ブックタイトルeigo13

概要

eigo13

walking on a narrow mountain path, I found a house. I visited it and askedthe woman in the house, “Please give me a glass of water.” However, whilestaring at me, she said, “I won’t give you water, because I heard people whoare suffering from severe burns will die if they drink water. You’re burnedseverely all over your body.” I was disappointed to hear her words and satdown there. She went on to say, “Please return to your house as soon aspossible. Your family has been worrying about you. My daughter also lefthome this morning to work at the volunteer labor service. She hasn’t comehome yet. I’ve been worrying about her.” She gave me a walking stick andshowed me the way to my house. I started walking toward my house, usingthe stick and dragging my heavy feet.On the way home, I saw some completely destroyed houses. Somehouses had no roofs because they had literally been blown off. Ceilings hadfallen and bamboo which used to be inside the walls could be seen clearlyfrom outside. I thought, “What a catastrophe! What type of bomb did the U.S.drop?” At last I found the house which seemed to be my house. I met myfour-year-old sister in front of it, but she was frightened when she saw myface and began to cry. Hearing her cry, I realized that I had finally gottenhome to my house and I sat down there to rest. My mother ran out of thehouse. She found me sitting on the road and called my name again and again.“Etsuko. Oh, Etsuko.” I was listening to her voice, while I was feeling hazy.My mother only recognized me because she saw a pattern on my baggy workpants, a part of it around my ankle was still left after being burned. She wasso surprised to see me because I had changed so much.I had gotten burned severely on my face, back, legs, arms and hands.My body had turned purple after bathing in the river. My body had alsoswollen up terribly. My skin had been torn off and was hanging down afterwandering in the mountain. I was bleeding from many parts of my body.My hair was standing up after being burned and it looked white because ofdust. According to my mother, I looked as if I were a Deva King, the guardiangod of a temple gate whose face is really horrific.I was in bed at a cottage separated from the main building of myfather’s acquaintance in Fuchu. I had to have medical treatment. More thantwo-thirds of my body was burned, so I needed a lot of oil used as medicine.The city of Hiroshima had kept burning for the whole three days.Everything had been burned down and there was no medicine. A doctor who