by John Kelly
On returning to Hiroshima, Amanda went straight to her hotel and nervously awaited a call from Mieko. Her journey had been full of surprises. Matters earlier accepted as fact could no longer be considered so. Other important pieces in the puzzle were omitted from the journal, perhaps not deliberately; perhaps conveniently, she could not know. Today though, was an important step forward and its events and aspects needed to be written down in detail. Rather than dine at the restaurant, she called room service and ordered a light meal allowing her to settle in for the evening and write down everything that had happened so far. Only a brief call from Mieko interrupted her writing. After making arrangements with Mieko to call for her in the morning, she settled down to write. It was nearly 2am before she surrendered to exhaustion and fell asleep.
The following morning Mieko called for her as arranged and the two ladies took the tram along the coast to Miyajima-guchi Station where they boarded a JR ferry that took them across to the island of Miyajima. The journey across the water took only fifteen minutes, the tide was in, and Amanda's attention was distracted by the captivating sight of the Torii gate which seemed to float on the water as it guarded the entrance to Itsukushima Shrine, a hallowed landmark housing many important cultural treasures. So captivated by the Torii Gate, Amanda did not notice the elderly lady with the dark glasses and head covered, sitting at the back of the ferry.
Walking slowly, Mieko guided Amanda a short distance through the Edo styled village, along streets cluttered with souvenir shops underneath a canopy of tangled overhead electricity wires. They turned up a narrow side street and arrived at the front gate of a house hidden by a high brick wall.
'This is it,' Mieko said, turning to Amanda. 'Are you ready?'
The lady inside was waiting. Now in her mid-eighties, Shigeko Suzuki looked thin and frail but assured both her visitors she was in good health and more than able to care for herself. She had prepared a light meal for her guests and appeared excited at the prospect of talking about those dark days of 1946. Her house was small but comfortably furnished and renovated to include the latest appliances; none of which her parents who left the house to her, ever enjoyed. She ushered her guests to the main room and bade them sit down.
'You have met my daughter?' she asked of Amanda.
'Yes, I have,' Amanda replied, 'although I wasn't aware of that at the time, she added.
'We did not want to overwhelm you too early into your visit,' Mieko explained. 'But now you are ready to be told everything.'
'Yes,' Shigeko said, nodding her head. 'You will be the voice we have longed for people in Australia to hear. You will tell the story as it really happened.'
'There is yet much to tell you,' Mieko chipped in, 'and we have an additional surprise for you.'
'Oh, what is that?' Amanda asked.
'Masako is here too. She still has much to tell you.'
Almost on cue, Masako appeared from the kitchen smiling and ready to pour tea. Amanda was unable to hide her astonishment and rose to embrace her.
'Did you not think you would see her again?' Shigeko asked.
'Things have happened so quickly of late, I didn't know what to think,' Amanda answered. 'Did you know about this?' she asked Mieko.
'Masako was on the ferry,' Mieko laughed.
The initial moment of Masako's appearance was not unlike that of a surprise party and it passed just as quickly. Amanda realized however that to be teased in such a light-hearted way, by people she barely knew, was an honour. It was their way of showing their confidence and trust in her. Once tea was poured, the three ladies settled once more. As the conversation circled its way toward the journal, Amanda decided that she wanted other matters cleared up first.
'Shigeko,' she began, 'Tokuo spoke to me yesterday of a train crash involving Michael. Can you tell me what happened?'
Shigeko paused momentarily, as if to summon her internal resolve. 'It was all a horrible mistake,' Shigeko began. 'When my parents learned that I was pregnant, it was a matter of great shame for them. I had been sent to my aunt's house in Tokyo. I had no opportunity to see Michael before I left and I did not think I would ever see him again. But Michael found me when he came to Tokyo to participate in the Imperial Guard. He had arranged for Tokuo to call for me at my aunt's house and drive me back to Kaitaichi. Michael was also returning that same night to Hiroshima with sections of his unit on the train. I had packed my things and slipped out of the house without my aunt knowing and was waiting for Tokuo at the top of the street. When the truck arrived, I was so pleased to find both Michael and Tokuo in the truck. Michael said he had received permission to travel as far as Nagoya with us and would re-join the train there. It was wonderful of him to do that; it made me feel so much better and the journey was so nice. We laughed and joked together and even Tokuo was laughing even though he didn't know what we were saying to each other. We took it in turns to teach some English words to Tokuo. He asked me how to say 'put petrol in tank', so I taught him and he kept saying to himself, 'put petrol in tank, put petrol in tank', for the next hour or so. In the back of the truck Tokuo carried two fuel drums with enough petrol to get us back to Kaitaichi. Tokuo would stop when he needed to refill the tank and run a hose from the drum to the tank on the side of the truck, all the time saying to himself in a deep voice, 'put petrol in tank'. We arrived in Nagoya very late at night; Michael was taking a turn at driving, and we were very hungry. Tokuo said there was a place he was told where he would be given some food for us, so Michael followed the directions Tokuo gave him and when we arrived, Tokuo turned to Michael and said, 'you put petrol in tank,' and laughed as he walked off through some narrow streets to get the food. Michael tried to do it, but he wasn't able to siphon much petrol out of the drum. He was afraid he would swallow some petrol. He got some of the fuel into the tank but not very much. Then Michael and I became preoccupied with each other. We were very happy that we were together again and spent some time together in privacy. When Tokuo returned we had to take Michael to the station as the train was due to arrive, and he didn't want to be late. It took us some time to find the station. There were no signs anywhere. There was so much of the city destroyed by bombing and there was no one to ask directions. We drove around for some time until we found it, but wasted a lot of petrol. We didn't know the tank was nearly empty and Michael didn't remember to tell Tokuo that he was only able to siphon a small amount. Michael and I said goodbye at the station as the train was pulling into the platform and Tokuo and I left to continue driving through the night. About fifteen minutes later the truck engine started cutting out. We were approaching a railway crossing and Tokuo said he thought we were out of petrol and asked me if Michael had filled the tank. I said I wasn't sure. He said he would drive the truck over to the other side of the railway crossing, where he could pull over safely and see what was wrong but the truck stalled while we were on the crossing. It just stopped. We both jumped out to push it over the line, and almost got it clear but it just rolled back again. Suddenly, a train came around the bend. The driver of the train slammed on his brakes and there was a shrill screeching noise as the train began to slow, but it was too late. Tokuo and I barely had time to jump clear. The train crashed into the truck and oh my, Amanda, it was awful.'
As Shigeko spoke, not another sound was heard, the detail of this event so captivating Amanda's attention as it did the other two ladies.
'Then what happened?' Amanda asked.
'The train pushed the truck along for ages and then it exploded and then the train ran off the rails. The noise was terrible, the screeching of the metal, the crumbling of the carriages. I could hear people screaming inside and some of the carriages rolled over. We were so frightened, we wanted to run away and pretend it didn't happen, but then I saw the white band around the rear carriages and I realized it was a military train and I realized it was probably the train Michael was on. Tokuo and I ran to the last carriage which was laying half on the track and half in the gravel. People who lived near the tracks came runni
ng from everywhere and tried to help. Tokuo climbed into the carriage. Soon we heard sirens as police and fire trucks came screaming toward the wreckage. The sirens, the blazing lights, the fire, it was as if the war had returned and the area had been bombed.
'Did you find Michael?' Amanda asked.
'Tokuo found him lying unconscious on the floor of the carriage. Pretty soon American ambulances from a local barracks arrived and they took the injured soldiers to their own hospital. Both Tokuo and I went with him. We stayed there all night, sleeping in a corridor. The next morning we were told Michael was being air-lifted to the Australian hospital at Eta Jima. We saw Michael briefly but he was semi-conscious and did not recognize us. There was little else we could do but find a bus that would take us back to Kaitaichi.'
'Was there an investigation into the crash? Did they question Tokuo about what happened?'
'There was an investigation, but they never discovered the real cause. Tokuo did not tell anyone that he was driving. If he had said anything he would have exposed all of the work they were doing and incriminate many, many people. We left the next day and no one knew who owned the truck, it was so badly burned there was nothing left to identify it. The inquiry determined that the driver of the truck must have perished in the explosion. Everything in the truck, all the supplies Tokuo was bringing to Dr. Kano's medical centre was destroyed. Nothing was saved. Fourteen people died that night. I still have nightmares sometimes when I recall that night in my sleep.'
'When you arrived back at Kaitaichi, what happened then?'
'Tokuo took me to Dr. Kano's medical centre. He was expecting us and when he saw us walking up the road without the truck he realized something went wrong and sent one of his girls to find Avers san.'
'Derek Avers?' Amanda asked.
'Yes, Derek. He knew what happened. He had been told that the Americans were bringing some wounded soldiers back who had been injured in a train crash near Nagoya the previous night. He came quickly to the medical centre and learned the whole story.'
'And what of you, Shigeko? What happened with you at Kaitaichi? Did Dr. Kano look after you as promised?'
'I was given a room to stay. Dr. Kano examined me. He said everything was fine. Tokuo came everyday to take me to the hospital to see Michael. Derek arranged for a transport boat to take us across to Eta Jima. But Michael did not recognize me. He had lost his memory. He just stared at me as if I was a total stranger. The doctors at the hospital said he would be returned to Australia in a few weeks. Then one day we went to the hospital and he was not there. He had been taken that morning and put on a ship back to Australia.'
'If Derek knew who you were, he must have known who Michael was which means he knew who wrote the journal. Quentin told me his father didn't know.'
'You are correct,' Shigeko answered. 'Derek knew and I am sure his son Quentin also knew.'
'So,' Amanda sighed. 'That's another little deception I have to question Quentin about. Anyway, what happened then?'
'Then after a few days settling in, Dr. Kano gave me work, to pay for my accommodation. I was keeping stock of goods coming in and going out.'
'What goods?'
'I didn't realize it at first, but they were stolen from the occupation armies; American, Australian, British. There were a lot of clothes, and food and some machinery. I was told to say nothing. Tokuo came often, sometimes to pick up, sometimes to drop off and?..'
And what?' Amanda asked coyly.
'Sometimes, he came to see me,' Shigeko answered with a cheeky grin.
'And that was the beginning of your relationship with him that led to you getting married?'
'Yes.'
'And your baby Yoshiko was born, and you were re-united with your parents.'
'Yes.'
'Did it bother you that you were involved in a black-market operation.'
'Oh no, not when I realized what it was being used for.'
'What do you mean?'
Mieko suddenly interrupted. 'I think this part of the story should be told by Masako,' she suggested, and turned and spoke Japanese to Masako sitting alongside her.
Masako nodded, and began to speak with Mieko translating as she went.
'Good,' Mieko said, as she picked up on Masako's words. 'Now, I will tell you that part of the story you do not know. When the Australians came here six months after the bomb, I had moved down from Kabe to wait for my brother, Tokuo to come home. There was nowhere to stay but with a small community who had set up a camp near the river. I went to Ujina everyday for weeks waiting to see if my brother Tokuo had arrived on one of the ships. One day I met a very kind soldier called Nedkelly san. He took pity on us and brought us food. That is when I met Derek Avers. He was a sergeant who came to our camp one day when Nedkelly san had brought food. Derek Avers was shocked to see the way we were living and promised to help. He also seemed shocked at my injuries, but said nothing about them. He asked me to come to Ujina and point out who Nedkelly san was. He said stealing food had to be stopped. But when we got there I couldn't betray the kindness I had received, so I pretended that Nedkelly san was not there. Derek left me there to have something to eat and arranged for someone to take me back. While I was still at Ujina, Tokuo arrived on a ship. I was overcome with joy and when Tokuo was processed and allowed to leave, Nedkelly san took us to the station. When we walked onto the platform to board the train for Kabe, Derek Avers was there supervising some soldiers who were travelling to Tokyo to guard the Imperial Palace. When he saw me, he asked what I was doing. I told him about Tokuo and that we were going to my uncle's house in Kabe. He looked at me strangely for a long time. I first wondered if he might not let us go. He asked me where he could contact me if he was able to help in any way. I told him where Uncle Mineo lived. Then Tokuo and I boarded the train and returned to Kabe. A week or so later, another soldier arrived at my uncle Mineo's house. His name was Maclean san. He said that Derek had sent him. He brought some sacks of flour for us. He asked if there was somewhere in the area that they could store some food for us, as well as a few other things. He said they would be happy to pay rent for a small place. My uncle offered him a shed at the back of his house rent free; no need to pay. Maclean san inspected the shed and agreed. He gave the flour to Uncle Mineo, and then unloaded some boxes, placing them inside the shed and fixing a lock to it. After that, Maclean san was a regular visitor, sometimes bringing boxes to the shed, sometimes taking boxes away. Always, he gave Uncle Mineo a sack of flour. Then one time Derek Avers came with Maclean san and he and Uncle Mineo had a long discussion in the house. After that, Uncle Mineo started taking boxes from the shed and going off in his truck. Then he would come back hours later, with more boxes that he would store in the shed.
'Was he working for Derek?' Amanda asked.
'They were doing business,' Mieko translated, nodding her head.
'What was in the boxes?'
'There were all sorts of things; food, clothes, cigarettes, crockery, tools, liquor. Derek was trading with the black market people at Hiroshima station raising money to buy medicines to help the victims of the bomb.'
'How do you know that?' Amanda asked, not without a hint of scepticism.
'Derek made sure our local doctor always had everything he needed. Uncle Mineo supplied him everything he asked for. Our local doctor was the one that arranged for me to go to Osaka and have a number of operations for my injuries caused by the bomb. He did not charge us. Derek paid for it.'
'How many operations did you have?'
'Four altogether. The surgeon in Osaka tried to have me included on the list to go to America; the ones they called the 'Hiroshima maidens' but I missed out. Perhaps I wasn't considered bad enough, I don't know.'
'Were your operations successful?' Amanda asked.
'As good as anyone could have hoped for at the time, I think. They would never have happened if it wasn't for Derek. That is why I loved him. He gave me so much and asked for nothing in return.'
'I see,' Am
anda said, realizing that this was the reason Quentin Avers wanted to restore his father's reputation. She realized that while Derek Avers may have engaged in some black-market practices, he was doing it for Masako; to help her, not to line his own pockets. He was in some ways, a hero.
'I was not the only one,' Masako continued. 'There were a number of girls and boys who went to Osaka and Tokyo to have operations. Derek paid for them too.'
'Where was he getting all the merchandise, to supply the traders at Hiroshima station?'
'Some of it was Australian army supply; some of it was American. When he went to Tokyo, he met up with some American soldiers who helped him. Some of the boxes in the shed had 'US' stamped on them.'
'Did he tell you the Americans were helping him?'
'He told me that General MacArthur would not allow any information about the bomb to be broadcast to America or Australia. They were worried there might be a public backlash. Some American soldiers were very disturbed about this and felt as though they had to do something to help. It wasn't until much later that I realized Derek was part of a much larger ring of servicemen who took it upon themselves to do something positive.'
Turning to Shigeko, Amanda asked, 'why do you think Michael wrote the journal in the first place?'
'I fear he is angry and regretful,' Shigeko answered. 'I fear as his memory has returned and he recalls our love affair, he has become confused. And because he was unable to leave his wife and son, it has frustrated him. So he tries to deal with that by writing about it.'
'How do you know he has a wife and son?'
'I have known for some time now. Derek told me a few years ago,' Shigeko answered.
'Who is Michael?' Amanda asked.
'Don't you know yet?'
'No.'
His name is Michael Balwyn. He is a farmer and his son runs the publishing company that employs you.'
Amanda's jaw dropped suddenly, her mind in shock, as the truth was revealed. She stared aimlessly, momentarily paralysed.
'Oh my God, is that true? How long have you known this?'
'I told you before, Derek told me a few years ago,' Shigeko replied.
'And you never tried to contact him?'
'No, that would not be fair. He married his childhood sweetheart. I was there only for a short part of his life, a lonely time for him, far from home. I was devastated when I saw him in the hospital at Eta Jima and realized he did not know me. I felt for my baby, and for a time I even considered ending both my life and that of my unborn. But Tokuo gave me such strong support and all the time he was helping me, I still thought that I would be reunited with Michael. But that was not a rational consideration and I realized as time went by, that Michael and I were not meant to be together. Besides, he could not have lived here in Japan and I don't think I could have lived in Australia. And of course, Tokuo was paying much attention to me and was willing to accept my daughter as his own. Our marriage did not last but he was a wonderful father to Yoshiko.'
Amanda sat back slowly, her mind trying to absorb all that had been told to her.
'I think we all need to go for a walk,' Shigeko said. 'Let us go to Momijidana Park, where we can feed the deer. Then we can go to lunch at a restaurant, before all the tourists arrive. Amanda, have you ever tasted Okonomi yaki?'
'No,' Amanda replied.
'Well,' Shigeko said, 'it's high time you did.'
'What's it made of?'
'Oh, some cabbage, pork, noodles and eggs wrapped up in a pancake. You cannot come to Japan and not try it.'
'Okay,' Amanda said, 'if you insist.'
'I do, and as we walk and eat together, I can talk to you about how you can write your story in a way that will help Michael overcome his bitterness.'
'Did you know that his wife Elaine was in a nursing home?' Amanda asked.
'No, I didn't. I'm so sorry to hear that,' Shigeko replied.
'Does it make you want to see him again?' Amanda asked.
Shigeko did not answer immediately.
After thoughtful consideration she said, 'If I thought it would help him, I would. But I do not wish to bring anyone pain.'
25.