By Emely L. Funes
WWII began the 1st of September in 1939 and ended in 1945 when Germany and Japan finally gave in... What ended the war with Germany was when Adolf Hitler committed suicide, but a bigger event that occured when United States dropped two atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki in Japan. The lives of people around the world were changed forever. Of course we all know that it was Albert Einstein's idea to create the atomic bomb, yet he feared of what would happen to the future of the whole world. And he had every right to fear for the future of the world. When you hear about the atomic bomb, you think "When United States dropped a bomb on Japan killing thousands of Japanese people." But did you ever stop to think about the lives of these Japanese people? Before and after the bombing. Parents, children, families, students, elderly people, animals, every living thing that was underneath that bomb, perished completely! The lives of thousands of people in Japan were killed with one shot. But you may think after the War, life in Japan went back to normal. WRONG! Even afterwards, the radiation from the bomb was making the people in Japan sick. Causing people to get cancer and leukemia. Tears of the loss of families run down the cheeks of Japanese people. These tears still run down their cheeks, this was a big scar in the lives of Japanese people and their history. A giant hole in their hearts. This is how I imagine it from a point of view from one survivor of the atomic bomb...
I was just waking up from the bright sunlight that was going through my curtains. Just like any other day, I got up from my bed and got dressed, washed my teeth and fixed my hair. I walked down the stairs with my sailor school uniform on. Saying good morning to my mom, my dad, my 60 year old grandmother and my three year old ototo-chan (little brother). Just like any other morning, my mom was cooking noodles, my dad was reading the newspaper about the war, ready to go to work, my grandmother was cleaning the sticky dango off my brothers shirt while he was playing with his little red toy airplane. My father told me
"Hikari, what's the first thing to do if you suspect a bomb is coming?"
I smiled at my dad, he lost 3 fingers from the bomb in Tokyo, he loved me very much and he wanted to make sure I was safe.
"Well since I have 20/20 vision, I'll close my eyes, I would immediately crouch into a ball and go into a tight hiding spot to protect my body."
My father laughed with a big smile on him "THATS MY GIRL! Now get to school Hikari! I'll see you later on in the day!"
Then my dad sunk his head into the newspaper again. My mom smiled and also looked at me and said "Don't forget your onigiri! And later on I'll make your favorite dinner! Curry rice! Have a good day at school sweety!" I took my onigiri (rice ball) that my mom made for me and put my shoes on quick. I quickly ate my onigiri and ran out of the house. I met up with my friend Miyako while walking to school. She had her short hair tied up behind her head and was holding her lunch and school case. We were talking about the math homework we had to do last night. Miyako was telling me how to solve one problem until I looked up and saw an American plane flying over the city. I stopped Miyako and she said "Hikari did you see that? it's an American plane! You don't think a bomb will drop down do you? Like they did in tokyo!" she was trembling, and she had every right to tremble, because the plane dropped something from it's belly. I would say a mile and a half away from us. Something tiny and black And the plane made a quick turn and flew away. I stopped Miyako again and took her into a cramp corner covered with leaves from a tree. I told Miyako to close her eyes and crouch down into a ball.
"Hikari did you see if it was a bomb?!"
"I don't know but just in case, just protect yourself!"
We both crouched down into a ball next to each other. All of a sudden a big band was heard form the sky, soon enough an unbearable heat came over the city! Including us. It felt hotter then the sun! The blast threw us off of our spots, like tiny pebbles. You can hear houses collapsing. And the ground shaking us right off it. It was the scariest thing I have ever experienced...
The first thing that went through my mind was that, I was dead. No doubt about it. But then about a minute later I opened my eyes to dark dusty clouds, and the sound of people screaming and moaning. In the dark dust cloud I saw a women that was partly burned, and holding her baby... that had no head, she was crying and pleading for help, I remember the words clearly 'Somebody please help me! Anyone! Oh god my baby! PLEASE I NEED HELP!' Her feet were black and her hair was burnt. She had blood on her face and one of her hands were gone. She was limping away, she didn't see me but I wanted to help. I tried to scream out but it was as if I had no voice. My body was aching and my leg had a piece of wood through it. It was the most painful wound I have ever felt. I looked to my side and all I saw was pieces of burned wood on the floor. So many things were running through my mind, the piece of wood that was through my right leg and left shoulder, where was my friend Miyako? How am I going to walk to my family? or worse... do I even have a family to go to anymore? I had to find out. I got up slowly but then finally screamed in pain from the pieces of wood through my body. I then got up again but then fell down and screamed again in pain. From the dusky clouds somebody was approaching, someone I didn't expect to see, it was my dad! Oh wait... no... it was miyako's dad. He was my dad's partner at his job. He came running to me. His clothes were burnt up and apparently he was only wearing a t-shirt and his pants were burnt up too. His shoes were melted. He picked me up
"Hikari! You have a giant piece of wood through your leg and shoulder!" Thanks for pointing out the obvious, smart one.
"I know, I can't walk. But I have to look for Miyako! Your daughter!" He was smiling happily
"She was with you?! Oh thank god! She must be safe too!" I didn't smile
"But the blast blew us off into two different directions! I have no idea if Miyako is safe or not!" Soon enough his smile disappeared.
"Well... She might be okay still.... right?" "I have no idea Mr Takishima" He signed again.
We both dicided to look for our families, as we passed by all the rubbles of stone we saw dead people and houses on fire. A man was crying over his son who was crushed by the stone cobbles. I knew the little boy. I used to babysit him. He wanted to become a pilot just like my little brother. He was only 4 years old, he had big dreams and his life just vanished completely, in one shot. It was too painful to see. The next few houses I saw many women crying for their children who were under houses that were burning, some children were crying on the floor and screaming 'OKASAN!' (Translation: Mother). One little girl had no leg and she was trying to get up and walk. She looked like she was only 6. It was unbearable to witness. Her clothes were completely burned and parts of her skin was burned too. her two pigtails were burned and messed up. She had tears in her eyes, pleading for help. Some men who survived tried to help lift the roof tops to save a few families. I never forgot a group of 7 men were trying to help this mother and her child get out of a burning roof top. She held her little boy out and said
"DON'T SAVE ME! SAVE MY LITTLE BOY!" She brought her little boy from under the roof top and gave him to one of the men. Her daughter and husband were too deep down under the roof. Her daughter was screaming
"OKASAN! IT'S TOO HOT!" her mother held her 10 year old daughter's hand and said
"Don't worry Sayu, I'll die with you...." and they both burned into the flames....
I then got close to my neighborhood. I didn't recognize it one bit. It was all on fire and houses were collapsed completely. I saw a dog with it's organs out of its body, and unfortunetly... it's eyes were still open and it was still some what breathing and whining. I couldn't look at the poor dog any longer. Then Mr Takishima and I approached our houses. His house didn't completely collapse. His wife survived, and so did his son. And then... I approached a house that was collapsed completely, it was all on fire.... there was blood splattered everywhere... there was a few organs laying around... and a few burnt items laying around. One of them was a hair brush that looked exactly like my hair brush. Wait a minute! That IS my hair brush! And those shoes! Those are my shoes!!!!! And wait... there was a tiny hand under the house... oh my god, it was my little brothers hand!!!! It was sticking right out of the roof, laying there and the little red toy airplane was out of his hand, just laying right next to his hand. I tried to hold his hand but it was on fire. I couldn't even touch it. Out of the entire time I saw the suffering of other families I burst into tears. I had faith that my family might have been alive. I had no family to go to, the house was burning and so was my little brother and our family. Everything was gone there were no survivors. I just fell to the floor on my knees and looked up to the sky that was clearing up and screamed at the top of my lungs..."NAZE?!?!?!!!!!!!!" (why in Japanese) ........ It was just too painful. Life wasn't worth living for. I wish the blast would've killed me instead of leaving me with this emotional pain that I had. Not just mentally but physically too!!!! For gods sake i had two giant pieces of wood through my body!!!!!!!! I put my hands over my eyes and cried each tear I had. By suprise, somebody tapped me from behind, I didn't expect this person to survive. It was Miyako herself. Only she was missing an arm and a foot. She couldn't hear me due to the blast that made her deaf. She hugged me close and I cried on her arms. We looked up into the sky and something hit my forehead. It was black rain. It started raining black rain. Miyako's mother who was thirsty desperately cupped her hands and waited for at least some water to drop into her hands and she drank it up. I didn't want to drink the black rain. I just didn't seem right. Anyways, I was happy that Miyako survived at least, Miyako's family offered to take me into their family, since Miyako was my best friend. I had no where to go so I joined into it... me and Miyako learned sign language to communicate with each other and soon enough our lives were going back to normal. We moved out of Hiroshima and went to the country side of Japan instead. My life has never been the same. I can never walk again, or move my left shoulder. Miyako stood deaf for the rest of her life and her father had to get his feet cut since they melted. About 8 months after the bomb Miyako's mother passed away, she died from the radioactive black rain she drunk from that day. Yet we lived on through our lives.
I went to college to become a teacher. I got married, had two beautiful children, and a nice house with a wonderful husband. I'm 85 years old now. It's been 65 years since I lost my family. Not one day passes by without thinking about my family. If maybe they were alive. How different would my life be? What if we moved a few days before the bomb? What if my family survived instead of me? What if I still didn't leave the house before the bomb? Would Miyako have survived without me telling her what to do? What if United States never dropped those bombs? Every night I wonder what if?... Sometimes I hear my father's voice telling me what to do to protect myself in dangerous situations. And sometimes I visualize my little brother playing with his red toy plane. With his adorable little yellow shirt, and navy blue shorts. I wake up sometimes smelling my mother's delicious noodles. And sometimes I feel the warm loving hugs my grandmother used to give me. And sometimes at night I imagine one of my family members each night and talk to them but really I'm only talking to myself. It was just a big scar in my heart and in my life. It's a day I will never forget. The Day of Black Rain."
The End~
