Roots of Vengeance, Essay Example

Akiya, now aged 26 years, sits on a rock at the top of the mountain crying hard as blood ooze from his left leg, directly tied whit a piece of cloth cut from the right sleeve of the tattered military shirt. Akiya, with his long hair, jerked tattered military shirt and navy blue trousers, sits crying with pain of a wound seeming like a bullet wound looks up the sky, and a shading light with foreshadowing sound reappears. It is now 20 years since Akiyas father disappeared on the battlefield and 15years since his mother died in the hospital bed.

As a firstborn of the family, Akiya is much happy with his family until Marissa, his mother, wakes him up. Sleepy as he is, he spots Chan, his father now in a special force military uniform with a heavy bag almost leaving the house. Marissa smiles and calls for Akiya to say goodbye as Chan goes; however, Akiya seems unhappy. Chan leaves to the military camp like other soldiers now called to respond to the emergency of World War II when all soldiers have required a mission. It is now three years since Chan, Akiya’s father, went to Vietnam on a war mission. No feedback about his well-being, Marissa Akiya’s mother spends most of the time crying and playing in the house till his health deteriorates. She is hospitalized in one of the public hospitals. Still, since all attendants are more focused on treating soldiers, Marissa is not attended despite being begged by Akiya while crying.

Marissa finally dies in agony, blessing Akiya who now remains hopeless with more hatred to the government of the day and cries hard, but nobody cares since this is the time war is at its peak. Akiya is chased from the hospital by guards; hence he did not know where his mother’s body is taken. Returning home, Akiya finds out that robbers had breached into their house the previous night since it’s a week since he took his dead mother to the hospital and made away with everything in the place.

Pain over pain was nowhere to lie in the neighborhood since all had fled due to fear of the state’s ongoing war. He is now 12 year in the street, Akiya meets up with this beautiful street girl Hanna who introduce him to Karate classes in one of the Hombu Dojo in Michigan, with passion, hatred, and spirit of vengeance in him, Akiya joins and trains daily for not only self-defense and discipline but for revenge. Akiya with no family, just a street boy living with pain, but due to his passion for training, the dojo management and the instructor never charge any cent for training; instead, he meets Shelia, a nice-looking rich kid who promises to buy him a karate uniform “Gi.”

Shellie becomes good friends with Akiya, however too secretive and does not disclose anything about his entire life. Shellie gets more interested in Akiya due to his humble behaviors; despite being a street both, nobody knows about this except Hanna, who now doesn’t attend karate classes more frequently. After realizing Shellie and Akiya are too close, Hanna becomes more and decides to separate the two. Hanna is a killer, a fearless lady gone through a lot like Akiya; however, the two are secretive, and nobody knows about each other. On the other side of Hanna, we see she is not a street girl by lousy luck rather his hideout since she is a robber with other thugs in the town.

Hanna seems to have more money, buys food for Akiya most of the time after evening classes, and warns him to stay away from Shellie. One of these days, after evening training raining heavily, Akiya had no place to spend the night when Hanna decided to take him to his home. Hanna lives in a well underground room despite looking to be a street girl most of the time, her house is well equipped with stolen, the old TV sets, decoders but Akiya get shocked after spotting two guns and several bow and arrow. As Akiya approached the weapon, Hanna shouts, “don’t touch Akiya,” as she pulls out a pistol from her jacket, which she occasionally leaves without. Akiya stands perplexed, raising his hands with a soft voice, “I am sorry, Hanna” quickly, Hanna realizes her mistakes and apologize as she hugs him for the first time. Akiya feels relaxed, and for the first time since his mother died, we see him smiling “it is okay, Hanna.”

The two sit on the floor as Hanna closes his face, shy away from looking at Akiya, and starts to cry. Akiya comforts her, and they start eating the food in the house, and nobody talks to another. Akiya, still shocked and insecure, decides to break the silence and ask Hanna, “Is this your room?” Hanna, smiling, responds, “yes. Why ask?” It’s just asking Akiya to react back.

It is now that Hanna opens up and starts to speak out his story for the first time. I know you’re just shocked about these weapons; it is just normal; why be surprised? Says Hanna. Akiya responds that despite his father being an American special, he has never come home with a gun only, his scary uniforms. Hanna laughs loud and tells Akiya that there is no mercy in the struggle between life and death; if you’re not strong enough, it’s your time to die since the government no longer cares about its citizens.

I am not a street girl as you and many other people think I am; I am just an assassin and thug, huh! Akiya exclaim. This country is undemocratic; as people say, do you know how many people in the battlefield daily, do you know how many people in the hands of nurses and doctors daily, do you do the same nurses. This so-called government killed my parents. Is this world fair enough to be royal? She asked many questions, now crying raising her voice as if she wants to hit Akiya.

Akiya, at this time facing down while tears flow down his cheeks, tells Hanna to relax, but she continues shouting, so even men do cry, this world will never cease to make me wonder. Instead of helping fight for justice and democracy, you are assisting the ladies in calling in the street? I see now why you’re on the road. “Shut up! Akiya slaps Hanna as the two engage in blow exchange, and Hanna gets angered, pulls out his gun, and points to Akiya, just making a move, and you will count yourself useless dead. Akiya relaxes and exclaim, Hanna, you’re digging me too deep now. Do you know or do you even want to know why I am suffering in the streets, do you think I am happy, do you do the same government you’re talking about abducted my father I have not seen in the last 15 years? Hanna, don’t remind me how my mother died in the hospital bed while nurses are watching, Akiya exclaims as he becomes weak and sits on the floor crying aloud, and Hanna starts to apologize again.

The two realize they have the same background story and comfort each other. What is your plan now? Hanna, who is most angered with red eyes, asks Akiya. Akiya was raised in a humble, happy family before things went south, and what as of now he knows is karate and street fight, not the use of weapons. I have no plan for now, but I hope to avenge my mother because she died in the most painful way, of which I don’t even know where his body is. I have been training to be an assassin for the last five years of my life, and all these weapons you see are all about revenge for both my parents; at least you’re revenging for one.

You always make jokes out of me about what I should do because I don’t even know about guns nor the use of any weapon. Hanna stand and command Akiya to do the same, she gives him one of the short-range gun, a sword, bow, and arrow and tells him to follow her into the night with gunfire and bombs from far.

After ten minutes of travel, they arrive at a lighted field, and Hanna says to Akiya, this is the start of your revenge journey as mine is almost complete, and by dawn, you must have known how to use all these weapons. Hanna starts training Akiya to use the guns, which is more challenging at the beginning of the training but becomes more enjoyable as the movement continued. Are we acting karate kids? Asked Akiya as Hanna laughs louder, you’re now the American Bruce Lee go and deal with the undemocratic street; the roots of vengeance is coming back to life, both sought Oss implying yes in Japanese Karate. They hold each other’s hand, tired like never before, and left to the darkroom of Hanna.

Back in the hospital, cries are heard more and more as many soldiers die, and the ordinary citizen gets unattended; an ambulance comes again whit several wounded soldiers. The nurses leave to attend to them, leaving other citizens who now share beds. Hanna visits this same hospital where her mother died; she holds the bed lied by two men injured beyond recognition and says to herself, “buddy, this will be your last days on earth.” She counts the number of available nurses and goes back to inform Akiya, who is now deeply asleep.” What kind of democrat are you, Akiya? It is already ten am and deeply asleep remember, tonight is the day between democracy and our lives; keep preparing.

Akiya wakes up though still tired, and asks Hanna about where she has been. I am from the hospital, yet many people are dying, so I have decided it is better for many once and the rest of life, or many continue to die daily, so today is the root of vengeance. Are you in or out of it? Ask Hanna, and you always doubt me. I swear I will be the first to pull a trigger on those guards. I remember how they kicked me out of the hospital. Hanna smile and hands over a glass of water to Akiya; cheers, buddy; if we die on the battlefield, we killed for democracy, not for self-interest.

It is seven pm, and both Hanna and Akiya dress up, ready for the action; Hanna hands over a pair of military suits to Akiya as she wears another, they both set out to the hospital. Akiya starts shooting from the gate with pain, and everybody flew for life; he manages to kill only two guards as Hanna walks straight to the ward and shooting nurses. Shortly a police siren is heard. With fear, Akiya runs away, leaving Hanna, who exchanged fire with the police; however, Akiya is shot on his left leg but manages to escape, but unlucky Hanna is shot and dies in the same hospital where his mother died. Akiya ran for life and rest on the top of a small mountain where he thinks is safe while crying out of pain and losing his longtime street friend Hanna. The movie shades away Akiya while crying with pain; however, he revenges his mother’s death now on another move to start another painful life.