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So Far From the Bamboo Grove
To be safe, the Kawashimas walked during the night. They kept walking until daylight. When it got light, they tried to sleep. They could hear planes fly over head. If I heard war planes flying over my head while I tried to sleep, I would be extremely scared and wouldn't be able to sleep. But I would know that I have to sleep to get my rest in order to be able to walk. When they were just about to fall asleep, harsh voices told them to stand up and don't move. Korean Communist soldiers were standing in front of them. The soldiers told Yoko and her family to give them their belongings. However, when the soldiers were about to take their belongings, a plane had dropped a bomb. Well-trained Yoko and her family dropped to the ground. When they arose from the ground, the soldiers were dead. I think they were lucky that the soldiers were not as well trained or as smart as Yoko's family. Yoko couldn't hear in her right ear and she couldn't breath. A piece of bombshell hit Yoko in the chest. Quickly she fell back to sleep. When she woke up, she was weak. She still couldn't hear. Her mother and sister were wearing the Communist uniforms. Her sister's head had been shaved. Yoko's mother told her that they had to do this for protection from the Koreans. So her mother made Yoko change into a Communist uniform and shave her head. I think her mother was smart to think of this idea and probably saved their lives dressing this way.
They started to walk again. They had been walking the railroad tracks for eleven days. When it was dark again, they decided to rest. While Yoko's sister was trying to find a stream, she came across a field of corn and tomatoes. She was picking when a farmer caught her. The sister told the farmer that she was Korean because she knew the farmer hated the Japanese. They had not eaten fresh food for days. After they had walked a few hours to get back to their railroad path, they saw people coming. Yoko's mother asked people where they were going. They told her that the brown roof in the distance was Seoul. Finally Yoko and her family had made it. I'm sure Yoko and her family were so proud of themselves and relieved that they made it to Seoul from Nanam, where they started from. They had to go through a search line. The police officers asked Yoko's mother why they were wearing Communist uniforms. She told them for protection. The police officers told her that the war had ended, but not to go back because the Japanese were in danger in Korea.
Yoko's mother had found tents with large red crosses on [next page]