“THE TINY PLUM”

By Ryan Sutton

Issue 1 – THE SERVANT

In the earth’s last day of sunlight, YUSHI ICHAHARA happens upon a black flower in the meadow near her village, and takes it home. When the moon eclipses the sun and casts darkness over the land the flower changes into a pair of diabolical Siamese twins. Their charge is to suppress all whom dare stand in the way of the moon’s power.
As THE TWINS mature their possession over Yushi grows so strong that HIRATO ICHAHARA fears his wife’s fidelity and so banishes the twins from his home. But it’s too late.
With correlated witchcraft Yushi changes the twins into the creature known as “The Hokan”, a two-headed beast that almost kills Hirato.
Sixteen-years later the land remains in the shadowy power of the Moon. Colossal, UMEBOSHI awakes, as he always has, trapped in the brothel in which he lives. He hopes to one day meet his father and to swim in the great sea. His phony mother MISAWA, although kind, is an apprentice witch that serves the all powerful MADAM YUSHI.
The roofers have left the trapdoor open. A bright light shines into the brothels dark corridor. Umeboshi climbs up the ladder to the rooftop and looks upon the sun in its first appearance in decades. The sun’s power startles the boy and he falls backwards through the roof and crushes Misawa to death.