She was 14 years old when it happened. She had left her home town in Kosaza and was making an effort to become a correspondent of morse code. She was taking a correspondence course which was being held in Nagaskaki. There were 40 members in each class. On August 9th, they were having a lesson in home economics on the second floor of the school building. Some students were taking it in turns to have a summer vacation, so not everyone was there.
Suddenly there was a flash and I ran and crawled under my desk. The school building was swaying and making a terrible roar. I couldn’t see anything through the dust but as I tried to look around the classroom I could make out that the wall had blown away, making the room look bigger than it was. Even the windowpane had smashed in and was stuck in the wall! There was a lot of broken glass on the stairs as my classmates ran down them barefoot.
I went to the shelter in my school yard. There I met my friends who were shaking in fright! They were all crying but everyone was safe. After that I went to report myself to the vice principal who was still in one of the classrooms. Outside the sky was pitch-black. In the direction of Nagasaki station you could see huge flames. The smoke was so thick it covered the sun like it was in hiding. In the evening I made my way back to my dormitory near Ouratenshido. Inside the carpet was covered in glass from the blast. That night we were to split into two groups to sleep. One group would stay in the school yard and the other would sleep in the dormitory. I stayed in the school yard, so we spread fabric on the ground to sleep on. I could see many stars in the sky.
Finally, on August 15th, my teacher said “Go home”. So I and a friend went to Nagasaki station. I walked along the city destroyed by the fire. Along the way there were stacked corpses that reminded me of logs. It was a terrible sight! The war had finished when we arrived at the Michinoo Station but suddenly I heard an alarm and saw many people who were getting off the train. They were like little spiders which were bursting from a spiders’ web every moment. They were shooting out of the train then they dropped to the ground and covered their faces. My friend and I got on the train at Nagasaki Station. The train had many people who were badly wounded from the atomic bomb. Some of them had flash burns. The train was filled with such people.
I went back to my home in Kosaza. Father said, “You’re living ! “ He was surprised at seeing my face. Mother was very pleased because I was safe and sobbed with relief. The sun glaring down in summer reminds of us the memory on that day.
MY WISH I have no other words. War is fearful and has a cruel outcome. We must not permit nuclear weapons. There are some countries that have nuclear tests in the world. They must stop at once. I want people of the world to know that our earth is very beautiful and important.
TRANSLATED BY
FUKUISHI JUNIOR HIGHSCHOOL SASEBO(4/8/2005)