Alone, part 4

The next few days are a blur. People come and go, the young coming for the old, the older coming for the younger. I wait for Akio's face, for Sachi's (the name for my mother), for my brothers Juro and Yoite, my elder sister Harue, even my little sister Jin. For days no one appears. I'm not worried about my brothers, Sachi, or Akio, they're all strong and can fend for themselves. But Harue is delicate, and Jin is so tender. Harue is 16, and many boys would be more than willing to help her. But Jin is shy, afarid of strangers, and is only 2 years old. Juro and Yiote would find each other, being twins, both 8. Inthe early hours of my fourth day in the hospital, I wake to a childs cry. "No, I want my Sachi, I want my Akio. No, no, no!" Is my sleep fogged brain confusing me, or could that really be little Jin? I sit up in bed, and look towards the voice. It is true! I leap out of bed and rush to her. "Jin, little sister." She reaches out to me and clings like a monkey. "Chou, where is Sachi and Akio?" I hold her close, wondering how she is to grasp the reality I have come to accept- that they are all dead. "You will see them later, one day, I promise." This will be true, for we will all go to the same place when we die. I lay her down on my cot, telling her to rest. She clings to my hand in her sleep. I brush the hair out of her eyes, kiss her forehead, and go to get her some tea and rice. No doubt she is hungrey. I must protect her. I am her mother now, her Sachi, because she has no other.