"If Mother Dies," I Thought, "What Shall I Do?"

It happened when I was playing in the neighborhood. Flash! At that moment I could not see anything. There was a commotion around me. A woman spoke to me and took me somewhere in arms. Father and Mother called my name. We were in an air raid shelter. They spoke very low and weak. I knew Mother was burned and Father injured. And my eyes were hurt.

Soon a car came and took my mother to a hospital in Mogii. Father and I were left there alone without receiving any care. Perhaps our injuries were not serious. I was glad to know that, but disappointed to know we were not going to be taken care of.

I was very sorry I had to be separated from my mother. "If Mother dies," I thought, "what shall I do?" Father seemed badly injured. As I had become suddenly blind, I couldn't do anything for him. The two of us were lying there waiting for help, but no one came. Perhaps nobody knew we were there. We waited and waited for two days without any food. At last we heard the sound of a car. How glad we were! My father went out of the shelter and stopped the car. Then he took me in his arms and got into it. When I sat down inside, I felt we would be all right. The car started. I didn't know where we were going. We bumped up and down over a lot of obstacles. Finally we reached Nagasaki Station. There were lots of people there. Luckily we were accompanied by our relative. She led me to a train. When the train got to Isahaya, we were taken to the Navy Hospital. It was a long way on foot. They took care of me. My eyes were getting better and better. At last I was able to see my father, who was lying on the next bed.

But he got worse and worse and died on October 17. I wished I had remained blind; then I wouldn't have seen him die. I didn't know what to do.

My aunt came to the hospital a week later. I got my father's bones from a nurse and came back to Urakami. There I found my house burned down. Nothing remained. And my mother wasn't home yet. Soon I went to Mogi to see her. How wonderful! She was alive! That was the happiest moment of my life. She was glad to know my eyes were well. When I said to her, "Father is dead," tears ran down her cheek one after another. Wiping her eyes, she said, "He is already gone!" It seemed to me she was thinking something.

We stayed in the hospital for several days. Both of us got well. Then we left the hospital and went back to Nagasaki. It was a beautiful fall day, and the sky was quite blue. Every experience was like a dream. I was sitting in the car with my mother.

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