Autumn Gardening

            
             The dust cleared presenting a scene of mass destruction. Debris and piles of concreted replaced the once powerful city of Hiroshima. In the story "Autumn Gardening" by Siu Wai Anderson, the main character Mariko is battling with her emotions from her devastating experience back in Hiroshima, Japan. The image of the demolished city of Hiroshima in wake of the atomic bomb helps me to grasps the emotions and thoughts running through Mariko's mind about that tragic day in her life.
             Mariko was considered lucky to one of the hibakusha, survivors of the attack on Hiroshima. That day, which has stayed imprinted in the back of her mind, has left Mariko with many scars. Some of these scars are physical such as the ones on her face caused by shards of glass, and others are psychological such as the anxiety attacks which have often plagued her. The photograph taken by Shunkichi Kikuchi of the aftermath of the bombing of Hiroshima shows the mass destruction caused by the Bomb and stays as a constant reminder of the potential of human power and destruction. It only took one glance for this eerie image to be imprinted in the back of my mind. The thought of seeing this powerful image in person sends a chill down my spine. The effects it has on Mariko now seem reasonable for the situation in which she experienced.
             Mariko's inability to deal with her past has greatly affected her life. She is now unable to hold a relationship and blames it on her facial scars. But her friend Mitsuye is able to deal with the situation. She is in a support group and is going to speak about the event on television. This just shows how the same event can mean different things to different people. The picture shows me the power humans have and the respect we must show to each other in order to avoid an event similar to this or even worse. From reading the story I feel that Mitsuye has similar ideas that I do because of her willingness to speak in public about the bombing.