. But, since working here, I have done nothing to be suspected of wanting to do this. You know what I say is the truth.'
'Why would Lee do this, then,' asked Miss Kwan.
Bone looked over at the young waitress.
'Jealousy make people do dumb things,' said Bone in standard Mandarin.
Miss Kwan gave him a strange look. Bone soon went to Mai but then came no closer, seeing that she was somewhat scared of him now.
'Thanks.'
He did not even exchange a look to his once fellow workers before leaving the alley.
Meanwhile, the man, dressed in the cheap suit, was standing there with eyes lit and body trembling. He had seen the brawl.
'Amazing.'
He was seeing Bone walk down the street with a grin on his face.
'I think I found what I have been looking for.'
'Was I an idiot?'
Within the mysterious dark room, Bone sat under a flickering light with his head down and eyes closed. He has a look of great disappointment on his face.
'Was I an idiot to think I could have a normal life without being persecuted for past mistakes?'
Bone soon half opened his eyes.
'No.'
He raised his head and looked somewhat serene.
'Someone did believe I could have one.'
Bone gave a strange look.
'Well, more like a career.'
The light then went off on him suddenly.
It was late in the morning now.
Bone was walking out of a small clinic. He had just gotten treated for the wound that the cook, Lee, gave him in the final moments of the brawl. Bone went to take another step but then mysteriously stopped.
'Is there a reason why you are following me?'
Standing before him was the man in the cheap suit.
He looked with a grin. 'You are sharp. I like that.'
'You still have not answered my question,' said Bone with a straight face.
'I wonder if I could have a moment of your time.'
Bone was giving him a strange look now.
In a small diner, which was near the clinic, the man and Bone were sitting in a booth. A waitress soon walked over with pad in hand.
'What are you two having?'
The man browsed in his menu.
'I am going to have the brunch special,' said the man.
The waitress looked over at Bone. 'And you?'
Seeing him shake his head, the waitress took up their menus and head off to give the cook this order.
'You sure you do not want anything,' asked the man.
Bone was giving him a straight face.
'Okay, I suppose I can tell you the reason for wanting to talk with you. Let me first introduce myself, my name is Walter Jones. I am what you call a road agent.'
'And,' said an unimpressed Bone.
'I am looking for new talent for a wrestling promotion that is going to be reopening soon.'
'No thanks,' said Bone.
Walter gave him a strange look. 'What?'
'I have no interest at all in brawling against other people for one's entertainment. Besides, you can say that I had my share of it for one day.'
Bone stood up in the booth.
'Now, if you excuse me, I am going to get a newspaper and look for a new job.'
'Hang on,' said Walter.
Bone turned to him.
'I am offering you a great opportunity here, boy. I mean, with your skill, you can easily go up the ranks and even become a champion. You are going to need some training, of course, but still you would make a great addition to the promotion.'
'What makes you think I got any skill at all,' asked Bone.
He then gave him a serious look.
'You saw the brawl, did you not?'
Walter nodded. 'Yes, and I was impressed. Your skills are phenomenal, and I think it is something that the masses should see.'
'I do not do this for sport.'
Bone began walking away.
'Do you really think you are going to be satisfied working at another minimum wage job,' asked Walter.
Bone soon paused.
'You are searching for your place in this world, or perhaps a new beginning in your life.'
Bone looked over at him with an unflinching gaze.
'I overheard you. I believe if you take this opportunity, then you will get what you want.'
'And what is that,' asked Bone.
'Their acceptance.'
Bone turned his back on him and looked down.
'So, what do you say?'
Bone stood there in thought.
A door opened in the dark room, as a tall shadow of a figure was shown on the ground.
'Bone, you are up in five minutes.'
He was still sitting in zazen with eyes closed. The person soon closed the door, returning everything back to absolute darkness. Bone then opened his eyes, revealing the seriousness they hold. He stood up and walked over to a bench that has some clothes on it.
'So, here I am.'
Bone slipped on some light, white pants.
'It was a long road to get up this point.'
He put on a light, sleeveless white shirt. Bone went to slip on some shoes but did not do it. Instead, he wrapped some tape around his feet and hands.
'But, I am here.'
Bone walked up to the door.
'I have no clue where this path is going to take me.'
He then opened the door and heard the roaring cheers of the masses.
'But, I do know that I am taking my first step into a new beginning.'
Bone leaved and closed the door behind, as the room went back to darkness.