AUTHOR #1
Saturday, May 11th
They say the war is almost over. Germany has been defeated and now the British and Americans will bring their full might to bear on Japan. There’s even talk that the Russians might join the war. Surely, they whisper, Japan won’t hold out much longer? Peace must come soon and things will be better.
I don’t care. I just want Ken to come home to me. It’s been over a year since I last saw him and his letters stopped coming months ago. I lie awake at night, dreading what might have happened to him. Years ago, when I first learned he was to serve in the navy, I was relieved. Relieved that he didn’t have to be a soldier, like my father. My father, the Marine, the hero, who bravely charged a machine gun nest and saved his comrades. He won a big medal for that and important officers came to visit us, to tell mother and me how proud we should be of him. We weren’t proud: we just wished he were still alive.
And now I haven’t heard from Ken in ages. I have long since learned that the navy isn’t any safer than the army – almost every day, there are stories. Ships hitting mines, ships torpedoed by submarines, ships sunk by airplanes…
But I must not think that way. Ken will come home to me: this he promised me so long ago. And then, we’ll get married and I’ll have a family once more. And I will be happy again.
Friday, June 15th
I feel terrible! Today started as a nice day, but then it turned out really bad. The summer rain let up, so I went for a walk with my best friend Gina. We walked over the hills into the city – it’s always surprising to me that such a large city can be so close by. Aunt and Uncle’s house is a nice, quiet farm, but walk just a few minutes and you’re in the heart of the city. I marveled at the state of the city: there’s no damage at all! I was evacuated from my home town after an unusually intense bombardment long ago, sent to live with Aunt and Uncle. They evacuated a lot of people, but my mother had to stay, since she was a nurse. She died a few weeks later in another air raid.
But that was long ago. And I was talking about my walk with Gina. We sat down and had lunch in a park along the river, enjoying the warm sun. Gina knew I was worried about Ken, so she had promised to ask her father. Her father works at the Army headquarters in town. Second Army headquarters, Gina tells me – as if that matters at all!
Anyway, after lunch Gina had news about Ken. Bad news. According to her father, his ship was struck by an airplane off Okinawa and almost sunk. It had limped back to port and only returned a few days ago. Many crewmen had died and many more were injured. Gina’s father did not know what had happened to Ken. I cried all the way home, with Gina trying to console me. She said it would be alright, that Ken was surely okay, but how could she know? When she dropped me off at Aunt and Uncle’s, I begged her to find out more information and let me know as soon as possible. Then I collapsed in my bed.
Friday, June 29th
Oh happy day! Exactly two weeks after she brought me terrible news, Gina brings great tidings! Her father has found out that Ken is still alive! He was wounded in the attack on his ship, quite seriously, but he is still alive! And he is recuperating in a hospital nearby! Gina says he should be well enough to write again soon! I can’t wait!
Friday, July 6th
Earlier today, the radio said the Japanese have been driven off the Philippines, but I have yet to hear anything from Ken. Has his recovery stalled? Are his doctors not allowing him to write? What if he can’t write, because his hands are crippled… Or worse…
No, I shall not think like that. I must have faith and be patient.
Wednesday, July 11th
Still no word from Ken… Was Gina wrong? But she spoke with such certainty… I’m torn between delirious hope and terrible gloom…
Wednesday, July 11th
I wrote too soon! A letter from Ken arrived today! ‘I am okay. I will see you very soon.’
Two wonderful lines! It’s a very short letter, it is true, and Ken’s handwriting is very weak, but he is okay and we’ll meet again before long!
Sunday, July 29th
Today was the most perfect day of my life! In many respects it was a mirror image of the day that Gina told me that Ken’s ship had been attacked, which started well and ended horribly.
I had been inside all day, waiting for the rain to lift, listening to the radio. The newsreader had just announced that the Japanese government had rejected the Potsdam Declaration. It made me sad to think how many more soldiers would have to die before there would be peace, so I went out on the front porch to calm down. That’s when I noticed him coming down the lane…
A frail man with a cane was shuffling towards the house, slowly but determined. At first, I didn’t recognize him, but when he got closer I realized it was Ken! I rushed towards him, nearly knocking him over. His arm and leg are a mess and he is still very weak, but he is alive, he is here and… I can hardly believe it…
He asked me to marry him! Just as he promised so long ago! Of course I said yes! Aunt and uncle smiled and said my parents would have been very happy for me.
Ken asked if I wanted to wait for the war to end before we got married. I told him that, as far as I’m concerned, the war already is over. It was the war that kept us apart and now we are together again. There will be no more fighting, not for Ken: he will never walk without a cane. So, I said, we can wait for the final flames to die down - and waste our time. Or we can ignore the war and get on with our life, start our future. In fact, I told Ken, I wanted to get married as soon as possible. We wouldn’t need a big ceremony: all the family I have left is right here and Ken was raised in an orphanage.
Everyone agreed. Uncle even offered to help Ken make all necessary arrangements, seeing as Ken is too weak to do it all by himself.
Sunday, August 5th
The week has been a whirlwind, a wonderful whirlwind! Uncle just came back to the farm with news that he has found a priest who can perform the ceremony first thing tomorrow! We’ll be wed in the same riverside park where Gina and I had our lunch over a month ago. So much has changed in just a little time. Back then, I thought I would always remember that park and the city as the place were my dreams ended. Now I know that Hiroshima is the place where my life shall truly begin.