Enzo was sitting outside the Monastery, watching people struggle up the hill with heavy loads for the Monastery.
“I think I am actually on a retreat. I wonder why they struggle, but I am not part of all that”, Laureen said.
“What is the purpose of your retreat”, I asked.
“A purification.”
“Did you achieve that?”
“Obviously not…thought I had. The others were bringing me food in to a cave where a fire was kept.”
“What did you achieve”, I continued.
“Non attachment to earthly desires….it seems pointless…I have a sense I never understood woman”, she said.

The sky was crisp and clear, and the Japanese monks enjoyed themselves while they were searching for medical herbs along the river bank. Enzo thought about how he had been brought to the Monastery when he was a very young child. He suddenly felt a chilly wind along his back, when he thought about the moment the monks grabbed him and his parents deliberately handed him over. He felt a deep sadness striking his mind, but smiled when he thought about his most precious secret – his girlfriend. Suddenly dark clouds were gathering over the horizon. It was time to return back to the Monastery in the distant mountains.
When they returned, disaster struck. Enzo had tasted the forbidden fruit. He fell in love with the beautiful wife of a young warlord. He even made her pregnant. Hidden and holy rules had been broken and the Monastery was beyond any rescue. The warlord suddenly appeared and he killed not only his wife, but also her baby.