Chapter 20 between life and death

------------ between life and death ------------ This date should be September 1, 1923. , for me in the second grade of middle school, it is a heavy day. The day before the end of summer vacation, students are upset that they have to go to school again.The opening ceremony of the second semester will be held on this day. As soon as the opening ceremony was over, I went to Maruzen Bookstore in Kyobashi to buy Western books for my elder sister.But Maruzen Bookstore is not open yet.After running from a long distance, it didn't open the door, which made me even more upset.I had to wait until the afternoon to come back, and then went home.

The building of the Maruzen Bookstore was in ruins just two hours after I left.Photographs of its wreckage have attracted worldwide attention as a horrific example of the Great Kanto Earthquake. I can't think about what would happen to me if the Maruzen Bookstore was open when I went there.Even if it took less than two hours to find Western books for my sister, and even if I didn't get crushed to death in the Maruzen bookstore, it's hard to imagine the result when I was surrounded by the fire that burned the entire central Tokyo area. On the day of the great earthquake, there was no cloud in the morning, and the autumn sun was still scorching.The blue sky is blue and the sky is clear, which makes people feel refreshed in autumn.Around eleven o'clock, a gust of wind suddenly hit without any warning.The wind blew the weathervane I made off the roof.

I don't know what the relationship between the wind and the earthquake was, but I remember going up on the roof and reinstalling the weathervane and thinking, "What a weird day!" and looking up at the blue sky. Not long before this historically rare major earthquake, my friends and I walked across the street in front of our house. There is a pawn shop opposite my house. My friend and I squatted in the shade of the storeroom of the pawn shop and hit the red-haired Korean cow tied by the gate of my house with small stones. The owner of the neighbor opened a pig farm in Higashi Nakano, and the cows were used to pull leftovers for pigs.For unknown reasons, the owner of the house tied it up in the narrow alley between our two houses the night before.It growled all night and was very annoying.I was yelled at by it and didn't sleep well all night. When I saw it, I got angry and hit it with small stones.

At this time, a rumbling sound was heard. At that time, I was wearing thick-toothed wooden clogs, and I was throwing small stones at the cow. My body was swaying, and I didn't even notice that the ground was shaking.My friend stood up suddenly, and was about to ask him what he was doing when he saw the wall of the warehouse behind him collapse.That's when I realized it was an earthquake. I also stood up hastily.Wearing thick-toothed clogs, it is impossible to stand on the violently shaking ground.At this time, my friend hugged the electric pole in front of him in the posture of standing on a small sampan.I took off the clogs, ran over with both hands, and hugged the pole.

The telegraph pole also shook violently. Everything on the ground went crazy, the wires were torn apart, the warehouse of the pawnshop trembled violently, shaking off all the tiles on the roof, and the thick walls were also shaken down. A pair of wooden shelves.Not only the warehouses, but the roof tiles of all the houses swayed from side to side like chaff, shaking up and down, and fell down cracklingly. In a cloud of gray dust, the roof of the house was exposed.The traditional architecture is really good. Once the roof is lightened, the house will not collapse. I still remember, holding the electric pole and enduring the strong shaking, still thinking about it and admiring the superiority of Japanese architecture.However, this by no means means that I am calm and calm when things happen.

People are ridiculous. When they are overly frightened, a part of their minds will be divorced from reality, dreaming wildly, and appear very calm. Even though I was thinking about earthquakes and Japanese housing structures, the next moment I still thought of my relatives, so I ran home desperately. Half of the tiles on the top of my gate fell off, but it didn't tip over.However, the Yonglu stones from the gatehouse to the hall were completely buried by the roof tiles of the hatchback, and the lattice railings in the hall were all collapsed. Ah, all dead! At this time, I was not mainly sad about it, but inexplicably optimistic, standing in the yard and looking at the pile of rubble.

Then came the thought that I would be alone from now on.what to do?Thinking of this, I looked around. At this time, I saw that the friend who was with me holding the telephone pole just now, and his whole family who ran away from home were standing in the middle of the street. There is no way, I thought to myself, I'd better stay with them first.When I walked up to them, the friend's father was about to talk to me, but suddenly he kept silent, ignored me, and stared straight at my home.I looked back as if attracted by him, and saw my relatives walking out of the house one by one. It was like a dream before me.

The relatives who thought that all the relatives who died were safe and sound, it seems that they are worried about me instead, and seeing me running forward at a fast pace, they are all relieved.When I ran to my loved ones, I should have burst into tears, but I didn't. No, I can't cry. Because, when my brother saw me, he immediately reprimanded me loudly: "Xiao Ming! Look at you! You are so decent with bare feet!" When I saw it, it turned out that my father, mother, sister, and brother were all wearing clogs in a proper manner. I hastily put on my thick-toothed clogs, and I am deeply ashamed of them.Among the whole family, I was the only one who panicked.

In my opinion, the father, mother, and sister showed no signs of panic.As for my brother, rather than saying that he was very calm, it would be better to say that he regarded the earthquake as an interesting incident.