"That stupid old man always has to be so dramatic," his sister Xiao Mei had jeered through fresh tears, "sounds like he's some old fogey that hands our destiny like every novel out there,"
"Even in death you still can't give the old man a break," sighs Jia Long in response and carefully opens the book, noting dubiously the blood stains on the cover.
1945, August 27th
Jia Long remembers this day very clearly.
Today China was freed of Japan. The news spread like wide fire in Qixia. We escort the soldiers out of Nanjing. They stagger home single file. Tens of thousands flood the streets, there are screams and fireworks booming. And as our fallen foes retreat I hear the victory chant of "Long live China!"," Zhong guo wan sui wan sui,wan wan sui!"
Little Jia Long enjoyed the fireworks the most. Unlike most little kids, he wasn't frightened of them. He was mesmerized by the red and yellow sparks blossoming and dissipating. He was really cute! I let him sit on my shoulders for him to get a better look.
But amongst the victory chants and fireworks there was a darker undertone. Many of us wanted the Japanese soldiers killed. I heard one man shout:
"Why should we allow them to return home, to their wives and families? I tell you, the only part of them of them that should return back to Japan is their heads!"
I agree. But the most I did was spat on one as he marched past when the presence of the battalion made the long knitted gash on my back throb a phantom pain, and Jia Long to forget the fireworks and bury his trembling head in my chest as he was reminded of the bullet that was once embedded in his shoulder.
He reminded me a lot like Kiku, who when we were younger,would quietly climb into my bed whenever the nightmares scared him. But now, if Kiku was still alive, he would be in Jia Long and my nightmare.
Jia Long and Xiao Mei only spent five minutes over puzzling this Kiku person's role before dismissing him from their mind as in the next three books Yao never thought him important enough to be in his written musings.
It was only until a month for Jia Long and Xiao Mei, and 42 years for Yao that Kiku's name was written again.
12.2.1987
Tonight I was woken up by a terrible nightmare. I believe it was brought on by the newspaper article left behind by Xiao Mei. They covered the victims of the Hiroshima and Nagasaki bombings-hibakusha they call them-who wanted reparations for what the bombings have done to them. The article gave two pictures that were taken at that time- and my heart was painful after seeing them.
One depicted a wasteland that Nagasaki became-stripped bleached skeletons of buildings in a sea of ashes. It was a jarring mirror image of Nanjing's hell. The second photograph had a child with flayed, molten skin wailing in the ashes. He was most likely an orphan too.
I dreamt that Kiku was that boy, alone, burnt skin peeling and crying out in wretched pain.
Since Kiku left,he was always at the back of my mind, first with white hot painful betrayal which slowly morphed to bitter resignation that he was gone, most likely dead long ago , and even if he was still alive he might as well be dead.
I should reassure myself that was highly unlikely that Kiku was at Nagasaki or Hiroshima at the time but I still remember Hiroshima was Kiku's battalion's base. Aiyah!Now because of that accursed dream I worry over a dead brother-
"Brother?" Jia Long hissed in surprise.
"Since when did he have a brother?!" Xiao Mei muttered when she read that passage.
-and plagued by questions that should only be reserved for the living.
Is he alright? Where is he now?
I realise that I can't sleep because I still have so much words to say to a dead man.
"I don't understand," declared Xiao Mei, glaring at the offending passage .
"That's not surprising,"replied Jia Long,and winced at her punch to the arm.
"This Kiku person is supposedly brother of Yao's, whom he never mentioned to us for 50 years, and seems to be a Japanese soldier?" She brushed a stray lock of greying hair back as she attempted to work out the logic behind Kiku and Yao's relationship.
Jia Long shrugged and offered: "Yao does have a tendency to pick up strays,", which earning him another nasty look from his sister.
"Don't refer to us to as that."
