A Place to Belong: Chapters 30–41

She knew he was the one who had made the radio announcement to all of Japan declaring that the nation was surrendering to the Allied forces. And she knew he was revered by the people and even the military.

Hanako felt incredibly relieved. She knew she’d still done a bad thing, but she felt free now. Absolved.

She paused and looked wistfully toward the living room.

Yes, the name of his era is Shōwa, and that means ‘bright, enlightened peace.’

“You were working in the fields?” Hanako asked incredulously.

So Hanako exclaimed impulsively, “Mama, I want to try something new. I’m ready to have my hair cut!”

Hanako was a little jealous at the way he could get so engrossed in stuff.

“There’s an American lawyer who wants to help all of us who renounced. His name is Mr. Wayne Collins. If you would like to get your American citizenship returned, he will help you. President Roosevelt tried to get rid of us, but Mr. Collins thinks we should be able to come back if we still believe we’re Americans. He feels—and I feel—we made our decision under severe duress. All of us did.”

The government—Papa often just called them “they”—wanted to induct the “loyal” men into the army, so they needed to figure out who was a loyal American and who could be discarded as disloyal.

Mama interjected, “Nobody is more important than anybody else, Hanako.”

But Hanako raised her chin and refused to concede.

“Yes, there’s something very special about it.” Actually, she used the word irei, which meant “unprecedented” or “exceptional.”

“No. I don’t like it. Too many rules. It’s not like the way my family treated me. I always got my way at home.” He stuck out his lower lip petulantly, just like Akira might, then idly scratched at where his ear had once been.

She felt like she might swoon, like one time when she cut her knees and they bled profusely.

Thinking of him, she also looked for an opportune time to ask her grandparents if they needed help in the field. But when she finally did, they said not now.