Apricot tree

Haruto had gone out for a moment to calm down. He had dreamed of Sachie in a time he considered peaceful and happy. Himawari had turned two months old, and his older daughter was fascinated by the idea of staying by her mother's side helping.

Although she talked too much about her sister, she helped in her own way and knew how to behave. Tooru was in charge of the apothecary, and he was learning from some teachers who already had experience in foreign, modern medicine.

When he went to enter his home, he felt the floor move. He held onto a utility pole (he didn't see it as a bad idea at the time) so as not to fall. He watched in horror as his house collapsed, and unable to do anything, he could only wait for everything to end.

The earthquake lasted longer than he would have wished. After the dust settled, he could finally see the magnitude of the disaster.

Without worrying about himself or his surroundings, Haruto tried to remove some wood to rescue his family. He began to feel frustrated and cry when he saw that he couldn’t do anything. He heard Akiko's laments, who was begging for help. But he didn't hear Himawari.

Praying that nothing else would happen, he took courage and went to seek help, finding it almost immediately. He found Izumi going in the direction of the Apricot family house.

"Get help, Lieutenant!,” Haruto begged Izumi, who looked scared seeing him distressed. "Akiko and my daughter are trapped."

Without saying a word, Izumi changed direction. The help, although late in arriving, was useful. Izumi arrived with members of his platoon who helped to get Haruto's family out. Himawari was the first to be pulled out. She was unconscious, but, except for some scratches and her broken leg, she was in better condition than Akiko.

Thanks to the family's position and Himawari's engagement, they managed to get a place in the General Hospital, which, although cracked, was still safe. Chaos had already begun when the Apricot family arrived. Izumi left Haruto to take care of his own family. He had received instructions, during the trip to the hospital, to help the disaster victims.

It was almost 10:00 a.m. when Himawari finally woke up. There was no one there to attend to her, and she was already hungry. She felt a great terror when she felt the pain in her leg, and seeing it swollen from the wound, she burst into tears. She asked what had happened and why she was hurt, but no one listened to her.

"We are short of staff," Tsushima-sensei commented to Haruto, who was already impatient. Akiko was very serious. When he went to see Himawari, she was asking about her mom. She didn't understand what was happening. "Also, more and more patients are arriving."

"You know my daughter is Lieutenant Yanagi's fiancée," Haruto insisted. He believed that at least the engagement would serve to help his only daughter.

"Some members of the Diet have arrived at the hospital," said Tsushima-sensei. "And you know that includes members of the Kurogane family. We cannot attend to your daughter now."

After the General Hospital, the closest hospital was Mizutani Public Hospital. The problem was that it surely is more crowded and with peasants.

Nagoya. Haruto had the idea of finding a way to go to the city so his daughter could be treated. He left the hospital and went to the train station. For the first time, he saw the degree of destruction.

"Apricot-san, help me..." one of his neighbours, who was badly wounded, somehow reached him to ask for help. "My children are still trapped."

"No... I can't..." replied Haruto, who looked more distressed, scared, seeing the situation around him.

"Please!" the neighbour beg, he was already dragging Haruto toward where help was needed.

Meanwhile, Sachie continued on her way to what was her old house. Her knees hurt, as did her feet, since her footwear was not for long distances. When she stopped to rest, she noticed the wounds she had. Her knees, stained with blood, and her torn kimono made her look for a way to heal herself.

If she herself couldn't heal, how could she heal others? Finding a well that was still working, she managed to clean her wounds, and with the ointment she had stolen, she managed to at least stop them from burning a little.

She regretted that the kimono she was wearing was already dirty and torn. All morning, she hadn't thought about Takumi. Will he be safe? She would think about him when the time came. First, she wanted to get home.

She got up and continued on her way, trying to ignore the injured, the people asking for help, but it was impossible. The chaos was too great to be ignored. She stopped when she heard a mother pleading for help.

She had managed to get out with her two-year-old son, but both were injured, and the mother begged for help. Sachie stopped to help. She cleaned the baby with water and healed the mother's superficial wounds.

"Please, help me find something to eat," the woman commented. "We haven't eaten in all day."

"Where is your husband?" Sachie asked.

"I don't know," replied the woman, who was still confused; it was noticeable that her wounds still hurt. "He left for work before dawn..."

Obliged and unwilling to abandon that woman, Sachie promised to find something for the three of them. It was hard for her to find food. Everything was destroyed, and people were trying to draw attention. Just like that mother, others were asking for help, and Sachie couldn't stop attending to the needs of others.

It felt like hours but Sachie finally returned to the woman who was still waiting for her in the same place. The food was scarce, which was distributed mostly to the mother and her son.

With the tranquility that Sachie finally managed to have after being busy all morning, she felt what true hunger was like. Out of whim, she had rejected gatherings of neighbours who tried to befriend her. She avoided certain foods they offered her. Now that she was truly hungry, she would have liked to eat a little of what those neighbours gave her.

Sachie said goodbye to the woman, wished her luck, and continued on her way. She no longer had medicines, she could no longer help the way she would like, but she still wanted to get home. She wanted to see her mother, to confirm that she was fine.