roasting excrement.
For some, the smell was so intolerable, they vomited their lunch onto the
ground around the entrance, creating an even more forbidding welcome.
By early evening, their living
space was as neatly laid out as they could make it. The blankets were draped
nicely over the beds, with white pillows on top. There was no sand on the floor,
and all the visible gaps in the floorboards and walls were covered up. The
windows were covered in blue-lined white paper, and the window jambs were
covered with additional tarpaper. Though the space was definitely more
hospitable, Minami couldn’t help but think that it was still all a façade to
hide the truth: They were still prisoners.
Minami’s family gathered
together in the mess hall for another unappetizing meal and reluctantly ate
their rice drenched in applesauce, along with overcooked carrots and more SPAM.
Minami wondered whether or not this was another form of torture, depriving the
Japanese of food that they were used to. Minami played with her food. Although
she didn’t have an appetite, she still ate. After dinner, Minami’s family
walked back to their barrack. Not all the lights along the barracks were
working, and those that did conjured darkly draped shadows along the route
home. Yoshi was excited as he raced off a few feet ahead of the family with
Yuka and Miho playing with him from behind. Minami walked with her mother. They
were almost at their barrack when Minami broke the silence.
“Do you think everything
will be okay?” asked Minami.
“Mmm…we’ll do our best,”
replied her mother.
There was another pause
until Minami finally asked the lingering question.
“Do you think Dad will find
us?”
Her mother didn’t answer
immediately and her pace slowed a bit until she simply said, “He will find us.”
Minami took some solace in
her mother’s words and continued to walk beside her. They turned the corner to
their barrack when Yoshi leapt from the steps, startling Minami.
She quickly grabbed Yoshi
around his waist and tickled him despite his childish squeals before releasing
him. Yoshi raced up the steps and his mother walked in after him, urging him
onward with pats on his behind. Minami slowly walked up the steps, then turned
around to look out. She was facing the back of the barrack directly in front of
her. A few of the overhead lights flickered. Her eyes panned to the left where
she could barely make out the chain-linked fence some one hundred feet away and
the few guard towers along it. She was about to head inside when she noticed a
reddish burning light that suddenly appeared and then disappeared somewhere
between her and the fence. She thought she saw movement and squinted to see if
she could make it out. There was nothing, just the shadows playing tricks with
her eyes she told herself.
Minami heard her mother
call her name, and she stepped back into the barracks. As she turned, a pair of
eyes in the shadows took in her slender frame, which was accentuated by the
light bulb that lit up the doorway. The dark pair of eyes watched her until she
disappeared into the barrack and the door closed behind her. He slowly let out
a breath of smoke and brought the cigarette from behind his right leg to his
mouth for another drag. The cigarette end lit up in a reddish swirl before he
brought it back down to the side of his leg. He let out another stream of smoke
and flicked the cigarette away. Then he extinguished the cigarette with his
boot and walked into the shadows.
E I G H T
The warm glow of the
morning sun woke up Minami as her eyes fluttered opened. Everyone else was
still asleep except her mother, who was rummaging through the suitcases. She
quietly changed, which she did apprehensively since she felt she still lacked any
semblance of privacy. After pulling on a long sleeved shirt, she glanced down
at her sleeping sisters.
Minami ran the tips of her
fingers along her face and felt a layer of grime. She felt a
For some, the smell was so intolerable, they vomited their lunch onto the
ground around the entrance, creating an even more forbidding welcome.
By early evening, their living
space was as neatly laid out as they could make it. The blankets were draped
nicely over the beds, with white pillows on top. There was no sand on the floor,
and all the visible gaps in the floorboards and walls were covered up. The
windows were covered in blue-lined white paper, and the window jambs were
covered with additional tarpaper. Though the space was definitely more
hospitable, Minami couldn’t help but think that it was still all a façade to
hide the truth: They were still prisoners.
Minami’s family gathered
together in the mess hall for another unappetizing meal and reluctantly ate
their rice drenched in applesauce, along with overcooked carrots and more SPAM.
Minami wondered whether or not this was another form of torture, depriving the
Japanese of food that they were used to. Minami played with her food. Although
she didn’t have an appetite, she still ate. After dinner, Minami’s family
walked back to their barrack. Not all the lights along the barracks were
working, and those that did conjured darkly draped shadows along the route
home. Yoshi was excited as he raced off a few feet ahead of the family with
Yuka and Miho playing with him from behind. Minami walked with her mother. They
were almost at their barrack when Minami broke the silence.
“Do you think everything
will be okay?” asked Minami.
“Mmm…we’ll do our best,”
replied her mother.
There was another pause
until Minami finally asked the lingering question.
“Do you think Dad will find
us?”
Her mother didn’t answer
immediately and her pace slowed a bit until she simply said, “He will find us.”
Minami took some solace in
her mother’s words and continued to walk beside her. They turned the corner to
their barrack when Yoshi leapt from the steps, startling Minami.
She quickly grabbed Yoshi
around his waist and tickled him despite his childish squeals before releasing
him. Yoshi raced up the steps and his mother walked in after him, urging him
onward with pats on his behind. Minami slowly walked up the steps, then turned
around to look out. She was facing the back of the barrack directly in front of
her. A few of the overhead lights flickered. Her eyes panned to the left where
she could barely make out the chain-linked fence some one hundred feet away and
the few guard towers along it. She was about to head inside when she noticed a
reddish burning light that suddenly appeared and then disappeared somewhere
between her and the fence. She thought she saw movement and squinted to see if
she could make it out. There was nothing, just the shadows playing tricks with
her eyes she told herself.
Minami heard her mother
call her name, and she stepped back into the barracks. As she turned, a pair of
eyes in the shadows took in her slender frame, which was accentuated by the
light bulb that lit up the doorway. The dark pair of eyes watched her until she
disappeared into the barrack and the door closed behind her. He slowly let out
a breath of smoke and brought the cigarette from behind his right leg to his
mouth for another drag. The cigarette end lit up in a reddish swirl before he
brought it back down to the side of his leg. He let out another stream of smoke
and flicked the cigarette away. Then he extinguished the cigarette with his
boot and walked into the shadows.
E I G H T
The warm glow of the
morning sun woke up Minami as her eyes fluttered opened. Everyone else was
still asleep except her mother, who was rummaging through the suitcases. She
quietly changed, which she did apprehensively since she felt she still lacked any
semblance of privacy. After pulling on a long sleeved shirt, she glanced down
at her sleeping sisters.
Minami ran the tips of her
fingers along her face and felt a layer of grime. She felt a
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