|
Cuttlefish -> RE: Small Ship, Big War (6/19/2007 3:06:29 AM)
|
November 20, 1942
Location: Kwajalein
Course: Docked
Attached to: TF 72
Mission: Air Combat
System Damage: 2
Float Damage: 0
Fires: 0
Fuel: 475
Orders: Await further orders.
---
Rumors are not the only thing that has arrived at Kwajalein with the return of the fleet. Two sacks of mail earmarked for the Hibiki have arrived at the base, and in due course they reach the ship. One by one the officers and men of the Hibiki receive their mail and go off to find some place quiet to read it. For a short time the war is forgotten as every man eagerly opens his mail and reads the words from home.
The letters bear news of births, of children growing up, of parents growing older, and many other ordinary subjects. To the sailors aboard the Hibiki it is good to be reminded that life has in fact continued apart from the war, that back in Japan things are continuing much as they have always done. There is good news and bad, but all of it is eagerly read.
Perhaps no three letters have more of an effect on their recipients than three letters that arrive from Nanami Shun. The first letter is for her father. Chief Petty Officer Shun reads the letter, and the deep lines on his face grow even deeper as he does so. When he is done he carefully folds up the letter and puts it away with the other letters from his daughter, then asks for and is granted permission to go ashore. There he proceeds to get quite drunk.
The second letter is addressed to Captain Ishii. Ishii has known Shun and his family for many years, but he is still surprised to receive the letter. He opens it and reads Nanami’s letter, which is written in a firm but elegant style. When he is done he sets the letter down on his desk, then sighs unhappily and rubs his eyes with the thumb and forefinger of his right hand.
The third letter is addressed to Riku. It is at the bottom of a stack of mostly business correspondence, and is discreetly labeled only as being from Okinawa. Riku picks it up curiously, then his eyes widen. Something, some lingering scent somehow clinging to the letter perhaps, tells him who it is from.
As he stares at the letter his hand begins to tremble slightly. He stares at the letter for a long moment, and then his hands move to open it. With an effort of will he forces himself to stop. He takes a long, deep breath and then does the hardest thing he has even done in his life. He thrusts the letter, still unopened, into his pocket and bolts out of the bunkroom.
---
He finally tracks Taiki down near the aft torpedo hoist. Taiki is sitting in the sun reading a letter from his brother. As involved as he is in the letter, Taiki takes one look at Riku’s pale, strained face as he approaches, then folds the letter and stands up. Riku walks swiftly up and comes to attention.
“Petty Officer Takahashi,” he says in a hoarse voice, “may I make a request?”
“Certainly,” says Taiki. “Please, go on.” Riku removes the letter from his pocket and hands it to Taiki. Taiki examines it for a moment and then his eyes widen in surprise. He looks up at Riku.
“This is from…” he begins. Riku nods.
“Yes,” he says. “It is from her.” He stresses the last word. Taiki knows that his oath to Chief Petty Officer Shun prevents Riku from speaking her name, but there is no doubt who he means. He examines the letter again, turning it over in his hands.
“You haven’t opened it,” he says. Riku makes a helpless gesture.
“Taiki-san,” he says, in his stress forgetting formal address, “I can’t! By my oath, I can’t. I know my ancestors witnessed that oath. If I break it…” His voice trails off. Taiki nods sympathetically.
“What are you going to do?” he asks. Riku indicates the letter.
“Take the letter, please. If I keep it…well, I won’t be able to resist opening it, I know I won’t. Keep it somewhere safe, and maybe someday I can read it. Please, Taiki-san. You are the only one I can trust with this.”
Taiki takes the letter and places it carefully in his pocket. Then he claps Riku on the shoulder and looks into his eyes.
“I will keep it safe,” he says. “And when the right day comes I will give it back to you.”
“Thank you, T…Petty Officer Takahashi,” Riku says. He sighs, then turns and trudges away. Taiki watches him depart, then takes out Nanami’s letter and looks at it again for a moment. What a remarkable thing, he thinks. Not only Riku’s restraint, but the letter itself. Until the day when it is finally opened and read, it remains a mystery of almost endless potential. It could say almost anything. He hopes that Riku does not drive himself half mad thinking about it too much.
He puts the letter back in his pocket, then takes out his own letter and sits back down to continue reading it.
|
|
|
|
