A Lesson in Kindness

The last time I was in Japan, my cousin told me a story about her mom. Her mom is my mother's youngest surviving sister. She said that my aunt always told her and her siblings to never give up in life. No matter how bad things look, something may happen to turn it around.

To illustrate this my aunt related an incident that she remembered from their flight out of Korea back to Japan. My grandfather was a prisoner being used for labor in Siberia at the time and my grandmother, mother and her siblings were trudging back to Japan with a long trail of people. I've heard many stories of them eating locusts and seeing piles of dead bodies around them. My grandmother tried her best to keep her family together. However, at some point, that littlest sister was left behind.

My cousin told me that her mom at about 5 years of age realized that her family was gone and she sat down knowing that all was lost. She would not be able to survive without them. She anticipated her death with tears.

Then out of nowhere, a very old Korean man came up to her and told her to take a little bicycle he had to catch up with her family. What a glorious act of kindness that was because the Koreans hated the Japanese for occupying their country. Yet, this man saw beyond the hatred to care for this little girl. My aunt said that she rode the bicycle to catch up with her family who were happy to see her again. Therefore, my aunt told her children when she grew up, "Never give up. You can never tell what will happen next if you keep hope in your heart."

When I went to Hawaii, I told my mom and her two sisters this story. At first they were puzzled and then they all spoke at once. They remembered that day very well. They had all been so exhausted, hardly able to keep moving one foot in front of the other, starving. The disappearance of their little sister wasn't even noticed at the time. Then suddenly, they heard a young Korean teenager calling out, "Does this little girl belong to anyone?" They looked up tiredly and saw my little aunt riding on his handlebars happy to be back with her family again.

I told my cousin by e-mail what I learned from her mother's sisters and we marveled at how a five year old perceived the episode. The lesson remains the same, however. Whether an old man or a young teenager, it was an extraordinary act of kindness that saved the life of my beautiful, fearless aunt who keeps trying to pass on the message of perseverance and hope.

I have to smile because my daughter is married to a young man of Korean descent so I do have a half Korean/Japanese American granddaughter. We love our son-in-law and I know that despite the history between the two countries, my daughter is also loved by her Korean in-laws. Growing up in Hawaii, I was quite oblivious to the history that is the foundation we stand on. Now, however, I think it's important to learn from it and move on.