Someone Will Conquer Them by Elizabeth Kata

Author:Elizabeth Kata
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing
Published: 2015-02-15T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter 26

They re-entered the village of foreigners that the Americans would never bomb.

As they chugged along the machi, the driver exclaimed, ‘What goes on?’ The main street, always so deserted, where even children usually walked quietly, was now a seething mass of noisy excited people. Germans, Italians, French, Russians, citizens of neutral nations or nations allied to Japan, and local Japanese residents, men, women, and children, were all in the excited throng. Ludi saw a German acquaintance, and called out to him, ‘What has happened?’

The noise of many voices made it impossible to hear even shouted words. Shrugging his shoulders expressively, thumb of his right hand pointing up, left thumb pointing down, the German pulled a face and shook his head.

Ludi turned to Noguchi. ‘Make the driver stop!’ A wild hope had been born in his heart. Was this the end of the war? The lousy stinking war. That hope died as quickly as it had been born, for the faces in the crowd wore expressions of bewilderment, stupefaction – yes, and fear.

Noguchi spoke to the driver. ‘Stop – this instant!’

The driver desired nothing more than to stop and satisfy his own curiosity, but he was tired of being hungry, and of kowtowing to superiors. ‘I have too much initiative to stop here in the middle of the road,’ he replied boldly. A thrill tingled the length of his spine, for he received no reprimand. He added to the din about them, pressing heavily on the horn, and then brought the old car to a stop.

Noguchi poked his head out and questioned a well-dressed Japanese man. ‘Can you tell us the reason for all this excitement?’

‘Haven’t you heard the news?’

Must they go through the agony of Japanese conversational ball-tossing? Ludi interrupted, ‘Just tell us. What is happening?’

He received an impassive look from the man, who awaited Noguchi’s reply to his question.

His countryman obliged. ‘No. I have heard nothing. I am deeply puzzled.’

‘Soo! Everyone is most puzzled – and shocked.’

‘So it appears. Do you know the reason?’

‘The reason? Soo! Yes, I heard on the radio.’

‘Aah! The radio, on the radio. Will you kindly relay to me the news you have heard?’

‘Certainly.’

‘Thank you.’

‘The radio news said that this morning the city of Hiroshima was completely destroyed, and that practically all the people of that city are dead.’

Hiroshima! Ludi felt deflated. Probably an earthquake.

‘How destroyed? How could a city be so quickly destroyed?’ Noguchi asked, in an agitated voice.

‘They say – the radio announced ...’ the man’s voice became very solemn. ‘They say that a bomb, just one bomb was dropped on it.’

Noguchi grabbed at the arm of the stranger. ‘One bomb! Only one bomb? What kind of bomb?’

‘It was just said a bomb – no name was given it.’ The man resented Noguchi’s grip on his sleeve. ‘Kindly let go of me.’

‘I am sorry, excuse me. Did the news mention anything else?’

‘It said that the light, the flash, given out by the bomb was like no other seen on this earth. Those who saw it, even from afar off, were blinded by it.

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