I Hope Father Can Walk Soon

My brother and I were staying at a house in Koba near the mountains for safety. When Mother came from Nagasaki to see us, I asked her, "Mamma, have you brought my clothes?" "Yes, of course, I've brought a lot of your clothes," she said, patting me on the head. That was the last time that Mamma patted me on the head. "Come back to Nagasaki when the air raids have finished," she said, and went back to Nagasaki in a hurry.

After the atomic bomb was dropped, it was Father who came up to the house in Koba. His ears and his head were bandaged. All of us went down to Nagasaki together after Father's wounds were healed. My house had been large and Mother used to be there, but now I found everything in ashes and nothing remaining.

We built a house of tin in the ruins. We put in two windowpanes to make the room bright. We slept there, but it was so cramped that I was troubled by my brother kicking me.

Though our house was completed, Mamma didn't come back to us. Now Father is sick in bed all day. He can move his hands, but the rest of his body he is unable to move. When he goes out, he must be carried on a stretcher. I hope Father can walk soon. Then I'd like to go to the mountains hand in hand with my father ... to draw pictures.

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