The Purple Heart (23 page)

Mr. Ito’s eyes glowed in
fury as he snapped back, “Leave my family out of this.”

“Oh no, we can’t. We do
know that they are Japanese spies but we figured if we removed the men, it
would simply leave women and children. They aren’t really much of a threat to
the United States. But I will say this for you, Mr. Ito, you are certainly the
most stubborn one. The other Japanese men have all confessed except for you but
like the others, you will submit.”

“My family and I are not
spies,” said Mr. Ito sternly. But he had not received any letters from his wife
and he was certain that she would write back, especially since he had already
sent her a letter. But maybe the letter was never sent or the letters meant for
him were not getting to him. Mr. Ito swallowed some spit for his parched throat
and wondered what lies were being told to his wife and children.

“Oh, before we end today’s
session, we actually do have a letter for you. We intercepted it when it was en
route to your home.” The interrogator slipped out a brown piece of paper folded
into thirds. “You understand, we had to read all letters from Japan but we
didn’t find anything but the truth in this letter for you.” The interrogator
held out the letter to a disbelieving Mr. Ito. “It’s from your parents
apparently.”

Mr. Ito looked up with a
stunned look and then looked down at the letter. He took the letter into his
hands and unfolded it carefully. His hands suddenly began to shake as his eyes
widened. The black ink brushed Japanese characters on the letter stared back at
him boldly and they started to rearrange themselves on the page to finally
read, “Spy!”

Mr. Ito quickly crumpled
the paper in his handcuffed hands and threw it to the floor as the lights went
out once more. The demons simply looked at him, circling him like a flock of
vultures circling their prey. They were displeased. They faded away and the
room was once again flooded in the dull fluorescent lighting. The interrogator
appeared in his usual place.

“Mr. Ito,” stated the
interrogator. Mr. Ito looked up, tired and panting.

“Mr. Ito, just to let you
know. Our armed forces are fighting overwhelming odds on both coasts. The
United States is taking heavy losses and the success at Pearl Harbor by the
Japanese navy crippled our own fleet more seriously than we have anticipated.
Mr. Ito, the Japanese have landed in California. They’ve taken over
California.”

Mr. Ito was stunned by the
news. He did not know what words to use and then he looked up with an
expression of incredulity. “You’re lying.”

“I wish I was…I really do.
And I also regret to inform you, that your family is dead,” said the
interrogator with an eerie sense of calmness.

Horror raced through Mr.
Ito as he heard that his family was dead but he doubted the interrogator’s
claim. “No, it’s not true. It’s all lies. You’re trying to trick me.”

“Mr. Ito, I’m sorry to have
to deliver this awful news to you but I felt you should at least know. We do
have some compassion. When the Japanese navy sailed along the coastline and
approached the harbor, your family raced into your boat to rendezvous with the
Japanese ships. But they had forgotten that you painted over the name of your
boat and the Japanese couldn’t tell that it was a Japanese boat. They
subsequently blew it up with your family in it.”

Mr. Ito brought his
handcuffed hands up to his eyes as they welled up in anguished tears. No, it
couldn’t be true. But the interrogator was right. He had painted over the name
of his boat. But this couldn’t be happening. His family couldn’t be dead. He
felt his insides crumble as a cold shiver stabbed his body. He felt bereft as
everything that he had lived for was gone and he was helpless to prevent it.
Mr. Ito let out a howl of anguish that echoed throughout the room. It shook the
very concrete walls of his prison as he collapsed into the chair.

His howl awakened Minami.
He had many nightmares, but that night they seemed exceptionally bad. Minami
rushed over to her parents’ bed. Mrs. Ito was already gently shaking her
husband to try to wake him from his nightmares, but to no avail. Minami knelt
by the side of the bed and faced her father, who was trembling, with his body
drenched in sweat. It had even soaked through to the mattress. Minami’s mother
quickly placed another blanket on her husband to keep him warm. She leaned up
against her husband and placed her head alongside his, trying to provide some
sense of comfort.

Minami felt helpless. It
pained her deeply to watch her father tortured by the nightmares. All Minami
could do was watch helplessly as her father went through his nightmarish
ordeal. Her mother whispered something into her husband’s ear and then kissed
him gently on his cheek.

Then Minami remembered
something Hiroshi said: “He can fight them without any more fear.”

A sudden realization came
to her, though she didn’t totally understand it herself. She snuck her hand
underneath the blanket and gripped one of her father’s hands. He squeezed back
firmly as she looked at him and calmly said, “Dad, fight back. Please fight
back, Dad. Mom is here. So are Miho, Yuka, Yoshi and me. We’re all here for
you, Dad, but you need to fight them, so that you can come back to us.”

Her father was still
trembling as she leaned to his ear and said with a determined tone, “Fight
them, Dad!”

Mr. Ito looked up about the
room as the walls shook. They reverberated with a voice that said, “Fight them,
Dad!”

Mr Ito’s expression
suddenly changed. There were no more tears, no more choking back on the mucous
in his throat. He heard it again and it was clear that time: “Fight them, Dad!”
Mr. Ito then leveled his gaze and looked at his expressionless interrogator.

“Did you hear that?” asked
Mr. Ito of the interrogator.

“No, I did not hear
anything.”

“That was my daughter’s
voice.”

“No, that was no one, Mr.
Ito. Your daughter is dead, along with everyone else in your family,” said the
interrogator.

“But I heard my daughter’s
voice. It was her voice.”

“What you heard were
ghosts, Mr. Ito.”

In an incredulous tone Mr.
Ito snapped back, “Ghosts? Are you saying that my family is now calling me back
from their watery graves?”

“No, I’m not saying that,”
the interrogator replied defensively.

“You’ve been in control of
me since Day One. Stripped me of my very senses, manipulated me, took away my
dignity, and my sense of truth with your lies. But surely, even if you wanted
me to believe that my family was dead, you’d never allow that voice to appear
like it just did. It would work against you, the lies you are trying to force
feed me. Maybe, maybe you’re not in control anymore?”

“No, Mr. Ito, I’m always in
control,” stated the interrogator but his tone sounded less confident.

“I don’t think you’re in
control anymore,” mocked Mr. Ito, growing confident.

“You’re wrong. We are your
source of the truth.”

“You’ve been filling me
with lies all this time! Manipulating me, making me believe what you wanted me to
believe so that I would confess to your fabricated accusations! You said it,
the truth is what you want it to be and they’re all lies!”

“No, you’re the one in
denial, Mr. Ito. You’re the one that needs to be told the truth.”

“No, I think you’re full of
shit. You’re the lie,” said Mr. Ito as he raised the handcuffs directly in
front of the interrogator’s face. “And these are lies as well,” and the
handcuffs suddenly vanished. Mr. Ito stared coldly into the eyes of his
interrogator. Mr. Ito stood up, which prompted the interrogator to stand up and
order Mr. Ito to sit back down.

Mr. Ito simply looked at
the interrogator and then he pointed down to his ankle restraints. “These are
lies too!” he exclaimed as the ankle restraints too disappeared.

“That’s enough! I order you
to get back into your seat to finish up your confess…”

“You mean this seat?” as
Mr. Ito spun around, picked up his seat and threw it toward the interrogator,
who ducked down. The chair flew across the small room into the mirror and
shattered it, revealing an empty room behind it. Mr. Ito then grabbed the right
edge of the steel table with his left hand and flung it away as it flew against
the wall.

Mr. Ito interrupted the
interrogator and simply asked, “What’s your name?”

The interrogator looked up
stupefied, cocked his head and didn’t answer.

Mr. Ito took a couple of
steps forward and asked the question again, “What’s your name?”

The interrogator stared
back at Mr. Ito and answered, “I don’t know.”

“You don’t know? Surely you
must have a name? Everyone has a name, wouldn’t you agree?”

The interrogator looked at
Mr. Ito and replied, “Yes.”

“Then what’s your name?”
asked Mr. Ito once more and before the interrogator could answer he said, “The
reason why you don’t have a name is because I never gave you one!”

The interrogator began to
interject when he slowly faded away.

Mr. Ito smiled and walked
slowly to the door and looked at the doorknob. “And this locked door is a lie.”
He opened the door to an awaiting ocean shoreline with the sounds of seagulls
in front of him. In the distance, he also saw his boat gently bobbing up and
down in the water, the
Mayumi
. Sitting on the stern of the boat, was a
large pelican that turned to him with its beady eyes. Mr. Ito didn’t look back,
but he inhaled the ocean smell that filled his nostrils. He walked through the
doorway, his posture tall and confident and allowed the door that lead to his
mental prison close behind him, forever.

“Mom,” whispered Minami.
Mrs. Ito also took notice as well and felt her husband’s shaking suddenly
subside. Mr. Ito’s breathing returned to normal, and the sweat on his face
started to slowly fade away. “Mom, look,” whispered Minami. Mrs. Ito peered
over her husband’s face and saw a faint smile. Minami felt the warmth come back
into her father’s hand as a sudden look of calm settled over him.

Minami slowly pulled her
hand away and brushed aside her hair. She looked up at her mother, who caressed
her father’s face. Minami whispered encouragingly to her mother, “I think he’s
going to be okay now. I think he fought them and won.”

In the months after Mr.
Ito’s quiet personal triumph over his inner demons, he showed a dramatic
transformation. His confidence shot up, his attention to his family was much
more apparent, and he even began to get his color back. He was starting to give
orders to his family again, which they welcomed. The Itos finally had their
father back. Though he yearned for the ocean and to be out in his fishing
trawler, he kept busy by sprucing up their space. With the help of Hiroshi,
they uninstalled the new window that Hiroshi had nailed in place, and with a
little resourcefulness and some well-placed nails, created a swing-out window.
When he swung out the window for his family to see, he beamed with pride as the
cool breeze came in. His family playfully gasped in awe at his new
accomplishment.

Minami took up a role as a
teacher’s assistant at the newly formed school for the children in the prison
camp. She needed something to pass her time and found she enjoyed teaching. Her
pupils were not-very-eager fifth graders, who had spent most of their time up
to now forming little groups and making mischief.

Hiroshi arrived before the
end of each of Minami’s two daily classes. In that short period of time, they would
steal a few moments alone together, giggling and kissing like any young couple
would.

Hiroshi busied himself as a
carpenter, along with other men. He could usually be seen on the roofs of
barracks, hammering away or on a ladder fixing a window. But what made Hiroshi
and his team of carpenters feel wanted was when they took on the project to
convert each barrack window into a swinging window, similar to the one in
Minami’s barrack. The air inside the barrack was usually stuffy and hot, but
the popular swing windows allowed welcomed breezes to enter freely. But there
was only so much work to do, and Hiroshi spent many of his days idle.

With many of the kids in
school, Hiroshi couldn’t play baseball with the children as often as he once
did. He had become not only the children’s baseball hero, but also their coach.
Even that novelty had started to wear off, and for the most part, Hiroshi was
glad. It was fun in the beginning to be the center of attention, but he longed
for his privacy. He preferred to spend his time alone with Minami, holding her,
kissing her, being intimate with her whenever they could find the time.

With little to do on the
prison camp, Hiroshi was becoming extremely restless and sometimes frustrated.
He had no choice but to accept his fate, but he would sometimes stare out into
the desert. He thought about climbing the fence and heading into the mountains
to take his chances. How difficult could it be? He asked himself. But he would
always brush this outlandish notion away. He couldn’t leave Minami.

He never expected to find a
woman like Minami in the prison camp. She was the surprise of his life and
found that with each passing day his love for her grew even more. If it weren’t
for her, his life on the prison camp would be a daily dread. She lifted his
spirits in the grueling and dulling environment. She was his last thought
before he went to sleep and his first thought upon waking up. But surely, they
were not destined to live out their lives on the prison camp. At least he hoped
not.

With limited choices and
little contact with the outside world, ways of satisfying natural wants and
desires were scarce. In the absence of opportunity, prisoners could only pursue
the basic necessities of human survival. Even getting to know their neighbors
became a reluctant need; there wasn’t much possibility of original
conversation. They all shared the same present, and they couldn’t talk about
the future when they couldn’t foresee any. The past was redundant since
everyone in the camp shared a similar past and reasons for coming to America.
Life on the prison camp had become a dull daily grind.

Hiroshi and Minami fell
into a regular routine. After dinner, they strolled along their usual path.
They talked about their day, which usually dwelled on the same topics. Silence
usually accompanied their strolls, but it wasn’t an awkward silence. Hiroshi
and Minami had grown comfortable with one another and were content simply
holding each other’s hands.

They had reached the corner
of the perimeter and usually, Hiroshi would walk Minami back to her barrack. It
was still early, and Hiroshi suggested that they walk a little longer. Minami
quietly agreed as they double backed toward the mess hall. Their steps were in
sync with one another, slow and deliberate as if they were stretching out time
for as long as they could.

It was another clear night.
The moon was bright and illuminated the shadowy structures spaced out along the
neat grid of the prison camp. The stars twinkled softly against the pitch blank
canvas like specks of luminescent white paint.

The couple approached the
darkened mess hall. It sat quietly like a sleeping, hulking giant resting after
a day of feeding the hungry masses.

“Minami?” asked Hiroshi as
he broke the silence.

“Mmm?”

“I know it’s been a while,
but I thought it would be nice to maybe do some stargazing.”

Minami squeezed his hand
gently and responded, “Mmm…I don’t know. I’m not sure if I want to walk all the
way over there.” She’d been avoiding the mess hall where she had been attacked.

“We wouldn’t be going over
there. I was referring to our own mess hall,” stated Hiroshi as he looked down
at Minami.

“
Our
mess hall?”
asked Minami.

“Yeah, it’ll be nice, I
promise. I think I remember some of the stars that should be out tonight.”

Minami placed both of her
hands around Hiroshi’s upper left arm, tugged on it gently and looked up, “Like
what?” she asked playfully.

“I think there is a swan
and maybe even a dolphin,” offered Hiroshi as he felt confident that she would
say yes.

“I’d like that,” replied
Minami.

They walked to the mess
hall and came to one side of the wall. Hiroshi removed the ladder from
underneath the mess hall and propped it up against the wall. He quickly climbed
up the ladder as his breathing quickened a bit. Minami followed him up and he
gently hoisted her over the ladder and onto the rooftop.

Hiroshi reached out for her
hand and she slipped it into his as they gently walked up the roof’s gentle
slope. Minami noticed that Hiroshi had already planned the evening out: A blanket
had already been draped over a spot on the roof. Minami carefully spun around
and smoothed out her dress as she sat down onto the blanket. He then sat down
beside her and let out a long exhale, which Minami noted.

Hiroshi searched the night
sky and pointed out the stars that made up the constellation Cygnus. Minami watched,
as each star seemed to twinkle with each touch of his fingertip. It was almost
magical. Minami didn’t realize how much she had missed stargazing with him, and
was glad that Hiroshi had asked her to go. “That’s the swan that I told you
about.”

“Mmm… she’s beautiful,”
remarked Minami with a grin on her face.

As she mentally connected
the starry dots in her mind to bring out the swan from the night sky, Hiroshi
once again scanned the night and squinted a few times. His face was a little
contorted until it relaxed into a smile and he pointed once again to another
grouping of faint stars. Minami’s attention was diverted to his fingertips once
more as he highlighted the stars that made up the constellation Delphinus,
“That’s the dolphin I believe–it’s kind of faint tonight.”

Minami squinted as she made
out the dolphin and smiled once more. She looked over at Hiroshi and spoke. “I
learned a constellation too.”

Hiroshi looked over to her
in surprise and asked, “You did?”

“Uh-huh,” replied Minami
with a playful grin. “Now where is it?” said Minami as she looked up into the
night sky. She hesitated, as she had never actually seen the constellation. She
happened upon a book on stars in the school one morning and it reminded her of
stargazing with Hiroshi. As she flipped through the numerous constellations,
she found one constellation that brought a smile to her face. That night, she
would be the star chaser and show him her favorite constellation.

“Which one is it? Maybe I
can help you find it,” said Hiroshi as he watched her scan the sky.

“I can do it, give me a
minute,” responded Minami as she bit her lip. She then smiled and said, “I
think I found it.”

She pointed to the right
and squinted as she pointed out each star. Hiroshi followed silently along
until she spoke, “That’s Aquarius.” Minami looked at Hiroshi, who was still
looking up and admired him. He looked back down and his eyes seemed to glisten
for a moment. “I’m impressed, Minami,” he said.

“Do you know why I like
Aquarius?” asked Minami.

“No, I do not.”

Minami offered a playful
grin and gently poked Hiroshi on his chest and said, “Because he reminds me of
you, and do you know why?”

Her statement bemused
Hiroshi and then his eyes lit up. Minami saw that he had figured it out and
began to say, “Because Aquarius is the…” but before she could finish, Hiroshi
blurted out in unison, “water boy.” They laughed together and their laughter
echoed into the night.

“Now I’m really impressed,”
said Hiroshi.

Minami gave Hiroshi a big
smile and replied, “I’m glad that you are.”

“You know, I can do
better,” offered Hiroshi with a hint of intrigue.

Minami’s attention was once
again pleasantly diverted and said, “Oh, you can?”

Hiroshi then rolled his
body over and straddled Minami’s upper thighs. Hiroshi then got up on his knees
as his clothing stretched taut along his body. Minami couldn’t help but admire
how his white T-shirt was pulled tightly across his broad chest. She followed
the T-shirt to where it was tightly tucked into his jeans that hugged his waist
and thighs. For a moment, his masculine frame aroused her as he looked into the
night sky.

Hiroshi selected a bright
star to his right and pointed to it. “Do you see that bright star?” asked
Hiroshi. Minami nodded her head and looked up at him. “Well, believe it or not,
I’m going to pluck that star right out of the sky and give it to you.”

“I’d like that,” said
Minami, enthralled.

Hiroshi smiled, turned his
head back up, and slowly reached into the sky toward the star. Minami watched
with anticipation as he pretended to tug at the star with the tips of his index
finger and thumb. Hiroshi started to breathe loud to give off the impression
that he was using all his might to coax the star out of its constellation. Minami
giggled at his feigned attempt. The star even seemed to glisten during the
struggle until finally it seemed to disappear. Hiroshi then cupped the captured
star with his other hand and slowly lowered his closed hands in front of
Minami. She played along and looked at Hiroshi’s hand in childlike wonderment.
He looked at her and smiled nervously.

He slowly unfolded his left
hand away from his right hand to reveal what at first was simply darkness.
Minami looked up with playful disappointment, but Hiroshi looked at her and
gestured with his eyes to look down once more. She played along, looking down
and focusing on the fingertips of his right hand when suddenly something
glistened brightly like a star. It was a momentarily flash of white light that
flared upward and then it receded, revealing its source, a diamond ring.

All of Minami’s senses went
immediately blank, as the realization of what was happening became clear.
This
couldn’t be real
, she thought. This couldn’t be happening, not now, not
here. But she blinked in disbelief and the ring glistened back, beckoning for
her attention. She brought her right hand to her mouth, letting out a gasp as
she looked into Hiroshi’s eyes. Then for a moment, her body went limp, and she
suddenly began sliding down the roof in between Hiroshi’s legs. Hiroshi’s eyes
lit up in alarm but he reacted swiftly.

He nimbly grabbed Minami
around the waist with his right arm, while still holding onto the ring. Minami
threw her hands around his neck and for a moment they just stayed that way,
motionless. Hiroshi gently eased Minami back to a seated position. She still
looked shocked as she settled back into place. There was still silence between
them with Minami in dumbfounded awe, and Hiroshi suddenly became nervous as he
searched for the words he wanted to say.

Hiroshi brought his hand
back into view as he held the ring in front of her. Minami stared at him with
trembling eyes.

“Minami…” started Hiroshi
with a slight quiver in his voice. “I never expected to meet you here. But once
I met you, I quickly found you to be the most beautiful woman I have ever met,
and I knew soon enough, you were the woman I wanted to spend the rest of my
life with. I have truly fallen in love with you.”

Hiroshi paused and took in
a deep breath and continued with a bit more confidence. “Minami, will you marry
me?” he asked as he extended his left hand.

Minami was still caught up
in the moment as such a wonderful man professed his love for her. She too had
also fallen in love with him, but it was the first time that Hiroshi told her
so. The proposal overwhelmed her. It was the last thing she expected while
being on the prison camp. But she delicately extended her left hand to his and
let the simple word “yes” tumble from her mouth. She watched nervously as he slid
the simple ring onto her ring finger and it glimmered when it was finally in
place.