Mr. Sushi

A 12 year old boy makes his way through the scorched desert, apparently laid waste from a devastating war. His destination is a lonely food truck in the middle of nowhere, home to a mysterious sushi chef known only as Mr. Sushi. The boy has brought Mr. Sushi some fish for him to use in his daily preparations. As Mr. Sushi prepares several delectable dishes, the boy sits and listens to him ramble off quips of wisdom from a time long since gone. Mr. Sushi gets lost in imagination as he works with the beautiful fish, seeing himself as a master samurai engaged in the heat of battle. At last, Mr. Sushi takes the finished sushi and arranges in it into a wooden container and gives it to the boy. They awkwardly bow to each other in respect, and Mr. Sushi sends the boy on his way. The boy never says a word. Soon after, a warlord and his gang arrive at the food truck in search of Mr. Sushi. They seemingly have a grudge against him. Mr. Sushi emerges from behind, now donned as a samurai fit for a post-apocalyptic world, and engages them in ferocious battle not dissimilar to the one in Mr. Sushi's imagination. Mr. Sushi prevails against his foes, and finally only the warlord and Mr. Sushi himself are left to face off against each other to the backdrop of the setting sun. —Joshua Sallach