Missing Him

I lay there silently, in a metal-framed hospital bed with rusty springs sticking into me. Looking at his photo, wishing he was alive, here to comfort me, to tell me that everything is going to be ok, but it's not, it'll never be...

It's been one year since those orokana Americans dropped a bomb onto Hiroshima. I was fifteen, young, brave and strong. Now I am weak, almost dead, helplessly lying here on the only hospital left in the city, waiting for help.

I remember the day of the explosion that shook Nihongo. I was dancing happily around the meadow, which was filled with little indigo blossoms, and tall green grass that swayed in the breeze. Dancing with him, his name was Taka. He was a lanky boy who's black hair fell perfectly in place and was always neat and tidy, even when he rolled around in the grass. He was perfect. We lay in the soft green pillow looking at the clear sky silently, so silently that I could hear his heart beat softly.

We saw what we thought to be a weather airplane soar gracefully among the sky. Suddenly a huge heat wave lashed out followed by blinding light. Taka's arms wrapped around me so tight I nearly stopped breathing. I buried my head under his chin and he whispered.

"I love you... everything is going to be ok."

I squeezed him tightly as the bomb pierced the surface of the earth with a boom. A strong force lifted us up into the sky. The next thing I knew was that my neck was curved back and by body was crippled over a pile of rubble. I twisted myself back around and saw a sea of flames and tornados of fire, a blaze on nearly every surface. The flame shone brightly and the intensity of the heat made me weak. My eyes flittered and rolled slowly to the back of my head.

Taka's scream woke me. His voice filled with horror, the flame had touched his smooth skin leaving it blistered and pealing. My bones cracked as I leaped up to help him, cautiously looking out for fire balls. Wimping in pain from my broken ankle I managed to reach him. His leg was going pail wight and blotching up with pussy blisters. Struggling to move he told me to go, to leave him there and try to escape before it was too late. But I couldn't, I lent down and pulled him over my shoulder, when he screamed

" Kamo"

A blazing fireball was racing towards us. I released Taka and tried to duck as my brown hair caught alight. Screaming, I ran to a burnt patch of land and rolled around until the flame was finally out and only my scalp remained. I looked around to see crowds of people screaming and running around like headless poultry. As I forced myself up I yelled

"Taka"

And he mumbled back,

"I'm here where you left me"

His face was covered in soot and was wrinkly like an old lady. With a grunt of pain again I lifted him up onto my shoulders and started to track towards the city centre. There I hoped I would find water where the fountain used to be. Dodging gale force winds of flames I struggled on. I stopped often because my ankle was killing me and the bruising was now plumb in colour. Death and suffering was all around, but we soldiered on.

Finally after a day of walking in the intense heat we made it to the ruins of the city. Buildings were barely standing and had burnt patches on the remaining walls. The water fountain was in perfect condition, the paintwork was creamy and there was no crack in sight, but as we walked closer we saw the pool empty.

I lowered myself onto the ground beside the fountain in agony, Taka sat by my side; he placed his hand on my knee and said everything was going to be ok. We didn't notice the airplane flying across the sky. Taka looked up seconds before the bomb exploded and yelled run! But it was too late, the force made the city's remaining architecture cave in. Squealing in pain I dragged Taka as far as I could to avoid being buried alive, but the force was too strong, it pushed us up against a falling wall. We were buried deep under layers upon layers of concrete and wood.