Reading response to excerpt from Michihiko Hachiya's "Hiroshima Diary"
...ording to Hachiya, the day seemed like any other, winding down in his living room after a long shift. Suddenly a brilliant light flashed across the horizon, and the house seemed to decay around him. His clothes unraveled from his body, and wounds appeared where there was no immediate pain. Despite his own body being covered in blood and debris, Hachiya thought first of his wife and her welfare. This selfless act reveals the true colors of human nature in a seemingly hopeless situation. Seconds after vacating their house, it began to crumble into nothingness along with the remaining houses on the street. Hachiya writes, “Our home was gone; we were wounded and needed treatment; and after all it was my duty to be with my staff.” He set his mind on his destination, the hospital, and fought his way through the desolate landscape filled with mangled bodies. His own wounds aside, Hachiya immediately attended to the needs of those around h...