Michiko
was very excited about this week's
meeting of the Kindness Kids Club.
After all, she was finally going
to get to show her city to her
friends. She wished it weren't
for such a somber occasion, though.
Michiko looked at her watch and
saw that she was already late.
Taking a deep breath, she typed
in the Kindness Kids Club web
address. Suddenly she found herself
magically transported into Cyberspace,
where her friends were already
waiting.
"Michiko!"
they exclaimed, relieved that
she'd finally arrived in the misty,
multi-colored Cyberland they visited
each week. Michiko hesitated just
a moment, enjoying the mysteriously
magical feeling. After dozens
of Cyber-adventures, she thought
she'd be used to it all by now,
but every time they somehow materialized
together, it felt just as amazing
as the very first time. With an
excited giggle, she ran to her
friends.
After they'd hugged each other,
Ahmed, the Club Secretary, typed
a few keys on his laptop and declared,
"The Hiroshima Day meeting of
the Kindness Kids Club is officially
called to order."
"Did
everyone get a chance to make
peace cranes this week?" Michiko
asked.
The Kids showed her the brightly
colored origami paper cranes they'd
made, following the pattern in
the PDF-file she'd emailed everyone.
"It
was really hard…" José declared.
"But I made a million of them!"
he insisted.
"No
way, José!" the Kids exclaimed
together.
"OK,"
José smiled. "But I did make 8…"
"And
they look great, José!" Erin assured
him.
"Yes,
everyone did a great job!" Michiko
told them.
"But
what do these paper cranes have
to do with Hiroshima Day?" Sunanda
asked, and all of the other Kids
had the same question on their
mind.
"You'll
see when we get there…" Michiko
said. Then she handed Ahmed a
piece of paper. "Here's the web
address," she said softly.
Ahmed typed it onto the laptop,
and they found themselves whooshing
through the hyperlink to their
destination.
Chapter
2: Peace Memorial Park
The
Cyberhaze dissolved, and the Kids
found themselves standing in the
center of a large park with lots
of statues and monuments and fountains
and flowers and buildings.
"Welcome
to the Hiroshima Peace Memorial
Park!" Michiko said proudly. "I
came here a couple years ago for
a class trip," she said, looking
around. "Every year more than
a million people visit. Not just
school field trips like mine from
all over Japan, but tourists from
all around the world."
"I
wonder if anyone else has visited
by hopping a ride on a hyperlink
through Cyberspace?" Ahmed said
matter-of-factly.
The Kids all laughed, but he was
serious. He stayed up nights sometimes
wondering if there's was the only
Kindness Kids Club that traveled
this way.
The Kids were in awe; there was
a lot to take in! The first thing
that caught their attention was
an eerie domed skeleton-of-a-building
in the distance.
"That's
the A-Bomb Dome," Michiko said
softly. "It was near the place
where the bomb hit the ground
… they've left it how it was to
show the devastation that happened
to the city after the atomic bomb
fell."
The Kids were standing in front
of a large concrete arch-shaped
monument, through which they were
gazing at the domed building in
the distance. "This is the Memorial
Cenotaph," Michiko explained pointing
at the base of the arch where
flowers lined the top of another
structure.
"What's
a cen-o-taph?" Ling asked.
"It's
an empty tomb. It holds the names
of all the people who died after
the bomb fell."
"There
must be a lot names in there,"
Johnny said softly, remembering
what he'd learned in school about
World War II.
Michiko looked sadly at the ground.
"Yes, the A-bomb fell on August
6, 1945 killing 40 to 80,000 people
that day… And by the end of the
year about 140,000 men, women
and children had died from the
bomb's effects."
"And
three days later, the other nuclear
bomb that fell on Nagasaki killed
60 to 80,000 people…" Erin added
sadly, remembering what she'd
read at school.
Some of the Kids were no strangers
to the horrors of war, like Jamal
whose country had been fighting
a civil war for as long as he
could remember. But this was different,
somehow. ONE bomb had killed SO
MANY people and caused so much
pain and suffering!
"What's
that?" Sunanda asked after a moment
of quiet, pointing to a flame
that was also visible through
the opening of the arched monument.
"That's
the Peace Flame," Michiko said
as she looked up and saw where
her friend was pointing. "It has
been burning continuously since
1964, and it will keep going until
there are no more nuclear weapons
on the planet."
All the Kindness Kids thought
that the world would be a much
better place when that happened!
"They
should call this water encircling
the Memorial a Pond of Peace …"
Sunanda thought out loud as the
Kids quietly continued to think
about all they were seeing around
them.
Michiko laughed a little. "Actually
that's exactly what it is called!"
"Uh,
guys …" Erin gasped, when she
suddenly noticed there were people
standing all around them. "What's
going on?" The rest of the Kids
chimed the same question an instant
later.
"It
must be 8 o'clock," Michiko whispered.
"August 6 is A-Bomb Day in Japan,
and each year there is a very
special ceremony here at the Peace
Park." Michiko pointed towards
the front by the Memorial Cenotaph.
"That's the Mayor of our city
of Hiroshima," she said proudly.
"And that's the Prime Minister
of Japan!"
"We'd
better take a seat," Ahmed
said pointing to a bunch of empty
chairs. "It looks like they're
about to start."
The Kids watched and listened
attentively during the ceremony.
At 8:15 am, which they heard was
the time when the bomb fell, there
was a moment of silence for the
victims and for peace on earth.
Then it was time to ring the special
Peace Bell that is only rung on
this day each year. Someone representing
the families that had lost loved
ones rang it first. Then a child
was supposed to be chosen to represent
the children of the world. The
Kids couldn't believe it when
Michiko was chosen as the kid
to ring the special Peace Bell!
After that there were speeches
and songs and then peace doves
were released into the air.
When the doves had become just
tiny specks in the blue sky, the
Kids realized the crowd had disappeared
and they were standing in a different
part of the Park. They weren't
surprised at all. By now, they
knew to expect the unexpected
on their Kindness Kids Club adventures.
Now they were standing in front
of a line of six towering 16-foot
tall metal gates.
"Hey!"
Sunanda exclaimed pointing up
at one of the gates. "That says
'peace' in Hindi!"
"It
says 'peace' in Arabic over here!"
Ahmed called out, pointing up
at another gate further down the
line.
"Here
it is in Hebrew…" Sol laughed.
Michiko smiled. "The Peace Gates
have the word 'peace' inscribed
in 49 different languages!" she
told them.
Then Maya spotted a large bell
nearby and it reminded her about
the ceremony. "It must have been
nice to ring the Peace Bell, Michiko"
she said wistfully.
Michiko smiled proudly at the
memory, then saw where Maya was
looking. "That's another Peace
Bell here in the Park," she said.
"There are three all together.
Anyone can ring that one, anytime
of year."
As they got closer, the Kids saw
that on its surface was a map
of the world. All of the Kids
wanted to ring out their wish
for peace. And so they did, and
the Park was filled with loud,
melodious gongs of hope.
Chapter
3: Sadako and the Peace Crane
Nearby
there was a large monument that
looked like a bomb with a girl
standing on top with outstretched
arms, and a giant golden peace
crane rising above her. The Kids
were drawn towards it as they
listened to the last echoes of
the Peace Bell fade away.
"This
is the Children's Peace Monument,"
Michiko told them as they grew
closer. "It's my favorite thing
in the Park. That girl on top
up there represents Sadako. She
was two when the bomb fell, and
she survived. But she died from
radiation poisoning ten years
later, when she was 12 … my age…"
"She's
why we brought the origami cranes,
right?" Maya asked.
"Yes,"
Michiko told them. "There's a
beautiful story about how when
Sadako was sick with leukemia
in the hospital, she wanted to
make a thousand paper cranes…"
"Whoa!"
José gasped. "Eight was hard enough
… but a thousand … no way!"
"Yep,"
Michiko insisted. "Sadako had
heard about a legend that says
if you make a thousand paper cranes,
you'll be granted a wish…"
"So
it was a way for her to keep hopeful
while she was sick?" Ling asked.
"Exactly,"
Michiko said. "One version of
the story says that she'd only
made 646 cranes before she died…"
"So
her friends made the other 354
cranes!" Erin added, remembering
the story she'd read about the
paper cranes. (After Michiko had
sent the peace crane instructions
by email, she'd read all about
Sadako and the thousand cranes
on Wikipedia.)
"Exactly,"
Michiko said. "But that's not
all they did. The kids at her
school wanted to do something
huge for Sadako and for all of
the children who died because
of the atomic bomb. Something
that would last forever and continue
to inspire people to want to get
rid of all the nuclear weapons
in the world. They decided to
raise funds for this monument,
and kids from more than 3000 schools
all over Japan sent money to help
build it."
She pointed at an inscription
on the black marble slab at the
base of the monument, and translated
the Japanese words: "This is our
cry, this is our prayer: peace
in the world."
This was certainly the wish of
all of the Kindness Kids, too.
"Now, Sadako's story, and making
paper cranes, has become a symbol
of hope for peace and a nuclear-free
world," Michiko concluded. "And
people mail paper cranes here
to the Peace Park from all around
the world," she added, pointing
nearby, where the Kids saw thousands
of brightly colored paper cranes.
"But
we get to hand-deliver ours!"
Johnny beamed, and all of the
Kids took out their cranes.
"Technically
we're cyber-delivering them!"
Ahmed corrected, as they walked
over together. Each of the Kids
quietly said "May peace prevail
on earth," as they placed their
peace cranes with the others.
The Kids were feeling a little
sad, but a lot hopeful. Then Jamal
suddenly burst out nervously,
"Uh guys… look up there!"
They looked up at Sadako's statue.
The golden crane almost looked
like it was moving. They blinked
again and quickly realized it
was moving! The crane rose up
off of Sadako's outstretched arms
and then dove down straight towards
them.
Before the Kids even had a chance
to react, the golden peace crane
swooped down under them. But the
Kids weren't scared at all. Things
like this always happened in their
adventures, and they knew they
were in for some fun.
The Kindness Kids held on as the
golden crane lifted all ten of
them into the air and soared toward
a large building.
"Looks
like we're heading for the Peace
Memorial Museum," Michiko called
out over the roar of the wind
in their faces and the sounds
of their laughter and excited
giggles.
Sure enough, the crane circled
the large building a few times
and then whooshed through the
museum doors.
The Kids had, as José quickly
pointed out, 'a birds-eye view'
of the whole museum. The exhibits
and displays showed them all about
the city of Hiroshima before and
after the bombing, as well the
history and current efforts all
around the world to abolish nuclear
weapons.
Exhibits and displays can share
a lot of valuable information,
but the Peace Crane had its own
ideas about making the experience
a little more up-close and personal.
Chapter
4: Nuclear Bombs and Treaties
The
Kids were taking in an exhibit
about the Nuclear Proliferation
Treaty - an agreement, they read,
that 190 countries have signed
to stop the spread of nuclear
weapons, which went into effect
in 1970. That's when Ahmed noticed
something was happening on his
laptop. It looked like a website's
URL was being typed, but it was
all gibberish-characters that
didn't make sense. He didn't even
have enough time to warn the others,
before suddenly the Peace Crane
swooped them down into the hyperlink.
The Kids found themselves in a
deep, secure underground facility,
with thick lined walls and glaring
lights casting long eerie shadows.
All around there were carefully
arranged piles of dismantled bomb-parts.
Ahmed could not figure out exactly
where they were, but with a few
taps on the keyboard, he was able
to decipher some information.
"This is one of many secret facilities
where dismantled nuclear bombs
are stored," he read.
"Uh,
shouldn't we have radiation suits
on?" Ling asked nervously.
"We're
only virtually here," Sunanda
reminded her.
"Yeah,"
Johnny added. "Nuclear radiation
can cause widespread damage for
a long, long time … but even weapons
of mass destruction can't harm
us here in Cyberspace!"
"Exactly,"
Ahmed agreed.
Off to the left there was a long
row of empty bomb shells. "They
don't really look that big to
do so much damage!" Erin remarked.
Ahmed typed a few keys. "From
this documentation it looks like
the average nuclear bomb is about
2400 pounds - that's about half
as big as a car. But a single
nuclear bomb can produce as much
destructive energy as 1.2 million
tons of TNT!"
"Yikes!"
all the Kids gasped.
"It
also says here," Ahmed continued,
"that even though so many nations
agreed to the Nuclear Proliferation
Treaty in 1970, the number of
nuclear weapons in the world continued
to increase. At the height of
the Cold War in 1985, there were
65,000 active nuclear weapons,
ready to be used at a moment's
notice!"
The Kids couldn't even imagine
how much damage that many weapons
could cause.
"Nukes
are nuts!" José declared.
The
Kids all agreed that José was
absolutely right.
"Let's
see," Ahmed said as he continued
scrolling. "We're doing a little
better now towards getting rid
of these weapons of mass destruction…
Today there are about 4400 active
weapons … and another 15,000 or
so in storage …"
The Kids thought that was still
way too many.
"Which
countries have nuclear weapons?"
Ling asked.
Ahmed studied the screen a moment.
"It looks like Russia and the
United States have the most. Russia
has 10,000 and the US has 8000…"
"WOW!"
everyone gasped.
"The
other 'nuclear states' are the
UK, France and China," Ahmed continued.
"Those were the countries that
had nuclear weapons when the NPT
was first signed. All of the other
countries that signed agreed not
to make nuclear weapons, if the
original nuclear states worked
towards eventually getting rid
of all of their weapons, too."
"That
sounds like a good plan," Johnny
said, and all the Kids agreed.
"Yes,
but since then," Ahmed continued
reading, "four more countries
acquired nuclear weapons…"
"India,
Pakistan, North Korea and Israel,"
Sunanda said, reading over his
shoulder.
"All
those countries sure must have
spent a lot of money to keep all
those nuclear weapons around…"
Erin thought out loud.
Johnny had also come to peek at
the laptop. "It says here that
the United States alone spends
more than 50 billion dollars a
year!"
The Kids gasped. "Whoa!" Johnny
exclaimed. "According to this,
the US has spent 7.5 trillion
dollars on nuclear weapons programs
since 1940!"
"Think
of all the amazing things that
could have been done with that
money to make the world a better
place!" Ling said, shaking her
head in disbelief.
"Think
of all the starving children that
could have been fed..." Maya sighed.
"And
shelters for the homeless…" Johnny
added.
"And
new schools and supplies … no
more overcrowded classrooms!"
Ling piped in.
"I
wonder how many diseases could
have been cured with more money
for research, not to mention medicine
for those who don't have access
to healthcare," Jamal wondered.
"I
bet with better funding, scientists
could help turn back global warLing…"
Sol pointed out.
The Kids could think of plenty
more things that could have been
done with all that money, but
Ahmed interrupted their thoughts.
"Hey, it looks like the 1970 Treaty
was set to expire after 25 years
…"
"That
would have been in 1995 …" Ling
said, adding the numbers quickly
in her head.
"Oh
my gosh, did the Treaty end?"
Jamal gasped.
The Peace Crane began flapping
its golden wings, calling them
to climb aboard.
"I
guess we're going to find out!"
Erin sighed gratefully, as she
helped give Johnny a boost up
onto the Crane. The other Kids
quickly clambered aboard with
tugs and pushes, too. No one wanted
to get left behind here in this
nuclear bomb-graveyard.
Chapter
5: For a Nuclear-Free World
An
instant later, the Kids found
themselves circling high up above
the United Nations building in
New York City. Then the Peace
Crane roller-coastered down and
circled the building, finally
slowing down and stopping in front
of a set of windows. The Kids
peeked in and saw that there was
a heated debate going on inside.
Ahmed's laptop filled them in
on what was happening. "It looks
like they had a big four week-long
conference in 1995 here at the
UN. There were lots of disagreements
about what to do about the Treaty…"
he sighed.
Then the Kids held on tightly
again as the crane circled the
UN a few more times, then rocketed
past the security guards so quickly
that they never saw the crane
fly into the building.
The Peace Crane coasted down the
winding corridors to another Conference
Room in the basement of the UN,
where another lively debate was
going on.
Again, Ahmed's laptop screen was
filled with information. "While
leaders were meeting at the UN
to discuss the NPT," he read,
"NGOs came from all around the
world, too…"
"What's
an NGO, again?" Johnny asked.
He knew he'd heard the term before,
but he couldn't remember what
it was.
"Non-governmental
organizations," Jamal explained.
His mother worked for an NGO that
was helping to protect families
from malaria in his country.
"They're
usually nonprofit organizations
working to help fix a problem
or address some important issue…"
Erin added.
"Like
convincing governments to get
rid of nuclear weapons!" Sunanda
exclaimed.
"Exactly,"
Ahmed continued. "65 NGOs helped
draft a statement urging leaders
to take more serious steps toward
abolishing nuclear weapons. The
Abolition Statement they wrote
called for the elimination of
all nuclear weapons by the year
2000. They also suggested phasing
out the use of nuclear energy,
and replacing the UN agency responsible
for promoting and regulating nuclear
power -- the International Atomic
Energy Agency -- with an International
Renewable Energy Agency. This
new agency would promote renewable
energy sources instead of nuclear
power."
The Kids thought that was an important
point to add to the Treaty. On
a previous adventure, they'd learned
all about renewable energy sources
like wind and solar energy. And
they'd also learned about the
many dangers and risks of nuclear
power. Like the possibility of
a catastrophic explosion and the
release of lots of toxic materials,
if there's an accident. And how
after all this time, scientists
still hadn't figured out what
to do with the contaminated and
harmful radioactive wastes that
are produced!
"This
is where Abolition 2000 was started!"
Ahmed told them. "By the time
this four week conference ended,
more than 600 NGOs from all around
the world had signed onto the
Abolition Statement. Today Abolition
2000 is a network of more than
2000 organizations in over 90
countries!"
Suddenly there was a lot of commotion
going on around them. The people
were clapping and hugging each
other, and there were lots of
smiling faces.
"Did
the world's leaders at the Conference
agree to abolish all nuclear weapons
by the year 2000?" Sol asked.
"Wait,
correct me if I'm wrong, but didn't
the Year 2000 pass already. Like
a long time ago?" José piped up.
"Yes,
the Year 2000 was a long time
ago, José" Ahmed said. "But no,
they didn't set a timetable to
abolish nuclear weapons. Still,
everyone here's happy because
the governments just agreed to
extend the Nuclear Proliferation
Treaty indefinitely, which was
an important accomplishment, because
for a while there, it didn't seem
like leaders could agree on anything!"
"Yeah,
but José had a point. You said
Abolition 2000 wanted to abolish
nuclear weapons by 2000 … so what
are they doing now?" Sunanda asked.
"Uh…"
Ahmed started, uncertainly. That
was a good question. Luckily the
laptop screen had the answer.
"It looks like they're working
with Mayors For Peace now, on
the 2020 Vision Campaign to abolish
all nuclear weapons by the year
2020…"
As if on cue, the Peace Crane
started flapping its wings again,
and the Kids knew to climb on
board. A URL started typing on
Ahmed's laptop, and they were
off once again.
Chapter
6: A Roadtrip to Peace
The
crane soared high above the clouds
and the Kids loved it. Ahmed was
a little confused though. "According
to the laptop, we're supposed
to go to a Mayors For Peace conference
back in Japan again…" he mumbled.
That was fine with everyone. "But…?"
they inquired, wondering what
was worrying Ahmed.
"Well
according to google-earth, we're
flying over the US," he told them.
"I
guess we're talking the long way
there … but this is fun. So it's
fine with me!" Johnny exclaimed.
"But
that sounds like it'll take a
long time," Erin sighed. "And
I have to be back home for an
important Fèis festival this afternoon.
All my relatives are coLing to
see me dance."
"And
I do have a lot of homework I'm
supposed to be doing today," Jamal
sighed.
The Crane turned to look at them
and seemed to tell them not to
worry. That's when the Kids remembered
that no matter how many things
they did and saw on their Adventures,
when they got back home, only
a moment or two would have actually
passed in 'real-time.' The Peace
Crane winked, letting them know
to hold on, and suddenly they
skyrocketed faster and faster.
The Kids squealed with delight.
Then suddenly they slowed down
and began to descend a little
so that the Kids could get a good
view of the sights below.
"We're
over Independence, Missouri,"
Ahmed informed them.
"Oh
look, there's another Sadako statue!"
Michiko called out, as the crane
swooped low enough for them to
clearly see.
"Yes,"
Ahmed said as he read from his
screen. "That's the United Nations
Peace Plaza down there, and a
statue of Sadako was dedicated
in 1995 for the 50th Anniversary
of Hiroshima Day."
They circled a few times and then
whooshed on their way once again.
When they slowed down a moment
later, Maya suddenly recognized
where they were. "Hey guys, we're
in New Mexico!" she exclaimed.
"That's Santa Fe!"
Ahmed's laptop agreed. "We're
about to see a sister statue that
some grade-school kids in New
Mexico helped create … also for
the 50th Anniversary in 1995.
These kids were inspired by Sadako's
story and wanted to create a sister
statue, because New Mexico is
the state where the bomb that
fell on Hiroshima was built. They
held a contest for kids to design
the statue, and they got 90,000
children from all 50 US States
and 63 countries to chip in to
help build the winning design."
"Um,
I think I might need glasses,"
José said, "but does Sadako's
'sister' look like her to you
guys?"
Ahmed's laptop, of course, was
able to help clear up the confusion.
"The winning design," he told
them, "was a globe with Earth's
continents made of 3000 figurines
of plants and animals that were
designed by kids in more than
100 countries."
The Kids were impressed and marveled
at the intricate details of the
globe-statue. But then their crane-guide
gave them the nod to hold on,
and off they went at top cyber-speed.
In an another instant, the crane
set them down in a quiet, peaceful
garden. The Kids all turned to
Ahmed for their tour-guide information-update,
but before he could find anything
on his laptop, Ling started reading
from a plaque, set in stone. "This
is the Sadako Peace Garden at
the La Casa de Maria Retreat in
Santa Barbara," she read. "It
was created by the Nuclear Age
Peace Foundation and La Casa de
Maria, also for the 50th Anniversary
of the atomic bombing in Hiroshima,"
she told them.
The Kids sat back and sighed,
enjoying the quiet, peaceful setting
for a moment or two. Then the
Peace Crane let them know it was
time to set off on the next leg
of their trip.
"Uh,
it looks like the next stop is
the Seattle Peace Park," Ahmed
called over the roar of the wind
as they sped off. Sure enough,
in a flash they were in another
peace garden, gazing at a life-sized
bronze statue of Sadako with a
thousand beautifully-colored paper
cranes draped over her shoulder.
When it was time to continue on
their journey, they noticed Ahmed
looked a bit worried. "What's
up, Ahmed?" they asked as they
climbed aboard the Crane.
"Well,
we're going to be crossing the
Pacific Ocean now …" he stammered.
That sounded like fun to the Kids.
"Yeah, but, according to the mapquest
route," Ahmed said slowly, "we're
not flying on this leg of the
trip …"
"How
else would we get there?" Sunanda
asked out-loud the question everyone
else was thinking.
"We
might want to hold our breaths!"
Ahmed warned as they plunged into
the ocean and dove under water.
Of course the Kids needn't have
worried. This was Cyberspace,
after all. The normal laws of
the Universe don't apply here,
so the Kids didn't have to worry
about little things like breathing
underwater. Instead they found
themselves happily chatting as
they took in the many beautiful
sights and sounds on their 5000
mile trip beneath the Pacific
Ocean.
Before they knew it, they had
reached the coast of Japan, and
as the crane rose from the water,
they found they were barely wet
at all. They shook off a few stray
droplets of water and noticed
they were standing in front of
a large room-full of important-looking
men and women. They were all staring
at the Kids!
"Hey,"
that's my Mayor!" Johnny gasped
pointing at a woman three rows
back.
"Mine's
here, too!" Erin said a moment
later, after spotting a familiar
face off to the left.
"And
here comes my Mayor," Michiko
whispered as the Mayor of Hiroshima
walked towards them.
"Welcome
back, Kindness Kids," he said.
"We are so honored to have you
join us," he added and bowed to
them. They shyly bowed back.
The Mayor of Hiroshima told the
kids that the mayors who had come
for their conference were only
a tiny number of the more than
5000 mayors in 155 countries who
were part of Mayors For Peace.
Together they were working to
show international support for
the abolition of nuclear weapons,
and were cooperating to establish
"lasting world peace through solving
problems such as hunger and poverty,
refugees, human rights and environmental
protection."
"That
sounds wonderful," Michiko said
for all the Kids. "But what can
we do to help?"
The Mayor smiled. "Well, first,
we were hoping that you could
sign our petition for a nuclear-free
world by 2020."
The Kids were more than happy
to do so, and they all did so,
right then and there.
"We
were also hoping," the Mayor beamed,
"that you can tell other chapters
of Kindness Kids Clubs to sign
our petition online. More than
half a million people already
have!"
All of the Kids promised to tell
all of the Chapters about this
wonderful program. And everyone
they knew, too.
"I'm
also going to tell my Mayor about
Mayors For Peace," Sol said. "I
just know he'll want to join!"
"I
will, too!" Ahmed exclaimed.
"Me
three!" José added.
The Kids were really excited.
The adventures they loved most
were the ones that showed them
things that they could do to help.
They told the Mayor that they'd
love to stay and join them for
their Conference, but he pointed
at the Peace Crane and said, "We'd
be honored, but I think your friend
is calling you."
Sure enough, the Peace Crane was
silently signaling that their
adventure was nearly over. It
was time for her to return to
her place with Sadako. The Kids
politely thanked the Mayors, and
in an instant were whisked away
on the crane's wings back to the
Peace Memorial Park.
It was pretty dark out and the
Kids knew their weekly meeting
was about to be over. They were
really going to miss their new
friend. They hugged the Crane
and were a little teary eyed as
it floated back up into the evening
sky to rest above the Sadako-statue's
outstretched arms.
"Hey
look, she's waving goodbye," Ling
said. The crane had turned back
into part of the statue, completely
inanimate, except for her right
wing, which did indeed seem to
be waving.
"No
I think she's pointing not waving!"
Jamal said, and they all turned
to look past the A-Bomb Dome where
they could see lots of bouncing
lights.
The Crane flapped its wing faster
and faster and the Kids found
themselves swept up onto a gust
that set them down gently on the
banks of the Motoyasu River that
ran alongside the Park. There
they saw thousands of paper lanterns
floating on the water. "Oh, this
is the Peace Lantern Ceremony,"
Michiko exclaimed. "I've always
wanted to see this. Each of those
lanterns contains a message of
peace. Isn't it just beautiful!"
The Kids all agreed that it was.
"What
a wonderful way to end our adventure,"
Sunanda said as they started to
feel themselves fading.
"Thank
you so much for sharing your city's
story with us," Maya added and
all the Kids nodded in agreement
as they hugged each other goodbye.
"It's
such a sad story," Johnny sad,
"We learned some really heavy
stuff today, but it sure was a
fun adventure…"
"And
I feel really hopeful…" Erin added.
"Yes,"
José agreed and everyone braced
themselves for one of his wisecracks.
"Because learning about Hiroshima
Day helps to inspire people to
work together to create a nuclear-free
world."
The Kids had been all ready to
roll their eyes and chide him
that this was no laughing matter.
But, this time José had exactly
summed up their feelings.
Ahmed tapped on his laptop, officially
concluding their Kindness Kids
Club meeting, and the Kids were
transported back to their own
homes, filled with lots of memories
and lots to think about, until
their next meeting.