ブックタイトルeigo13

概要

eigo13

I found a fig（いちじくがあった）　（２６３）　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　Yoshie Inoue（井上ヨシエ）Hitomi Miki （三木　　瞳）50 years have passed since the A-bomb was dropped on Hiroshima.So, I can also say that 50 years have passed since my second son, Isao,passed away. But I can hardly imagine what a figure of him would be likeas a 62 year old. Every time I imagine him, his figure always appears as a12 years old.A few days before the A-bomb was dropped, he was very delighted andsaid, "It might be good! It might be good!" I asked, "What happened?"Then he shouted. "I found a fig!" The figs in summer would be a littlesweet and sour. The night before the A- bomb was dropped we ate boiledrice for the first time in a long time. Then he said, "Boiled rice isabsolutely delicious!" In those days, we were worried about chronic foodshortage. So, every time I remember these episodes, I feel very sorry thathe was so delighted with only one fig and one bowl of rice. On the 6th,August in 1945, when he left home to his school’s work, he said to me, “Asthe 7th and 13th of August are my days off work, please wash my clothes.I will wear them after I come back.” But he never came back from hisschool's work since he left home that day. I couldn't respond to his lastrequest. I have been feeling regret about it since that fatal day. I'm trulysorry, Isao. 　 　　　　　　　(Isao’s Mother)On the 6th of August, I left home to search my lost brother. We lived inMidori-machi. So we searched for him from Midori-machi to the Koi areawhere he worked that day. However, we couldn't find him. The next day,the 7th of August, we searched for him again, and we found a boy whowore the same school uniform as my brother did lying by the Tenmabridge. We asked him about Isao, and he told us that he saw my brothercrossing the Tenma Bridge. On the same day, a member of a vigilantegroup came to my house and told me that Isao was sheltered in the RedCross Hospital. His father and his elder sister hushed to the hospital totake him with a big board on the bicycle. On the way, they saw hell onearth.Many bodies lay on the concrete in the front garden of the Red CrossHospital. Our dearest brother Isao was dead. We heard that he could givehis name and address that morning. His body was swollen and turned areddish brown color from the burn of the A-bomb, so we couldn'tdistinguish my brother’s body from the other ones. Their clothes wereworn out. I could never express the terrible sight at that time. We couldfind him by the card written "INOUE ISAO" on his chest and one morething was that his toenails were just like his mother’s.One of the vigilante group members visited and informed us about mybrother in that terrible situation. Thanks to him, my brother was not