SAYURI SAMSARA - CHAPTER 1

She had a beautiful smile, but it was not the smile that intrigued Alex. They were the eyes. Eyes with an incredible kindness. Something he had never ever seen in a women before. And that fact alone got Alex excited. It was like finding a diamond in the rough.. That’s how they developed that special relationship. A stunningly attractive Japanese Women, living alone and making a living giving Piano lessons.

When she sat down next to him at the Bar of the California Pizza Kitchen Alex had barely given her a glance. He was deeply engrossed in the Economist magazine he was reading and sipping a glass of wine after a hard days work. Waiting for his Chicken Piccata. When she got her meal before him he became a little irritated. Yes she was having a simple Salad, but whatever happened to the first come first serve principal? Fortunately his meal arrived soon after hers and he dug in with gusto. Hungry because he hadn’t had anything for the whole day.

As Alex continued to eat his Chicken Piccata, he became increasingly aware of her presence. Gradually he lost his focus on the magazine. His mind wondered to her. Sitting next to him. Her warmth permeated his space, interrupting his concentration. Nudging him with an invisible aura. She was all alone, sipping a glass of red wine. A lonely Asian women, eating a simple salad on a beautiful Saturday evening. Pasadena, California a charming city in the heart of California.

Something kept drawing Alex to her. Try as he might to concentrate on his magazine, he could not. Almost as if the Gods were thrusting him into a situation that had been preordained. The warmth of her grew stronger. An unusual warmth. For some reason it gave him goose bumps. There was no other way to explain it. Although they were not sitting that close to each other he could even smell her. Maybe his senses were seeking her out and getting more attuned to her. Maybe it was her, giving off a scent that men could easily follow. Did women do that? Finally Alex could not longer resist and began the conversation that started it all. Little did he know it was a conversation that would forever transform his life.

“ Chinese? ” he asked
“ No, my English is not very good ” she replied with an unmistakable Japanese accent.
“ Aha Japanese I see ” Alex replied
“ Yes “
“Konichiwa! ” he said with a smile
“Konbanwa ” she replied using the more formal term for good evening
“ From Tokyo?”
“ Yes ” she replied with a smile.
“ Tourist? ” he asked
“ No I live here ”
“ Hi I’ am Alex ” he said offering his hand.
“ I am Sayuri Samsara “ she replied with a smile
“ Isn’t that an Indian last name? It’s certainly not Japanese ”
“ My father. He liked Indian Buddhism. So he changed the name when he came here to USA”
“ Were you born here? ”
“ Yes, but I live in Japan first ”

She had soft beautiful hands and a firm handshake. Unusual because Asian hand shakes were usually limp. The Asian way of greeting was more subtle, often bowing with the hands together and did not involve a handshake. Yet this delicate beautiful Japanese women seem to understand western culture and understood the importance of a firm handshake in western culture.

“ Samsara, I don’t think that is actually an Indian last name “ Alex asked as he frantically googled the name on his iPhone.
“ No, you are right it’s not ”
“ Wasn’t it also a perfume? ”
“ You right again ”
“ Do you know what Samsara means? ” Alex asked
“ It means the cycle of rebirth ” she replied with another smile
“ Do you expect to be reborn?” Alex asked, curiosity getting the better of him
“ Yes ”
“ What do you think you will be in your next life? ”
“ I am not sure, but I will be find out in another year “
“ In another year? “
“ Yes. I will die in another year ” she replied with a smile.

She seemed confident of that outcome. Yet she had a smile on her face. Alex was confused. What was she saying?

“ Are you sick? ” he asked
“ No ” she answered simply
“ Then how do you know you will die? ”
“ Because my father changed my last name to Samsara ”
“ That seems pretty drastic ” Alex replied, slightly perturbed at this of chain of events.
“ My father did not know. But anyone who changes their name to Samsara apparently dies twenty eight years later ”
“ And you have known this for twenty eight years?” he asked, astounded at the thought
“ Yes ”
“ And you are sure about it ”
“ Yes I will die. But I am happy ”

They sat in silence for a while. He nursed his wine, but he had lost his appetite. This is bizarre he thought. Here he was in one of richest cities in the richest state in the richest country in the world and there was an attractive Japanese women who he barely knew telling him that she was going to die for no reason, except for a name change. It seemed a terrible waste. A tragedy. Yet she seemed nonchalant about it. Like she was planning a vacation.

“ Is there a way to remove the curse? ” he asked
“ It’s not a curse. It’s Samsara ” she replied with a smile.
“ Who told you that you will die? ”
“ My father was told by a Tibetan Monk ”
“ Maybe he had too much wine ”
“ It’s always possible ” she replied with a laugh
“ Yet you are certain that you will die? ”
“ Yes ”
“ Are you a Buddhist? ”
“ Yes and you are a Christian?” she asked
“ Well not really a practicing Christian, but I have always been fascinated by Buddhism. I understand it’s not a religion? ”
“ You may consider it as such or you may not. It does not matter. What matters is whether you understand its principles.
“ So what is Buddhism about? ”
“ In simple terms it encourages you do good. If you do good in this life you will be reborn as a higher life form until you achieve Nirvana or enlightenment and then you can stop the cycle of rebirth ”
“ Why stop the cycle of rebirth? ” he asked
“ To avoid the pain and suffering that you experience in life”
“ But there are great pleasure in life too ” he said
“ True, but it comes at a great cost. Nirvana is something beyond that cycle ”
“ So how come you are drinking wine. I thought it was banned? ”
“ Nothing is prohibited in Buddhism. It merely stops progress ”
“ I guess you don’t want to make any progress tonight ” he said with a laugh
“ It’s actually an experiment. I am trying to see if it hinders my path ”
“ And is it? ”
“ I will tell you next week, ” she said with another smile.

How was it that she spoke such great English when she actually professed not to speak it well. Alex was beginning to realize that there was more to Sayuri Samsara than he had at first thought. And she seemed certain she would see him next week.

“ Why are you unhappy?” she asked suddenly
“ Well I am concerned about your situation ” he replied
“ Yes I can feel that, but that’s not it”
“ How could you so sure ” he asked surprised
“ When you have only one more year to live, one becomes unusually perceptive. You should try it sometime. “ she replied
“ You mean die within a year?” Alex asked

They both laughed at the thought. Strangely Alex did not feel guilty about it. In an instant it brought them closer together. He was beginning to understand her, feel her emotions. It was then he realized that he was gently stroking her elbow, his legs touching her leg, his eyes staring at her eyes and breathing her scent. An intimate encounter that was unexpected as it was sudden and unconscious. The minute he realized that he stepped back, alarmed and embarrassed at the same time.

“ You should not be ashamed. It’s natural. You should not fight it ” she said
“ How did you know? “ he asked
“ Samsara “ she replied simply
“ Oh rubbish! " he said
“ What kind of job do you have Alex?”
“ I am a venture capitalist ” he replied
“ What is a venture capitalist? ”
“ Somebody who invests money in other people’s ideas ”
“ You must be rich? ” she said
“ No, but neither am I poor ”
“ Do want to be rich?”
“ I suppose. I hadn’t paid it too much attention to tell you the truth”
“ So why do you exist? ”
“ What do you mean? ”
“ I think there is a French word for it. Raison d’etre ”
“ Yes I know. Honestly I don’t know. All I know is that I have full life, I am happy, I have everything I need, I travel, I read, have good friends and enjoy good food ”
“ Is that enough? ”
“ Let’s not talk about me. Let’s talk about you. What do you do for a living?
” I give Piano lessons”
“ Married? ”
“ No “
“ Do you make enough money to earn a living from that?”
“ Yes. I have a few rich students ”

She was an only child. He discovered she was a child genius from a young age. Learning to play the Piano. Attending the prestigious La Sorbonne in Paris France. Traveled the world with some of the best orchestras in the world. And now she lived in a small elegant apartment in South Pasadena by herself. Waiting for rebirth.

“ Do you Tango? ” she asked suddenly
“ Tango? Like in dancing? ”
“ Yes ”
“ Never tried it. Always wanted to ”
“ Then you should come with me. I am taking my first Tango lesson in another one hour ”
“ Tango classes? “ he stammered
“ Yes. You can be my partner and I will pay for you ”
“ It’s not the money. I can pay. But you hardly know me” he replied
“ I can see you are good person Alex. But you have not lived until you have seen Samsara and what it means ”
“ What makes you certain that I need to see Samsara? ” he asked
“ Your face. It’s written all over your face. You need to see it. I can see you are very successful Alex, but that’s not enough. I can see you a good person. You have a kind heart. An old soul. I saw it the minute I sat next to you. You are very close. I will help you to see it because to loose it now would be a terrible thing”
“ See what? ” Alex asked
“ Samsara ” she replied with another smile.
“ And taking Tango lesson will help me achieve that? “ he asked skeptically
“ That is only a stage. It’s the stage through which you will communicate. Then you will see Samsara. Once you see that you are on the way to enlightenment. But you will also have fun. Joy is not prohibited ”
“ How about Sex is that prohibited? “ he asked her
“ Nothing is prohibited, it merely stops your progress, “ she said as she learned over and kissed him on the lips.

That was quite unexpected. Not in a million years did he expect that. Yet there was nothing vulgar about it. It was deeply spiritual. She grasped his hands with hers, intertwining them with hers in the manner of intimate lovers and moved closer to him. From the corner of his eyes he scanned the restaurant to see if others were watching them. None of them did. It’s almost as if she had frozen time. He felt he was in a dream, yet everybody around them moved around them, oblivious to their embrace. And surprisingly she tasted great. The taste of her permeated his whole body as his senses hungrily searched for more. He stared into her eyes. They were still warm and hauntingly beautiful. It was true. The eyes were the window to the soul.

And just like that it began. One moment he was eating his Chicken Piccatta and in the next moment he was taking Tango lessons searching for the meaning of Samsara with a beautiful Japanese women who was about to die in a year.

END OF CHAPTER 1

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CHAPTER 2