A Hero's Heart. Joseph David Hightower

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      A Hero’s Heart in a Glance

      Heru, a man of two worlds with a choice to make. Love, hate, revenge, jealousy, murder…these are just some of the battles that our friend Heru will face. This first story begins with Heru Hanabashita. He is an only son to a prominent village leader in ancient Japan. His father is a devote Shinto priest and his mother is a devote Christian. On his nineteenth birthday, Heru commits a grievous offence to his father and to his ancestors. Weapons are drawn and he is forced violently from his home and all contact with his family is cut off. It seems that he is forgotten by all but his mother. The actions he takes will lead him to make drastic changes in his life as the story takes sweeping twists and turns. Heru faces demons, monsters and even his own voice. The adventures that Heru will undertake will lead him to meet a new teacher, new friends and cause him to battle terrifying enemies. He meets One who will change his life in ways he never thought possible. His very heart is pulled between the two worlds and He must decide between the world he has known his entire life, or this new and uncharted world placed before him. Will he give it all up and surrender to those out to destroy his very soul? Prepare yourself for moments of joy, heartache and fear as you too become entranced within these pages.

      Credits and Acknowledgments

      I have to start by stating that I would not be where I am today without my Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. He placed the love of the Japanese people on my heart when I was still just a child and it has only grown over the years.

      To my Mom and Dad; I want to say a special thank you. The two of you taught me how to believe in Jesus and in myself. Mom, you taught me how to show love even when it hurts and dad, you showed me how a man must be strong for his family and yet gentle in every way. I hope that I have made the two of you proud of me and know that this book could not have happened without your help. I love you both very much.

      To my amazing and beautiful wife, without you I would simply be a shell of the man that I am. You are my best friend, my partner and my lover. I am so very thankful to have you believing in me and pushing me past my limits. You never gave up on me. I love you.

      To my wonderful, smart, brave and strong daughter. You are the light of my life and I am so very proud of you. I watched as you fought for your life and you simply astounded me. Your bravery to face everything that life threw at you and to face it with a smile, was the catalyst for me finishing my book. I wanted to do something that would make you proud of me and to show you that you can reach whatever dream you have, if you reach high enough and long enough. Never give up on your dreams Bunny! Daddy loves you always.

      About the Author

      Thank you for choosing my book. I am so glad that you and I will go on this journey together. I am 39 years old, I am married to my high school sweet heart for 20 years and we have a beautiful 16-year-old daughter, I am a blessed man. I have a passion for both Japan and the Lord Jesus Christ. I first found my heart pulled to the Japanese people and their land when I was just a young boy and while that continued, it was not until about ten years ago that my passion was truly awakened.

      I was going about my life doing the usual things of work and providing for my family when out of nowhere, I was struck down. I had to have emergency open-heart surgery. It was while I was lying in a hospital bed that the book started to form. I was terrified to say the least. My wonderful wife took my hand and began to pray with and for me. We read in His word out of the book of Psalms where David is asking God to not leave him alone. He said to God, “…Keep me alive and see if I will not praise You all the more…” it was while I was reading this scripture that I knew that the Lord would keep me. He filled my heart with Heru’s story and I had to share it.

      While writing this, first of three novels, my life came to second screeching halt. My daughter, at the age of twelve, was diagnosed with a grade four brain tumor. My writing came to a halt as did everything around my wife and me. Our focus was fully on our daughter. She underwent brain surgery, radiation and chemotherapy. While it was one of the most painful and trying times of our lives, it brought to focus just how powerful our God is. If not for Him, we would not have our daughter with us today. I am happy to report that she is currently cancer free and loving life as a normal teenager. I was able to resume my writing and I want to make her proud of me. I watched her fight and win the battle against cancer, I can do nothing less with the power of the written word.

      I pray that it can touch your heart the way that it did mine. As Heru’s journey unfolded, and continues to unfold, in my heart, I was amazed at the love that God was showing to me. The story swept over me in wave after wave and finally I put the story to paper and here we are today. I hope to one day see these novels published around the world in many languages, especially in the wonderful Japanese language that is just so profoundly beautiful. I also hope that every person that opens my books, will have a close encounter with God. Even if only one person finds His love and accepts Him, then I will have been a success.

      Thank you again so much and happy reading.

      Your friend,

      Joseph D. Hightower

      Chapter 1

      Kokoru Hanabashita was your average nineteen-year-old male living in Japan. He was 5’8 with a slim build. He was not what you consider muscular or athletic. There was, however, a most distinguishing aspect to him that he at times found quite troublesome; this was the color of his eyes. They were an astonishing color blue, unlike any other eyes in his village. This was a trait that had been passed down in his family for years, and can only be traced back to his family, the Hanabashita family. Other than the fact that his eyes often drew unwanted attention from his female counterparts, he was for the most part invisible to those around him. Jocks would knock him around, teachers would forget he was in the room and turn out lights and lock the doors to later apologize for not seeing him. This was a fact that Kokoru has grown accustomed to.

      Today was his birthday and like the years before he graciously accepted the gifts and cards from his family. His mother would make a fuss about him being the man of the house, because his father had died three years ago, and he has since had the responsibility of the house on his shoulders. He was so extremely tired of all the fuss and stress that he ended up blowing up at his mother and storming out of the house. Of course, it couldn’t be a clear night, it had to be a nasty stormy night with fierce lightening and crashes of thunder, and it was fitting to the mood that he had been in for several days. Everything just seemed to come to a boiling point and he could no longer hold everything in. As he was running down the road a strange sensation started to travel down his spine, it was as if there were eyes on his back, he turned and tried to look back but his glasses had fogged up with the rain. By the time that he got his glasses cleared, the sensation was gone. As his anger began to wane he thought it was time for him to return home and try to straighten things out with his mother.

      With the rain now coming down in steady sheets he turned back towards his house. There was that feeling again; eyes on him, making the hair on the back of his head stand up and chills to race across his spine that had nothing to do with the chilly night air. When he looked back over his shoulder all he could find was rain drenched streets and loneliness. He slowly turned back and started walking again trying to ignore that feeling of eyes on him. He decided that he would go the back-way home and if someone was following him than he would be able to lose them in the back allies that surrounded his village. He let out a loud breath and began the tiresome journey again, this time though, as he was walking a man appeared; it seemed out of nowhere. This was a large, well defined man, with a hat that covered most of his face, and a long dark trench coat that drug the wet ground. As they stood facing one another, the old man reached out to lay a hand on Kokoru’s shoulder, but Kokoru jerked back as if struck by a bolt of the lightening that continued to slash the night sky around them. Kokoru tried to walk away from the man, but every move that he made, the old man mirrored. So Kokoru decided to just go straight at the old man, but when he did the old man stepped slightly to the side with his foot still extended causing Kokoru to eat pavement. With a surprisingly gentle hand and other world strength the old man reached down and lifted Kokoru up and began the process of wiping Kokoru’s