A Thousand Cranes

I'm in a good mood. :]

It's been while since I smiled while typing a blog post. I should really be finishing up the citations on my proposal right now, but I don't really care. I'm happy!

I'm happy because I'm finally freed. 

I am happy because I am not trying to be strong anymore, 

I am strong. At least for now.

So I decided to blog about the SP Theatre Compass piece I watched last night. It's called A Thousand Cranes. It was piece about the attack of the atomic bomb in Hiroshima and the lives it took and is still taking away because of the radioactive waves left behind by the bomb. I used to think they deserved it for being such greedy assholes, trying to rule the world and all. But now, I think otherwise. 

"The bombs are still falling today..."

A Thousand Cranes is about a girl called Sadako Sasaki. She was an excellent athlete until one day leukemia (a disease that was caused by the radioactive waves of the bomb) shattered her dreams. At her hospital bed, she was reminded by her friend about a saying, "If a sick person folds a thousand cranes, the Gods will grant her any wish!" So Sadako folded as many cranes as she could but she passed away before she could finish them...

So what could this girl wish for? If I was in her shoes, I would selfishly wished that I would recover and be able to run inter-school races again. But this girl did not wish for that... 

She wished that the bomb did not blow her grandmother away and that her grandmother would live again. She wished that the bomb never fell. For when it fell, it did not just attack those who were there.

After Sadako's death, her classmates helped her finish 1000 cranes. 

I believe the reason why I could relate to this piece so much is because I have been to the Nagasaki Peace Park during one of my geography exchange programs in secondary school. Nagasaki was the second place to be bombed by the US Military after Hiroshima. When I went there, I was given the honor to listen to the story of a atomic bomb survivor from an actual survivor. He was deaf in one ear and is suffering from leukemia. I remember feeling depressed that day as I visited the atomic bomb museum and saw the structure of the atomic bomb and the changes in shapes of daily objects after the bombing. Glass and cups were melted, any object that comes into contact of the radioactive waves could reach 1000 degrees. 

In Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park, a statue was built in memories of Sadako and the other children that died from the effects of the atomic bomb. Below the statue was a plague that reads:

"This is our cry. This is our prayer. Peace in the world."

I like how I was fully immersed in the play while watching it. My heart goes out to all those who have suffered from the effects of the bomb. Especially to the survivors who are still struggling from the effects because on their side, the war has not ended yet.