Week 6 Story: The Sword and the Comb

Long ago, a great warrior and his wife, a beautiful princess, were fighting together in a long an perilous struggle to obtain eternal youth. Through their valiant efforts and good deeds along the way to the Golden Apple, source of everlasting youth, the gods took pity on them and tried to help them in anyway they could along the way. Unfortunately, the quest was too great for them to accomplish and they perished along the way. Goddess of Deathless Love saw their sacrifices for each other in their final moments and used her power to preserve their souls in to special artifacts. For the great warrior, it was his sharp and trusty sword that could slash down any foe and for the princess it was an intricate comb that was so delicate that it could be used to unknot a silken thread.

These artifacts were locked away in a sacred temple far from the slippery hands of thieves and looters. As time went on, these artifacts were soon forgot and became part of the local folklore. It was said that whoever should find these artifacts and be proven worthy will be given the quest of these two heroes, the search for the Golden Apple - the giver of eternal youth.

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Centuries have passed and the mysteries of the world have become slim. One day a lonely traveler was hiking in the misty mountains when he stumbled upon a tomb sealed shut by ages of floral growth. After some struggling, he was able to gain access into the long forgotten temple of the two artifacts.

Walking down the long hall, ominously lit with a faint jade colored glow, the traveler reached the pedestals holding these artifacts. Taking the sword in one had and pulling out his smart phone, he began to film himself slashing and swinging the sword in all directions pretending to be a samurai. Impressed by his swordsmen-like skills, the spirit of the warrior sprang from the weapon in a powerful gust of wind, knocking the traveller off his feet and ripping his man-bun from the top of his head.

Unimpressed by the summoning of the spirit, the traveller nonchalantly got up off the ground and grabbed the comb from the other pedestal. Scolding the warrior and demanding to know what purpose such a theatrical entrance served, the traveller began to unknot his hair with the intricate comb. His well conditioned locks of hair were too much for the spirit of the comb to ignore and her spirit too burst from the artifact and along with millions of cherry blossom petals.

Again unimpressed, the traveller dug himself and his pack out from underneath the petals and demanded to know the meaning of the spirits' appearance. He scolded them for the cliché entrance stating that even the most indie of film directors could come up with better special effects.

The spirits were over joyed with his discontent as they mistook it for wisdom and quickly filled their champion in on the quest that were once tasked with completing, the same quest that the traveller was about to undertake.

"So... Let me get this straight, you guys are looking for a golden apple, that gives you eternal youth?" He asked hesitantly, "Will there is literally an app for that." Finding his golden iPhone 9X among the petals, the spirits saw the prominent apple symbol on the back and began dancing in glee. 

"Now this app is still in the beta stages, my friend is an app developer so don't go around showing this to anyone else or he'll hang me by my chacos." Opening the app titled Eternal Beauty, he snapped a quick picture of the old spirits and showed them the screen. Their old and tired figures were difficult to look at, but with a click of the button and a loading screen later, the spirits saw reflections of their former youthful selves.

A strong gust of wind began to swirl around the warrior and his princess creating a dazzling storm of cherry blossom petals, the two spirits thanked the youth for his wisdom and were released from their confines of the physical world.

"Jeez, the locals here are so strange." the traveller scolded again as he began to comb the petals out of his hair.

Random image of a guy who fits the character I created... Photo courtesy of Vanessa Labi

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Author's Note: The ideas for this story came from the Japanese Mythology reading. It draws on different themes and aspects from both sections. The sacred sword and the comb come from the story of Susa-no-wo fighting a the eight forked serpent of Koshi while having his wive (who he was using as bait) safe on his head in the form of a comb. The idea for the quest for eternal youth comes from the collection of stories about Yamato and his wife undertaking the same quest. The app is entirely made up.

Bibliography:

The Eight-Forked Serpent of Koshi, Romance of Old Japan, Part I: Mythology and Legend. E. W. Champney and F. Champney

The Labors of Yamato, Romance of Old Japan, Part I: Mythology and Legend. E. W. Champney and F. Champney