"The Last Sancho" Chapter One

I knew she was sansho shima the moment she walked through the Kaikan door.

But she was the kind of sansho shima I could turn into a real zenshishiki, if I had the right attitude.

She was a Treasure Tower, all right. The kind of dame a High Priest would get himself arrested for. But thanks to my Buddha Wisdom I could see through to all the worry hiding behind her lipstick and powder.

"What's a nice girl like you doing in a life-condition like this?" I asked.

"Who wants to know?" She looked me up and down.

I swung my feet off the Gajokai desk, stood up, and tipped my fedora to her. "The names Bonno, Bonno Soku Bodai."

"Pleased to meet you, Mr. Bodai." She arched an eyebrow. "So, are those your book and beads in your pocket, or are you just happy to see me?"

Actually, they were my book and beads. I always keep in my pocket, along with a rolled up copy of the latest Living Buddhism.

"Come on in," I said, "The butsudan's open--"

"Hold it, mister. Just what kind of girl do you think I am?"

"Maybe the kind of girl who likes a little hoben, a little juryo, and maybe a lot of daimoku afterwards...?"

"To let you know, I do it twice a day, every day."

I had definitely met my kenzoku.

As I reached for the Gohonzon Room door, she grabbed my other hand. I turned around. Lines of worry ruined her porcelain-smooth forehead.

"Hold it, Bonno. I can tell you're a swell guy." Then she sighed the saddest sigh I had ever heard.

"You don't want to do gongyo with a gal like me..."


And what she was about to tell me would change both our lives. Forever.