It was the month of July. Hiroshima was warm with a tinge of humidity in the air . Doctor Huts Nakamura stood near her kitchen window packing some botamochi: sweet rice dumpling with bean sauce for her daughter to take to school. It was around six in the morning. Her husband left her two years back and since then she lived a life of a widow and her life since then only revolved around her daughter, Mohawk. Mohawk was ten years of age and studied in the City Grammer School. She was a petite girl with the most amazing big grey eyes. Her poker straight shiny black hair was tied back into a thick braid and she had adorned her blue and white striped knee length uniform. “Hahaoya,” she called her mother, “is my lunch box ready?”
“Hai, darling. Here you go. Put this in your bag and let’s go.” They walked to the Yokogawa Station which was five minutes away from the house. “Hahaoya” said Mohawk. “Do not come to fetch me from school because Mrs. Yakamako will drop me since she wants to meet you.” Huts nodded and gave her daughter a smile. A loud horn in the background disrupted the silence in the air which was till now only occupied by the moving trains. A coloured bus came to a screeching halt right in front of them. The door opened and a friendly looking conductor popped his head out and ushered Mohawk inside. For some strange reason today Huts did not want to let her daughter go. She feared something which was not right was going to occur today. Her mind was in some sort of turmoil. On one side she termed this feeling as idiocy on the other hand she thought she should have listened to her mind and not let her daughter go.
As she was walking back home she heard a warning siren. A shiver shot down her spine. “Oh my goodness we are under attack,” she thought. “Oh Tentei please take care of Mohawk.” She prayed as she ran for shelter. The siren cut short and relieved she emerged out of her hiding thanking God for answering her prayer.
She reached home and made some tea. She had taken an off from the hospital today. Huts sat in her veranda sipping her jasmine tea. The sun had completely risen by now and it seemed to be promising a pleasant and calm day. She laughed at her earlier intuition but little did she know that this day would be completely different and would not only change her life but also the life of the entire country.
The morning was still, warm and beautiful. The shimmering leaves reflected the sunlight from the cloudless sky. She was admiring the environment around her when suddenly, a strong flash of light startled her and automatically her hands rose to shield her eyes. The stone lantern in the garden lit up brilliantly. She debated whether this light was caused by a magnesium flare or sparks from a passing trolley.
Where a moment before the view had been bright and sunny was now dark and hazy. Through the swirling dust she could see a huge mushroom shaped cloud of smoke form in the sky. The wooden pillars of her house were leaning crazily and the roof sagged dangerously. She moved instinctively, and tried to escape, but the rubble and the fallen timbers barred the way. She fought her way through the debris and ran out into the garden. A profound weakness overcame her. She stopped to regain her strength. Very reluctantly she turned back to have a look at the pile of shattered debris which was sometime ago her house. She looked down in despair and noticed torn pieces of cloth attached to her arms. Huts, in total agony was wondering what happened which not only destroyed her house but also shredded her clothes. When she glanced again she noticed that it wasn’t cloth which hung loose on her hands but it was, her own flesh. To her surprise she discovered that she was almost naked. “How odd!” She thought, “Where is my kimono?”
The right side of her body was cut and bleeding. A large splinter was protruding from a mangled wound in her leg, and something warm trickled into her mouth. Her cheek was torn and her lower lip cut. Embedded in her neck was a glass fragment which she managed to remove. After she regained her strength she got a sudden brain wave and thought, “My daughter, Mohawk. Oh gracious Tentei please save her.” Saying this she scrambled onto the road and walked towards her daughters school.
In thirty minutes or so she reached her daughters school only to be devastated to see it in crumbles. Teachers and students were trying to get out of the debris while ambulances from the red cross hospital surrounded the place. “My daughter, where is she?” She thought and yelled, “MOHAWK, where are you my baby.’
Blood began to spurt. A vein in her neck had been cut. “Would I bleed to death?” Frightened and irrationally she thought and called out for her daughter once more. A pale and frightened Mohawk appeared staggering towards her. Her clothes were torn and blood stained. The very sight of seeing her reassured Huts that her daughter was alive but yet her heart weakened at the sight of her daughter. The poor little thing was exhausted and in pain. She took her daughter into her arms and ignoring her panicked mind she assured her daughter of life. “We'll be all right,” she exclaimed. The minute she said this Mohawk dropped unconscious into her mothers arm. Huts heart pounded and she quickly reached out for her daughters wrist to feel her pulse. “She is alive” she sighed in relief.
She accumulated all her strength and she carried her to the nearest hospital. She had to make much effort from not stumbling. Tears rolled down her cheeks. An overpowering thirst seized her but she ignored it as she ignored her naked state. She couldn’t think beyond her daughter, her only reason for living. Her journey to the hospital was horribly slow. Suddenly the clot on her leg got dislodged and blood started spurting out again from there. She stopped in her tracks and tore out a piece of cloth from her daughters ragged uniform and tied it tightly onto the wound.
It was like a nightmare. Her movements were slow but time of life seemed to be passing fast and her mind running was racing. She didn’t want to think of the possible but it was the only thing that kept hitting her.
She finally reached the hospital. There were shadowy forms of people walking like scarecrows, their arms held out from their bodies with forearms and hands dangling. They had been burned. A naked woman came into her view. She averted her gaze. It occurred to her that some strange thing had deprived them of their clothes. Suddenly from the back someone called her. It was a ward boy. Through him she got to know that the hospital was in a bad state and going in would be useless. She got up to fetch for medical aid but something stopped her. From the time her daughter had fainted till now, Mohawk had held on tightly to her finger. Huts eyes welled up and her heart formed a lump in a throat. She bent down and held her hand. Her worst fears had come true. The world around her shattered into pieces. Huts clutched onto her daughter tightly and cried her lungs out. “I couldn’t save my daughter. What use is being a doctor when I cant save my own daughter. Oh Tentei you have taken my Mohawk from me, now take me.” She wailed but there was no one to sympathise with her. Her entire world turned hollow. She dropped unconscious as though dead but unfortunately she wasn’t.
The traumatic episode she experienced fifty-nine years back never left her thoughts. The hapless and pale face of Mohawk still revolved around her eyes. She opened her eyes. Her leg had been amputated and her face was disfigured. Her body was small and seemed lifeless. She prayed to Tentei hoping he would answer her prayer today. Her eyes closed.
