Chapter 18 Chapter Sixteen Blizzard and Hellfire
The next morning, Liri was sunny.That morning, the good mountaineering pair still had an aftertaste of the unpleasant conversation last night.
Through the bushes, there are layers of white-capped mountain shadows. It may be close to the main peak, and the sun is shining. I only feel majestic and the peak is right in front of me.The heavy snow has not yet fallen, but the peaks are still shining bright white, showing the severe cold of the plateau.
"How about going to climb the long-lost mountain?" Akita said suddenly.
"Mountain climbing? Go to Mt. Yatsugatake?" Onishi stared blankly at the dazzling mountain, feeling incomprehensible to Akita's abrupt proposal, and asked again as if hearing a strange word.
"Yes, climbing from here, of course only this Yatsugatake mountain." Akita smiled dryly.
"Don't be kidding me."
"I'm not kidding. You see this mountain every day, and maybe you don't think it's a big deal. For me, this is a rare opportunity. How about it? For my friend who came from afar, spend a day with me. Climb up from here Chiyue Mountain, you can make a round trip in the same day."
"Have you brought all your climbing equipment? It's quite cold up there!"
"I'll borrow it at Qingquan Hotel."
"No, it's too time-consuming. You can go alone. I'll lend you the climbing clothes and tools."
"Hey, do you even bring your climbing tools with you?" Akita said with his eyes wide open as if he had discovered some treasure.
"However, I haven't used it once. After all, it's not the time to play."
"Yeah... But, it's a pity to meet my old climbing buddy again. I really can't help it. Then borrow it, and I will go alone." Akita didn't want to waste his words.Originally, I didn't plan to force him to climb a mountain, to relive old friendship, and then persuade him.Besides, Onishi will not accept his persuasion.It's just that the tower-shaped spire of the Yatsugatake peak that stands in front of me makes this mountaineering enthusiast eager to try.Akita knew in his heart that even if they went hiking together, it would be impossible to restore their old friendship.Under such circumstances, Daxi offered not to go, which might not be a bad thing.But for some reason, deep in my heart, I felt very melancholy.In the past, or not so long ago, each other was connected by a rope, and the life-and-death friendship between climbing partners, in the face of severe reality, how could it be so fragile and vulnerable?Although I understand in my heart that friendship cannot replace everything, sharing the joy of youth and cultivating the bond of relationship between the mountains and mountains seems so powerless in a real society where life is gambling and full of dangers.Thinking of these, I feel melancholy.Is that purely a kind of tourism?Akita suddenly thought of those majestic mountain peaks he had climbed with ropes tied to Onishi in the past.It was he who did everything possible to ensure my safety; after being injured by falling rocks, I could not move. , and I tightly hold the cracked hands, and he is also the one who shares the joy of climbing to the top.But now, he and Da Xi, who is so busy producing poisonous gas that he can't spare the time to climb the mountain, are he alone?In the end, the precious friendship of this youthful age is like a flower in a mirror or a moon in water. In real life, they can't listen to any advice from friends.
"It's unseasonably warm today, and maybe it's going to turn bad in the afternoon."
"It's nothing. I'll make a round trip to Chiyue Mountain. I'll be back before dusk."
"The rocks on the mountain are very brittle, so be careful."
Despite this, Onishi was very worried and sent Akita to the door.It can be understood that this is the "aftermath" of the old friendship in Onishi's heart.
In the afternoon of this day, it seemed that there was going to be a storm in the mountains.The weather forecast reports that a low pressure tide is coming, but unlike the monsoon winds blowing in the mountains in the interior of Japan, the weather in the Yatsugatake mountain area generally does not change easily.After the signs of a change in the sky appeared, there was still time to take refuge.To the top of Chiyue Mountain, no matter which mountain road you take, you can get back in about ten hours with Akita's physical strength.In case the weather turns bad near the top of the mountain and you go down the mountain on the rocky edge of the mountain, just be careful and use the seat belt for about two hours.Therefore, since the afternoon, there were signs of a storm in the mountains, and Daxi was still relatively at ease, which is why.
Moreover, he can trust Akita's mountaineering skills.For a veteran mountain climber like him, no matter what kind of bad weather he encounters, he is familiar with the not-so-precipitous mountain roads of Mount Yatsugatake.But the onset of the depression was sudden and unusual.The two low-pressure tides that formed the harsh weather occurred on the Korean Strait and the sea south of Kyushu. In less than ten hours, they expanded rapidly and controlled the whole of Japan.Two low-pressure tides moving toward the Sea of Japan and the other side of the Pacific Ocean sandwich Japan in between, creating storms on the plains and heavy snowstorms on the mountains.
"Guy Akita, I wish I had come back earlier." Listening to the sudden storm, which seemed to blow down the whole mountain, Onishi noticed the passing of time minute by minute.
"The sky has changed, is that person okay?" asked the gatekeeper who received Akita.He is also worried about Akita's safety.
Onishi didn't seem to hear, and only cared about Akita.After sunset, the wind and snow seemed to intensify.It's long past the time to come back.
"Will you go directly to Kiyosato Station?" Onishi thought.However, Onishi lent him all the climbing equipment, and the clothes and small luggage that Akita wore when he came from Tokyo were left here.Impossible, this is too unreasonable, he denied his own ideas.However, as the minutes passed, the possibility of Akita's return became less and less.
"He is not a novice who just started to learn mountaineering in the past two days. He will definitely go to the stone house on the top of the mountain to take shelter from the wind and snow. Maybe he is currently warming up comfortably by the stove, and after the wind and snow is over, he will go down the mountain without any care. You will still laugh at my needless worry." Daxi thought of the best of things.However, the more this happened, the more the frozen image of Akita appeared in front of his eyes, and he couldn't get rid of the entanglement of this terrible thought.
"Bastard! What's wrong with me today! He's going there by himself, how do I know I'm going to die or live?" Even though I thought so, maybe it was an illusion, it seemed that Akita's shouts were always mixed with the whistling wind and snow , Onishi couldn't help the island owner listening attentively.At this time, Akita's haggard appearance appeared before his eyes again.This is not a general emaciation, but a loss of appetite.He must be sick.Knowing this, why not stop him.Since you can't stop it, why don't you go with him.He was already so weak that he could not stand the harsh blizzard.In the event of an accident, it is your responsibility.
"Dashi-kun, please rest. He has all the climbing equipment, and there is a hut on the mountain to shelter from the wind, so don't worry." It was late at night, and the staff at the institute saw that Daxi was still standing by the window looking at the dark mountains, and advised him He said.
To be honest, worrying may be superfluous, no matter how anxious you are, it will not help.To relax this hanging heart, the best and only way is for Daxi to go up the mountain to look for it.But this ghostly weather made it impossible to take a step.
"Akita, I'll leave early tomorrow morning. Wait for me!" Onishi didn't close his eyes all night, thinking about his friend struggling in the snowstorm.
However, the next morning, the wind and snow did not weaken at all. Not only did it not stop, but it seemed to be getting more and more violent.At noon the next day, the two low-pressure tides expanded even further and converged in the northeast region. In addition, the high-pressure tide that extended to the mainland was affected by the low-pressure tide, forming a strong monsoon, and the cold current kept passing by. Brought strong cold air and snow.Even the traffic between the laboratory and Kiyosato was interrupted, so how can there be any talk of climbing a mountain to save lives?
"Such a blizzard."
"I heard it has never happened in forty-five years."
"If this continues, from tomorrow onwards, we will have to control the daily food supply."
The staff members chattered, and Onishi, who was at the side, was only concerned about Akita who was trapped on the mountain by the snowstorm.The food that Akita brought was only enough for two meals. If there was no one in the hut, it would have run out of food long ago.Just in case, I asked him to bring a sleeping bag, which worked.But if one can't get to the hut, it's nothing.The temperature on the mountain may be minus 20 degrees. Can his body withstand such severe cold?
"Akita, you have to hold on!"
Daxi couldn't help praying secretly in his heart, but he couldn't tell what god he was praying to.Whether it is a bodhisattva or a god, anything will do, as long as it can protect Akita from death in the wind, snow and hunger. "I'll come as soon as the blizzard subsides, please wait for me."
——Akita, you are my only good climbing partner.It is true that you are indifferent and contemptuous of me, but you still cannot pull me to your side.Nothing can ever erase the fact that we have walked side by side together in the past.Do you want to forget?Memories can't bring anything concrete to the present and the future, but in order to realize today's ideals, it is a path that must be taken.No matter how you evaluate the goal you have reached today, you also admitted that this is a bright road in the past.Never underestimate the romantic fantasies of youth, and it is a very pleasant thing to recall now.No, no matter how difficult the road is now, the only consolation is to preserve the good memories of the past.
Akita, you took away my only good memory.Akita, you have to hold on!
On the way, Akita wanted to turn back several times.I knew that my body was very weak, but I didn't expect the condition to be so serious.Every time I take a step, I feel that the skeleton is about to fall apart, and there are bursts of pain.With the intense exercise of mountain climbing, it usually causes a strong stomach feeling, but Akita felt the inside of his stomach churning, not only hiccups, but also vomited several times.After vomiting the remaining breakfast in his stomach, he spit out yellow water.
Whenever I am busy at work, I will worry that my life will end soon, and instinctively resist and struggle desperately.But there is no doubt that his time in the world is numbered.This fact made Akita even more determined to head towards the top of the mountain.I have climbed several times, but this time I feel like I am competing with the disease in my body against time.
Return to the beautiful forest area from the laboratory, start from the scheduled route, and climb to Chiyue Mountain.Pass a straight mountain road and cross the ridge where the Zhenjiao Temple is located.In this way, it takes about five hours to walk through the valley on the upper north bank of the Kawamata River and complete the coniferous forest trail on the ridge in one breath.From Niutoushan to the steeper slopes, it will take twice as long as usual.After passing through the forest belt, in front of you is a desolate mountain top like a barren land.When climbing Niutou Mountain, the clouds under the feet gradually thicken, and there are only sparse climbing pines on the mountain. Looking down the mountain, the scenery is hidden in a sea of clouds.
At this time, the clouds and mist that were attacking the upper and lower sides rolled in, and the surrounding area was so foggy that it was impossible to distinguish the way.It seems to have been involved in the terrible low pressure vortex.All I could hear was the whistling airflow, and the screams of the creeping pines and mountain birches.
In the morning, his leg strength was already weak.Beginning in the afternoon, the weather turned bad, which increased the resistance of climbing.Still, the Akita kept climbing.At this time, we were not far from the top of the mountain. There was a stone hut on the top of the mountain, and we might meet people.It is better to climb to the top of the mountain and enter the hut than to go down the mountain to avoid the wind, which is both safer and faster.The weather won't improve overnight without people in the hilltop hut...Needless to say, an experienced mountaineer is reluctant to make such speculations.
Finally, the climbing pine was no longer seen on the rock.There is a narrow path leading to the top of the mountain.Akita finally got close to his destination.No matter how steep the mountain road is, it is only a few feet away from the top.And it's no different from Mount Yatsugatake, also known as "House Mountain".Although his physical strength was gradually exhausted, on the contrary, he made an optimistic judgment on the situation because of the self-confidence and underestimation of the enemy as a veteran climber.It is true that there is only a short distance to the top of the mountain, but this section of the road is frozen by winter ice and snow, and the rock formations are as high as 3,000 meters above sea level, and the oncoming low pressure is so scary.The surrounding area is a vast expanse of whiteness. If you observe carefully, you can see huge clouds coming from the direction of the North Peak like mountains and seas. Wherever the low pressure tide goes, the whole area will be controlled by severe cold. When the monsoon roars, climbers will be buried by the snowstorm for a while. After two days of danger, I fell into the predicament of "it is easy to go up the mountain and difficult to go down the mountain".If there is no one in the hut at the moment, I only bring food for one meal.Loss of appetite, which has become a blessing in misfortune.When the weather will improve is impossible to predict, but during this time, where to find the heat necessary to survive the severe cold?Now Akita knew very well in his heart that he should have used all his spare energy and rushed down the mountain.But will he make it down the mountain?This is not sure.But this horrible weather seemed to deliberately drive him into the hut.He opened the door of the hut and saw that there was no one in the house.Just about to try to make a fire to keep warm, Akita, who was exhausted, couldn't hold it anymore, and suddenly fell to the mud floor in the house and passed out.
The howling and howling wind outside seemed to knock off the roof of the hut made of big stones.The sound of the wind made him wake up gradually from his drowsiness.
In an instant, Akita Shuhei was blinded by the blinding purple-red light.Immediately after, he was hit by a hurricane-like heat wave that scorched his whole body, and was suddenly hit to the ground.I didn't know what disaster happened for a while, and in a blink of an eye, the city became a sea of flames.
Streets, trees, bridges, pedestrians, and the familiar scenery are all burned in the raging flames.How could there be a white scene in front of Akita's eyes in this terrible red fire?Is it because of strong light stimulation that the vision has not yet recovered?Or does burning too intensely turn the flames this color instead?No, maybe it was because of the intense heat that burned the hair and eyelashes off at the beginning, and even burned my own retina.
He didn't know whether he was alive or dead, but just numbly, as if borrowing eyes from others, he reflected the scene of the street in the sea of fire in front of him.Afterwards, people called this explosion "唰咚". For a split second, Akita did see a flash of "唰——" but did not hear the sound of "Boom——".Maybe it's because the eardrums were deafened by the sky-shattering loud bang under the impact of huge winds and heat waves.
At 8:15 am on August 6, Showa 20 (1945), for the first time in human history, the atomic bomb dropped over Hiroshima, the hometown of Shuhei Akita, exploded.
About one kilogram of uranium (235) exploded at an altitude of 600 meters.In an instant, the highest temperature reached tens of millions of degrees.Due to the intense heat and light, everything within a kilometer of the center of the explosion "evaporated".Within two or three kilometers, it immediately became a sea of flames.
Akita was only six years old at the time.He was living with his parents at their home on Jiuxuan Street in Shiratori, about two kilometers from the center of the blast.A family of three, after breakfast, the father just went to the outpatient room of the small hospital he opened when the explosion came.
At that time, it was already impossible to escape from the collapsed house that erupted from the flames. Later, I suddenly realized that I was running on the burning street with my father on my back, and my mother followed.In a disaster, parents are very "happy" by their side.But the parents are not what they usually see.Faces burned, almost naked, walking through piles of dead bodies and flames.It was as if he was being lured by a pair of ghosts, walking on the way to hell.They were no longer like the calm father and gentle and kind mother that Akita had seen in the past.For some reason, both of them went crazy, not only the parents, but also all the lunatics moving around, and the one who remained still was the corpse.
At that time, in Akita's young mind, he only vaguely knew that some great disaster must have happened, which made his usually calm father become so panic-stricken. Eat where the devil lives. ——Recalling afterwards, I thought so at the time.However, I didn't feel very scary and panicked.When there is a disaster that makes adults almost crazy, on the contrary, children do not immediately feel terror; or, in other words, they have surpassed the reaction produced by fear.
At the age of six, Akita was not able to observe the accident so carefully at this moment, and it was even more difficult to explain the psychological changes at that time.In the future, I will collect the scattered memories floating in my mind, and through the organization and analysis of adults, I can get the above impression.And at that moment, what my young heart could feel was probably the too dazzling white cold light and the dangling white street in a sea of flames.
The dazzling, blazing white flames looked like melting icebergs in my eyes, but in fact, the scorching heat waves had turned into bone-piercing cold, penetrating my whole body.Both the burning heat and the cold were too intense, leaving only pain all over the body, and it was hard to tell whether it was hot or cold.
At this time, Akita didn't know whether he fell into the fire pit or the ice cave.I just felt that in the abnormally white world, my whole body was in pain like being pricked by needles... Such pain made Akita wake up, only to find that he was lying on the muddy floor of the hut on the top of the mountain, and when he wanted to stand up, he only felt his lower body full of pain. Numb.In this life-or-death moment, pain brought him back to life and saved his life.
The pointer of the watch pointed to less than six o'clock, and it was already pitch black outside the door, and the wind and snow were still raging and howling.I felt as if I had been in a coma for a long time. It was half past five when I climbed to the hut, but it was actually less than half an hour.If the coma lasts longer, I don't know what will happen.Akita stood up slowly, opened the travel bag, and took out a rubber bag, which contained some necessary medical medicines.His hands were frozen and he couldn't control them, so he gave himself a shot in the arm with difficulty.Opened the thermos and drank some hot coffee.I lit a small fire with solid fuel, and then took out the dry clothes from the plastic bag and changed into the wet pants.Still don't want to eat much.Take out a little of the food in the lunch box you brought, add cheese to make porridge.It might be best for him.After drinking the vegetable porridge, the person finally recovered.So, I got into my sleeping bag and waited for the blizzard to pass, and I was saved.Akita felt indifferent to the harsh weather at this time.Lying in the sleeping bag, it was difficult to fall asleep, and his ears were full of the sound of whistling wind and snow, which made him fall into the memories of the past again.
Countless columns of smoke rose every day on the endless piles of rubble.It was the black smoke of burning corpses.From afar, one could tell by the color of the smoke that it was a corpse being burned.The rising purple-black smoke sometimes does not disperse high in the sky.On cloudy days, the smoke floats under the clouds and mists, gradually converging, as if full of the grievances of the dead, stagnating over Hiroshima and lingering for a long time.
My father's hands, back and chest were all burned, but he still participated in the rescue work at the national school in the city for days.The mother's injuries were even more serious. In addition to her broken head, she was also pierced into her right eye by flying glass shards, and she was almost blind in both eyes.In the national school at the foot of the mountain that was saved from being burned down, my mother was temporarily taken in.Thanks to a special ration of powdered milk and rusks, he was spared starvation.But the seriously injured around, groaning in pain, died one after another.A makeshift crematorium was set up on campus, and the foul-smelling smoke from the burning of the dead wafted around the seriously injured, who were wrapped in blankets and lay motionless.
The mother's injuries continued to deteriorate.One week after being bombed, the hair began to fall off, purple spots appeared all over the body, and he didn't want to eat at all.From the tenth day, the mouth is also red and swollen.On the fourteenth day, late at night on August 20, under the care of my father and Xiuping, I died.Shuhei didn't feel very sad at the time.All the hair had fallen out, one eye was completely sunken, and the mouth was too swollen to speak.mother!What a frightful appearance it is!I can't even imagine that this is my mother!In Akita's memory, the kind and gentle face of his mother no longer exists.Before the mother died, she wanted to reach out to the young Shuhei several times.She wanted to use up her last bit of strength to hug Xiuping at the last moment of her death.However, Shuhei felt terrified, turned around and wanted to run away.
"Xiuhei, what are you doing?"
When his father yelled at him, Xiuping was like a snail in its shell, stubbornly refusing to move a step, and finally until his mother died, he didn't dare to touch his mother with his hands.When the mother was dying, she looked at Shuhei with unspeakable sorrow in the remaining eye.This eye, bit by bit, lost its vitality and turned into the cloudy white color of the dead.Great anger ignited in Shuhei's heart.The next morning, a plume of black smoke from the burning of the mother rose with the black smoke of countless other burned dead.At this time, Shuhei burst into tears for the first time.
It was a rare sunny summer. Under the bright summer sun, Shuhei climbed to a high place, wanting to see how the smoke from the burning with many victims and the black smoke from that mother floated. Where?Shuhei raised his face to look for the trace of the black smoke, almost his neck was sore.He looked up persistently, feeling that he had lost his mother forever, and couldn't help crying.Dad seemed to be crying too, but at the time I was so immersed in grief that I couldn't pay attention to Dad's expression.
After that, the father and son lived a lonely life.His father is a doctor, and the work of rescuing victims is very intense, but as long as he has a little free time, he always comes to accompany Shuhei who has lost his mother's love.At first, my father thought that the victims were nothing more than burns and trauma, so only surgery would be enough to complete the rescue mission.But starting from the symptoms when the mother died, as the days went by, unimaginably serious harm gradually appeared.My father himself fell into the pain of fatigue, fever, nausea and vomiting and other sequelae of atomic energy radiation.At the same time, my father devoted the remaining few years of his life to research on the causes of such diseases.
Later, in May of the 24th year of Showa (1949), his father's condition worsened and he was admitted to a municipal hospital. He died under the care of Shuhei, who was twelve years old, and Shuhei's uncle who came from Tokyo.
"Xiu Ping, I entrust all these matters to you." On his deathbed, his father took Xiu Ping's hand and said only this sentence.Shuhei's father had long suffered from the sequelae of atomic energy radiation, and now that he had finally reached the end of his life, he was relieved from it and followed Shuhei's mother with a very peaceful expression.
Shuhei had just entered the fifth grade at the time, and he didn't know what his father had entrusted to him, so he listened blankly.Watching my father stop breathing, I feel even more sad than when my mother died.
When he woke up again, Dongfang was already pale.This whiteness is not light, but the reflection of snow.The wind and snow are so strong that you can tell it from the sound without looking at the window.The blizzard has not weakened, but it has become more violent than last night.The snowflakes constantly blowing from the gaps in the doors and windows formed a thin layer on the sleeping bag, and the bitter cold penetrated through the thick down and penetrated directly into the whole body.Looking at the strong wind outside, Akita realized that it was not just the effect of the low tide, but after the low tide passed, the monsoon began to blow.Cold temperatures and high winds must follow.Even after the weather improves, there is always the danger of an avalanche, so it is still impossible to move.It will take two days for the situation to improve.At worst, you might be trapped for three or four days.There was only half a meal of porridge left.Even though this weak body can last for two days on this half meal of porridge, but on this icy and slippery rock, there will be avalanches and sinkholes everywhere, so how can we go down the mountain?Feeling the seriousness of the situation, Akita turned pale.
"I can't die yet, I still have work to do."
"Attracted by the majestic majesty of the mountains, I came to climb this mountain, which took up precious time that I could not waste. Now, my life is in danger. I should have cherished the few remaining days. Due to negligence, I lost my life." It's wasted for nothing." This made him extremely annoyed.
"I'm too careless!" Akita seemed to feel that the howling storm was laughing at himself.The white demon regarded himself as a foolish and pitiful prey that he had caught, and locked him in the trap he had set. He smiled ferociously and played with him wantonly, slowly torturing him.There is no other way but to maintain strength and struggle until rescued.
"Ah, there is a way for Onishi to be by my side!" Akita's desperate eyes suddenly saw the cold light of the climbing pick lent by Onishi.This pick is a famous brand in Switzerland. It is a special tool after being forged.It accompanies many climbers to climb dangerous peaks, protects them, and guides them to the top of the mountain. The scars left by it when it struggled with all difficulties and obstacles are hidden deep in the sharp edge, shining with iron-gray silver light, as if He said to Akita in a low and forceful voice: "Aren't I here?" Not only climbing picks, but also gasoline stoves for mountaineering, mountaineering clothes, iron brazing, sleeping bags, etc. were scattered all over the hut.These are the climbing tools Onishi lent to Akita, as if they were saying this to Akita.They are all attendants and right-hand assistants who accompany the master on difficult mountaineering trips and always assist the master in fighting.These tools are soaked with the owner's sweat and exude the smell of soil, which is also a documentary of the owner's youthful vigor and struggle against difficulties.
Akita's own "attendants" remained in Tokyo.And now these "attendants", following their master and his close friends over mountains and mountains, I am afraid they will not be unfamiliar with Akita.All of Onishi's "attendants" are almost here now, and they will work together to protect Akita.
"I'm not alone!" Besides, Onishi will definitely come.Rely on these "servants" to fight to the end.
"Yes, no matter how long and hard the struggle is, we will follow you!" The climbing pick was shining with silver-gray brilliance, and said to Akita again.
At that time, in a hut on the mountain, Akita and Onishi climbed the mountain for a day and warmed up around the fire. In this very comfortable environment, they felt lonely and melancholy in their hearts. The two recited their own poems and named them It's called "The Song of the Pickaxe".
At that time, due to the sentimental psychology of young people, there was an indescribable emptiness and melancholy in their hearts. They were not used to reciting poems, so they just hummed softly.But facing the severe wind and snow today, if there is any strength that can encourage and support me, it is the nostalgia and attachment to youth.
"Daxi will definitely come." That poem is the best proof.
Shuhei:
Congratulations on entering high school.Neither me nor your mother can come to your grand opening ceremony. You must feel very lonely, right?However, I think you have been able to overcome this loneliness and prove that you are strong.
I am waiting for this day, and I entrust my male uncle and I to deliver this letter to you.Because I am convinced that you possess the ability to objectively review your own life as an adult and to calmly consider your own future.On the day when you can understand the true meaning of this letter, there is a deeper meaning in it, which I will say below.What a joy and a relief to a father.
When you were just sensible, we were bombed in Hiroshima, and you lost your mother.Now, I also leave you to die.I have a lot to say about it, but it will only arouse your grief in vain, if not said.
The reason and purpose of my leaving this suicide note to you is that you were young and not very sensible at that time. Now I want to tell you in detail the situation after we were bombed at that time, as a part of your calm thinking. Reference materials, so that you can live better in the future.
You may know some situations, and you may be hit hard without thinking about it.Anyway, hold on to what I say.I hope you will face up to this reality and live bravely.
My prologue is too long.After I was injured by the atomic bomb, I began to think that the injuries of the victims (including my own symptoms) were the same as those suffered by ordinary bombs, except for burns and trauma.But after four or five days, I gradually became tired all over the body, vomiting, diarrhea, fever, and even subcutaneous bleeding, hair loss, and some terrible symptoms that were not experienced by ordinary bombs.In order to find out the cause, I began to do a physical examination.Soon, I finally got a microscope for me.After I took your mother's blood for testing, I found that both red blood cells and white blood cells were significantly reduced.It is also the most common symptom immediately following the atomic bombing.People without any trauma on the body will also cause nasal cavity bleeding and subcutaneous hemorrhage due to the destruction of hematopoietic function, and eventually lead to death.
At that time, the only measures our medical organization could take were surgical operations and camphor injections.It can be concluded that this new type of bomb not only has powerful destructive power, but can also destroy human hematopoietic function.Knowing this, we can't do anything about it.There is no medicine, and no cure is known.For patients with nasal bleeding, they can only plug their nostrils with cotton and let them lie still.Because we can't treat them medically, we can only watch the critically ill patients die one by one, even though they feel heart-wrenchingly uncomfortable.
You probably still remember that that year, the black smoke of burning corpses filled the sky of Hiroshima for several days, which was a sign of the failure of our medical profession.
But I would never agree to admit that we have failed utterly.We were just beaten in the first round.On that day, on the evening of August 20th, when I burned the body of my wife—mother to you—I swore to myself that I would take revenge on the catastrophe that flew over—the disaster that completely destroyed our lives and our city. avenge.
After that, long and difficult times passed, and the battle was still fruitless.You may still vaguely remember that when we were standing still, leukemia, cancer, keloid, cataract and other diseases continued to show their hideous faces.
On that day, the demonic destructive power destroyed our lives and cities. Not only was the destructiveness instantaneous, it was said that 20,000 to 30,000 large amounts of radioactive energy were shot out at the center of the explosion. This is a disaster that humans have never experienced.Terrible "death dust" spread all over Hiroshima. If this "death dust" is inhaled by the human body, it will be deposited in the bones and endanger people's lives.
Patients who suffered from emergencies after the explosion sometimes miraculously recovered all at once.However, the many symptoms named "atomic diseases" are still lurking in the human body, and after several years, they will erode the human body from the inside of the bone marrow.Those who survived the critical situation and chose their lives will have to fight hard for a long time against various diseases caused by the terrible radiation.
Since this medical treatment is a secret of the U.S. military, our research work has serious obstacles to military secrets, so we have been under great pressure.Our medical organization has fought tirelessly against an overwhelming enemy with great indignation.Now that I am writing to you, I deeply feel that the superior enemy and the poor research conditions cannot overwhelm me.I am convinced that no matter how powerful and superior the enemy may be, as long as we study persistently for a long time, there will always be a chance to overwhelm the opponent's superiority.But, foolishly, I was so absorbed in the fight that I forgot that I was already a poor victim in the hands of the enemy.
I was once a "captive" of the enemy, and my life was "bailed" only by using a large amount of emergency medicine as a "guarantee".Once the "bond" ran out, I became a poor "defendant" with bail canceled.Still, I fought like hell.It may be that my obstinate attitude (so it seemed to the enemy) irritated them.I have recovered; but lately my symptoms seem to be coming back and getting worse.Severe vomiting and anemia made me extremely distressed.The white blood cells increased sharply again, which is a typical symptom of leukemia.
My days on earth are not many.Right now, life is just dragging on day by day with chemotherapy.It won't be long before my "bail period" is cancelled.
Shuhei, I'm so sorry.For this terrible "atomic disease" with leukemia as the main symptom, as a doctor, he was unable to fight back, and even became a victim and fell into the enemy's hands.If you let me live for another ten years, no, five years is fine, one year, one month is fine, but...
我虽然被击败了，但并不承认自己是在鲁莽从事，报仇不成，把命也搭上了。总有一天，在我们广岛医务工作者的不屈不挠的努力下，将会把“原子病”这个强大的敌人制服。这是广岛在世的医生的义务。
修平，你将来会选择什么职业，走怎样的道路，我没有权利强制你。但是，如果你继承我的遗志，也当上医生的话，能继续同夺去你父亲生命的白血病进行斗争，作为父亲，没有比此更为高兴的了。
尽管我们齐心努力，但对“原子病”的治疗几乎是束手无策的。尤其是对危害性最大的白血病，与癌症一样，无法预防，也没有特效药可以治疗。原来这种疾病是在投原子弹前一百年左右，被人们发现的。那时是属于极少见的疾病，但在原子弹爆炸以后，大量出现了。这深为人们成重视。而治疗的方法，目前唯一只有用化学疗法来延宕垂危的生命。
关于人们受到原子弹爆炸以后造血机能破坏的机理，我们一无所知。要解开白血病之谜，面前还横着好几道壁垒。一心想要你继承我的遗志，当个医生，也许是一个亲人的自私心理。所以，我决没有强迫你的意思，当你在读这封信——也是父亲的遗书的时候，心里一定会十分沉重吧。
但我还是要告诉你。或许你也会同我一样成为一个“保释者”。想到这里，真使我不寒而栗。幸好，在原子弹爆炸的当口，你正在坚固的遮挡物后面，甚至没有受什么伤。这以后，我又对你进行了仔细的全身检查，并没有发现什么可疑的症状。但是，这并不能使我坦然释疑。对原爆症是不能等闲视之的，你一定会感到恐怖害怕吧。不过，下面写的更使人颤栗。你别怕，希望你有勇气读下去。
在原子弹爆炸的一瞬间，释放出三万伦这样大量的放射能（致人死亡的能量只要六百至八百伦就绰绰有余了）。这种放射能侵入人的骨髓，随时都可能伺机捣乱。再看一下白血病的发病率和原子弹爆炸距离之间的关系吧。处在爆炸中心周围二公里内的人，过了一段时期发病的，其中患慢性白血病的人占多数。你曾受到多少程度放射线的侵入，在体内积存多少，这还不知道。但，这可能决定你今后的命运。或许是我做医生的多余的担心，（但愿如此！）或许你已经到了无法阅读这封信的严重程度了。你视在终于还能看到这封信，这是有双重意义的，我非常高兴。
然而，我既是一个父亲，更是一个医生，从你当时与爆炸中心的距离和情况判断，对你今后生命的期限有多少，是无法很乐观地估计的。你也可能是个“保释者”。由于敌人的作祟，在世上，也是个行色匆匆的过客，逗留时间不会太长，而且大限一到，无法延续片刻的。我写来也感到痛苦万分，也许是过于悲观了。
面对自己的儿子，我这么个父亲、这么个医师，竟无法给你任何帮助。我虽然力量微薄，但在保释期间，竭尽全力筑起医学上的屏障，让你安居其中。倘若你在这基础上再能筑起更新的屏障，或者能找到更好的护身办法来免遭敌人杀害，我绝不想让你受原子病之苦死去。既然告诉了你这些情况，这以后的一切，全由你自己去考虑吧。但研究白血病这个课题，对一个医学界的新手来说，并不是花毕生心血会取得成功的。选上了这个课题，也许会失去当一个医生能取得成功的机会。
但是，我的修平呵，我在世之时，还想对你说些心里话。你的一生并不是一般人的一生。你本来就不属于这世上的人，只不过是在短短的一段时间里，允许你在这世上逗留的一个过客。你也没有精力像一般人那样谋取荣誉和利益。这样想就会心平气和了。
一个父亲要对唯一的儿子说这些话，使我肝肠痛断，但为了不至于使你浪费原本有限的宝贵时间，决心毫无顾忌地把真相全部告诉你。以后的一切就由你自己去选择吧。你也可以不走我所走的道路。不过，作为一个父亲期望你的是，要牢牢记住这样空前的惨剧，在一瞬间毁灭了我们的幸福和所存的一切。更悲惨的是，这还在不断残害我们，直至将来。带来这么残忍的大屠杀和灾祸的却是我们的同类，他们也无法估量到有如此惨烈的后果。为了使这巨大的灾难不再重演，有很多人在不懈地努力，不管这力量是多么微薄，希望你也能加入到这个行列中去。
我要告诉你的话，你要牢牢记住。如果你准备接过我未竞的事业，一定需要不少的学费。除了白鸟九轩街的房屋地产外，市里还有一些土地，挂在你母亲名下，在郊区还留下一点儿山林地。把这些都卖掉，大概总能维持你的生活费和学费了吧。和男叔叔是我指定他作为你的法定保护人，望你有事和他多商量。
你接替我的事业后，为了让你多少有点儿参考，我把所有的研究情况都留给你。这是我在原子弹爆炸以后，诊断治疗了大约六千个残存者，总结归纳的资料。由于驻日美军司令部以保护原子弹机密为理由，这些论文都受到压制未能在学术界发表。我相信，这对你的研究一定能助一臂之力。
夜深了，我头痛欲裂。不久，我在世上逗留的期限大概就要到了。写这封信的时候，你在我身边睡得很安稳。要是在昔日，你妈妈一定也在你的身旁。但，在这茫茫世界里，我们不在你身边。你不要悲伤，更不要感到孤单。我不想说什么我们的灵魂与你同在之类安慰你的宽心话。反正，前程总是要你自己去闯的。父母只是在一个人生命的起点这段时间里在他一旁，幼年时代自己一个人没法行动，才给于他帮助，指导他迈步。具有行走能力以后，早晚就会放开他，让他独立行走。比起世上的人来，你自己跨步，是稍微早了点儿。你现在已经有了自立的能力。且你也并不是孤单一人。以后你和男叔叔将代替我，来和你一起往前走。也许，现在我已经没有必要对你说这些了。读这封信的时候，你已经完全具有独立生活的能力了。
做父亲的将会高兴地看到你是怎样独立生活的。
昭和二十四年四月三十日
深夜一点十三分
修平将父亲的信一字一句全都铭记在心。自从父亲去世，修平就被他父亲的弟弟秋田和男接走了。在他接到高中录取通知的这一天，和男叔叔把这封遗书交给了他。信上写着四月三十日，正是秋田的父亲去世前一星期左右写的。修平一直不知道父亲还给他留下了一份遗书。父亲把这封信交给秋田和男，请他在修平考进高中这一天启封。和男叔叔遵照父亲的遗愿，在身边保存了五年之久，才把信交给修平。
这是一个医生竭力抑制着自己的感情，以冷静理智的文笔写的。但字里行间浸透了一个作父亲的泪水。修平读着读着，不由得热泪潸潸，不得不好几次拭去簌簌落下的泪珠。
父来尽管约束他自己，不想将个人意愿强加在孩子的身上，但作父母的又怕孩子的体内潜伏着病因，考虑到自己死后，也能尽一份力量保护孩子。
这封遗书，促使修平投考了医科大学。他和那些无拘无束、逍遥快乐的学生不同。他是抱着“为亲人复仇”的心情，立志学医的。在学医的过程中，才认识到父亲留下的研究工作是多么的了不起。父亲尽管患了原子病，在死亡阴影的笼罩下，处于当局逼迫和物质匮乏的条件下，绝望中不停地战斗，还在周身疲乏无力和头痛欲裂的折磨下，竟为六千个患者进行诊断治疗。这在体力上要付出多大的代价呀！
当初，是美国把原子弹这一巨大怪物从禁锢中释放了出来，但就连他们自己的国家也没有掌握原子病的病理。
虽然也发觉在受害中患白血病的人相当多，可是在医学理论上也没能找到这两者之间的关系。面对放射病这个称为“看不见的杀人者”，医生们完全是在暗地里摸索。这样，父亲就在这六千受害者的临床观察中，总结出《论广岛原子病患者中的白血病发病率与爆炸中心距离的关系》这一篇重要论文。顶着某种压力和学术界的偏见，有力地论证了原子病中的白血病是由于放射能的关系。骨髓中白血球急骤增加，不断诱发各种病症。父亲在这种情况下，还为病人耗尽了生命。修平由此见到了一个白衣使者的神圣事业。于是，他决心走他父亲未走完的路。
从东都大学医学系毕业以后，秋田进了日本劳灾协会。为了探索职业病的奥秘，将白血病作为自己一生的研究课题。他并不满足于闭门研究，而是一面为现在的病人治疗，同时开始攀登起陡峭得几乎无法上去的山峰，要攻克与癌症同样无法治愈的绝症——白血病。
登山的路当然一条也没有，现实生活中的患者就是前进的路标。而且有父亲留下的脚印给他引路。正当他在这茫茫的大山里摸索攀登的时候，一天，父亲为之担心的预言突然应验了。由于持续不退的低热，使秋田有些担心，抽验了自己的血液，竟发现白血球显著增加。他知道自己患了“骨髄性白血病”。并诊断他自己逗留世间的期限为“多则三年半，少则两年”。
“果然不出父亲所料，在这世上我不过是个行色匆匆的过客。”秋田目光暗淡，心乱如麻，默默地想着。这天，正好是旗野邀他去大丸温泉。
“倘若我的诊断无误，留给我的时间还有三年，最多再加上六个月左右的时间。真想多活些日子，哪怕再多给我两个月，在父亲的论文基础上，我的一篇关干《放射能后遗症研究》的论文也就可以完成了。”秋田想。
但是，现在单身一人是无法通过这冰封的岩石突出处下山的。食粮告罄，剩下的只有一针营养剂。单凭它来支撑本就虚弱的身体，能维持到来人救援吗？何况这期问还不知道有多长呢？自己来到这里，只有大西知道，在山脚下也没有作登山登记。他要是不来，其他方面是不可能来救援的。
“大西，你快来呀！”
“他一定会来的，一定会来的！”
秋田尽力不让那吐着微弱火舌的火堆完全熄灭，在睡袋里蜷缩着冻僵的身子，将身子贴近那火势微弱的火堆。
山上的第二个夜晚又来临了。
“秋田！喂——秋田！你要坚持下去！”
远处像有人在呼喊。这声音宛如从一台破旧的电话机里传来似的，时断时续，忽高忽低，突然又很清晰地传进了他的耳膜。
秋田仿佛身子沉在水底，透过晃动的水层，映入眼帘的外界事物，也都随波摇荡，水波终于渐渐地平静了。透过平静如镜的水层，看到了一双洋溢着温暖明亮的眼睛，又渐渐现出了大西的面孔。
"Daxi!"
“你醒过来了，太好了！”脸色紧张得煞白的大西，这才露出了笑容。
“你来了呀！”
“来，先喝这个。”他从暖水壶里倒出了热牛奶，又说：“不能马上吃东西，吃了会吐的。”说着，大西赶紧从口袋里掏出一两片维生素片剂和一些饼干来。看着秋田狼吞虎咽地吃下这些营养丰富的食品，他说：
“真叫我担心哪！又是这么大的风雪。”
“天气好转了吗？”
“哪儿啊，跟着又是一个低气压来临了。”
从窗口射进温暖的光亮，这是从云缝中透出的一束光柱。由于低气压的出现，打乱了原来西面是高气压、东面是低气压的局面，天气有时有好转的征兆。但用不了多久，只要完全置于低气压圈内，山里又要起大风暴。
“总算给你爬上来了。”
“真累死人。你就更不容易啦，现在好了。”
从大西的表情中可以#出，他也十分劳累，明显地消瘦了。
现在是下午一点，大西一心为了救我，冒着恶劣的气候和随时可能发生雪崩的危险，从大清早开始登攀这海拔三千米高的山峰。秋田知道，这是件多么艰苦而又危险的事儿啊。
“你能行动吗？”
“让我试试看。”
“稍为用点儿力坚持一下，下山去，这一路上净是绊脚的石块。来，紧紧地抓住我。”
秋田喝下了热咖啡，吃了点儿饼干，觉得略略恢复了一些元气。时间很紧迫，得赶快离开这儿下山去。大西把秋田背在自己宽厚的背上，站了起来。
“好，咱们走！”大西仿佛对背上的秋田发命令似的说。
门一打开，狂风迎面扑来。虽说天气刚有好转，但面前是乱云飞腾，北面高山拥着巨大的云层，八岳山顶庄雾嶂云海之中，从云层中刮来了饱含水份的雨雾。最险的是山顶，笔直往下，十分陡峭，爬行在狂风和冰雪覆盖得严严实实的岩石上，一不留神，就很容易失去平衡，何况身上又背着一百来斤重的秋田。现在真是“同生死，共命运”了，大西只要举手投足间稍有疏忽，那就两人一起完蛋。就像两人用一根绳拴着，在独木桥上行走一般。这就是登山伙伴之间密切的关系。
“大西，路没走错吧？”背上的秋田忽然对大西说。
“不，没错儿。从这里朝下面那座修行人住的小屋走去，是最近的路。”
大西不走来的那条真教寺山脊的山路向南峰下去，而是踅入右侧的山路。修行人的小屋正好在八岳山的主峰中间，和清里遥遥相对。在八岳山最深的山坳里，小屋经常有人。确实，到小屋的路倒不长，但再到山脚下，不像清里那样有铁路。从那儿到有车可乘的地方，必须走一段路，还要穿过原野。
秋田觉得十分奇怪，可是被大西背着，也无法自己选择，只得任他去走了。但大西却满不在乎地回答了秋田的问题。
“往清里那头下山，试验所就让你全看见了嘛。”他边谨慎地跨出一步，淡淡地一笑回答说。这笑声和先前看到秋田苏醒过来时的笑声完全不同。这淡淡的一笑，是在救援朋友时也不忘保守试验所机密的精明的笑声。这笑声也告诉人：“友情上负的债”，此时也算两讫了。
Notes:
Notes: