Tragedy on Hiroshima

Tragedy on Hiroshima
By : Muhammad Reza Hary Saputra
My eyes were open suddenly when my mother told me to wake up. Her face looked worried and she hugged my body. I did not know what happened after I slept. After being released from her hug, she wanted me to shut my ears with my arms. I heard a bomb explosion outside of my house, which sound was very loud and made me thought that what my mother said was right. I watched my mother cried a lot and her face was ruined after that explosion. It was the first time I saw my mother got under pressure. As a son, I was trying to cheer up my mother. She should not worry, because we were in a safe place. We were home. My mother looked to me and started explaining what was happening outside. She said that the United State of America has invaded Hiroshima and Nagasaki with bomb in their airplane. Besides that, my mother told me that she saw my father and my sister die by a U.S. bomb when my mother looked out our window. Blood, fire and explosion were common scene when I looked into my window. I could not imagine how cruel U.S. army killed of my family, my friends, or someone who I ever met in Hiroshima.
My mother planned to move to another safe place. She thought that our home was not safe. When the army bombs my house, it would kill my mother and I like my father and my sister. She looked outside of our house through the window. I moved from my bedroom to near my mother. I held her hand; it felt cold when I touch her palm. I looked at my father’s picture in the wall. He was a charismatic person with his katana in side of his clasp. He was teaching me about being a leader. Because, when he died someday, the man who controls our family was me as the only son of Takuyaki. I asked my mother why we did not move out quickly, the army would bomb our house anytime. She felt much better than before when I looked at her face again. Without answering my question, she opened the main door of the house carefully. I followed her instruction to walk step by step. Then, she stopped when we were outside of the house.
I was shocked when I saw many corpses dead on the street. The sky was cloudy, with several war aircraft. My mother said to me “from here we must run as fast we can do. There are war aircraft in the sky that will kill you and me anytime. So, when I cannot keep up with your speed, leave me.” I protested when she said that I must leave her. I did not want to lose my only parent. Suddenly, she started running away without me, leaving me. I was surprised that own my mother would leave me behind. But I must run away as she told me before. Then I started running to catch my mother route. I remembered when I played with my friends I always won when we decided to race with run. My friends called me a cheetah from Hiroshima when they lose our race.
I saw my mother stopped ran. She looked really tired and her face was fright. I came close to her and asked “are you okay?” my mother did not answer my question; suddenly she fell into the grass. I am panic when the bomb explosion near of my area. I carried my mother to the save place. I heard many times the bomb explosion. Time after time my mother came back from her unconscious. She asked me “where are we?” I told what happen when she was unconscious. She got up to sit into next to me. She looked at my eyes. For a while we did not speak. Suddenly she slapped my chin with her left arm. I asked her “why you slap me?” my mother said with high tone “you did not obey my rule. I told you, runaway as fast you can do. Do not worry about me. This is a war my son. I cannot let you die” suddenly, she cried again. I felt guilty, but I loved my mother. I wanted to save her, no matter what happen next. After she washed her tears with her side hand of her cloth, she told me something “son, I could not run anymore. My legs cannot move. You should leave me. Please.” I cried a lot. I did not want to leave my mother. She was important to me. Then I asked her to carried her until the next safe place. “I know you are still eleven, but I do not want you to have trouble when you carrying me. You will die if you are carrying me.”
With heavy heart, I leaved my mother. I ran as a fast I could do. After I leaved for a while, I heard the bomb explosion in the near of my safety place that my mother stayed. I just cried but still ran away. I remember she told me something important that I must obey that before I leave her. “When you heard everything in your back, just focus on your straight.” I could not stop running before I met the next safety place.
After a long time I ran, I stopped under the big tree. While I rest for a minutes, I felt pessimists about escape to Hiroshima. Every minute, I heard bomb explosion and it made me frightened and quickly to avoid that explosion. Time by time I thought to die in this place, there was no hope to me. I felt my body was hard to move. I looked at the sky; the airplane was like a monster that I must fought with avoid them. My family must be count on me, because I was the only one who saved from the explosion now. The air was not cool, but it seemed like hot temper not similar on summer. I remembered when my family went to the beach of Okinawa together on summer last year. My father taught me to swim on the beach, when my mother and my sister tried to cooking barbeque. But now, there was no same anymore. I was alone under the big tree.
Then I heard somebody called me. I could not believe there was someone who alive on this situation same with me. I looked around to found that sound made. It was the man without a leg tried to find people for helped him. I wanted to help him. But, he was in hard situation that many fire around him. I remembered what my mother said before she died. I started to walked and forgot the man who needed helped.
I thought from my mother said before, she tried to made me save and forgot for everyone who needed helped. Because when everybody had same situation on my condition, they would be saved themselves without thought for other people.
The fourth day after I ran away from my house, I met people who same condition with me. They face was dusty and looked starved. One of the girls who named sizhuka told me that we were in border between Hiroshima and the other city. I cannot remember that city when shizuka said. I lost my energy and felt hard to walk anymore. I closed my eyes and let my body felt into the ground.
On august sixth, the U.S. army exploded Hiroshima with the rocket named Fat Man. It made all of Hiroshima’s area was vanishing or smashed. It made me sad when I remembered my family was in there. Because my mother advised, I could continue to rebuilt my new life.