The Ohana by CW Schutter Page A

“We must thank kami-sama .” For the first time since leaving Japan, she felt optimistic. They would have their own house with land to cultivate which would eventually be theirs. And, they would still have some money put aside. Kazuko was happy their association with Han would be a thing of the past.
     And although she still dreamed of Japan and the family she left behind, Kazuko thought perhaps they could make something of this life in Hawaii after all.

Chapter Nine
     
    Kohala: February, 1935
     
    When Tetsuo began coughing blood, Kazuko knew he was going to die. As she trudged along the dusty road with her scarf-covered head bent, she thought of how she felt an icy hand grip her heart when she saw blood spit out of him. “It's your bachi ,” the wind seemed to mock her as it whipped her threadbare cotton dress against her legs. A silent mist brought a light drizzle. Kazuko clenched a thin shawl around her shoulders with her calloused hands. She stopped for a moment to catch her breath. It was six miles to the hospital from their homestead. Each day the distance seemed longer.
    Tetsuo had been in the hospital for three weeks. She tried to visit him daily. Seeing him everyday made her believe she could forestall the inevitable.
    When she brought him to the hospital with the help of her neighbors, the doctors whispered and shook their heads. She didn’t have to understand the words because she could read their faces. To the doctors Tetsuo was just another patient. To her, Tetsuo was everything. She had left a world of luxury to create a life revolving entirely around him. Without him she felt she might go mad on this horrible island. But it looked as if he were going to leave her stranded in a tough world.
    A cold wind chilled her to the bone. She had sacrificed everything for the right to choose her own life and destiny. Now kami-sama was mocking her by leaving her with six children, huge debts, and too many lonely years ahead of her. It was her bachi .
    The fine mist turned to drops and the gray sky blackened. She heard running footsteps behind her. A small hand tugged at her shawl.
    “Mama.”
    Kazuko whirled around to face eleven-year-old Mariko who was flushed from exertion. Thick, unruly curls whipped wildly around her face and neck. “Mama, you must let me go with you. Please, I have to see Papa.”
    “You cannot, you must not…” She had yet to tell her children their father was dying.
    Mariko’s eyes widened. “I must see him before…” Mariko bit her lip.
    Kazuko realized she couldn’t protect her children forever. She nodded; they walked together in silence.
    The rain plastered Mariko’s unruly tendrils to her neck and cheeks. Kazuko took her hand and Mariko huddled closer.
    A car drove past them and stopped just ahead. As they walked past the car, a voice called from the window, “Kazuko san.” Han Chaul Roong peered out the window, a white straw hat on his head. “It’s raining. Let me take you where you want to go.”
    Although she had nursed his youngest son, Mark, alongside Mariko, Kazuko continued to feel hostility toward Han san and did not want him to witness their hardship. “It's most kind of you but—”
    “We'd love to have you drive us to the hospital,” Mariko interrupted. Kazuko looked at her disapprovingly. Mariko ignored her mother and grabbed hold of Kazuko’s elbow, marshalling her into the car. Mariko settled in and stared out the rain-streaked windows.
    Kazuko sat stiffly between Han and Mariko.
    “Who are you visiting at the hospital?” Han san smiled at Mariko.
    “Tetsuo,” Kazuko replied.
    “Tetsuo?” Han frowned. “Is he ill?”
    “He is,” Kazuko took out a handkerchief and began wiping the rain off her face.
    Mariko turned her head toward Han san. “He has tuberculosis.”
    Kazuko squeezed her daughter’s hand.
     “Mama, you don’t have to pretend any longer,” Mariko looked at her mother. There were tears in her eyes. “I was angry at first, but