a flash of light

the tranquil sound of the river running through the center of hiroshima at dusk draws high school students to picnic under the bridge at night, and laughter echoes under the voice of a young woman who sings out into the dark, guitar strumming.

memories from the ground:
a flash of light.
impact.
loss of consciousness.
black rain.

toshiko saeki
"As I was running, I saw a mad naked man running from the opposite direction. This man held a piece of iron over his head as if to hide his face since he had nothing on his body, I felt embarrassed. And I turned my back to him. The man was passing by me, then, I don't know why, But I ran after him and I asked him to stop for a moment. I asked him, ``Which part of Hiroshima was attacked?'' Then the man put down the piece of iron and he started at me. He said, ``You're Toshiko, aren't you?'' He said, ``Toshiko!''... Oh, I couldn't tell who he was right away. His face was so swollen I couldn't even tell whether his eyes were open. He called me, he said, ``It's me! It's me, Toshiko! You can't tell?'' Then I recognized him. He was my second eldest brother."

akiko takakura
"Maybe I didn't catch enough rain, but I still felt very thirsty and there was nothing I could do about it. What I felt at that moment was that Hiroshima was entirely covered with only three colors. I remember red, black and brown, but, but, nothing else. Many people on the street were killed almost instantly. The fingertips of those dead bodies caught fire and the fire gradually spread over their entire bodies from their fingers. A light gray liquid dripped down their hands, scorching their fingers. I, I was so shocked to know that fingers and bodies could be burned and deformed like that. I just couldn't believe it. It was horrible. And looking at it, it was more than painful for me to think how the fingers were burned, hands and fingers that would hold babies or turn pages, they just, they just burned away."

survivors talk.

from the ground:
hair falls out in chunks.
a young boy vomits up his own organs before passing away.
family members' remains are found.
and then the tears.
the nightmares.
years of healing.

what now, do we remember?

whose mother takes shelter in a desert home to cry quietly after our oblivion drops?

hiroshima mayor, tadatoshi akiba's speech.