ブックタイトルeigo13

概要

eigo13

parent who cannot give up his child or a soft man. They might even laugh atme. I, however, do not care about any of that at all. I just can’t stop thinkingabout my Nobuo.The atomic bomb deprived us of everything that our family had. After itfell, we didn’t even have china bowls and chopsticks to eat rice with. It didn’tbother us at all at that time since we believed that all Japanese people woulddie in the war.However, the world started to reclaim its peace gradually. As thelifestyles of the world went back to those of the old days, I started to miss thethings that were burnt in the calamity. Even I, a man, missed them. It was amatter of course that my wife missed her kimono and obi and everything elseshe had. There were many people living around us who didn't lose anything.They just kept living as they always had. Given the situation, it would havebeen quite normal if my wife complained about the situation. She, however,didn't complain nor did she cry for the moon having realized that she lostNobuo. Her material desire has vanished and she is satisfied with what shehas now. Those who haven't suffered such a disaster will never understandthis feeling.When Nobuo was about eight years old, my relative’s daughter, abouteighteen years old, came to see us. In her returning, my wife wanted to giveher family some bananas as a gift. Nobuo and the girl went to a vegetableshop together. While she was silently watching a store worker weighbananas, he asked the worker to change some of bananas saying “this isgetting rotten” or “that is small” to offer only good bananas to her family.Surprised by that, the girl talked about it to my wife later. He was thatsmart even as a child.When meeting my friends on a road by chance, he always bowed tothem politely taking off his hat. My friends would often tell me that theywere surprised by Nobuo’s politeness. As I’ve written, I was a factory worker.I went to work early in the morning and returned home late at night. Thetime I could spend with him was little. During my days off, he would stay