==JAPAN: KM== [People]

The scene of him sailing a yacht on the shining sea is in my eyes yet. He was a tall man with long sunburn arms and legs, handsome enough to be called "good looking". He often appeared with his surfboard to join our group of friends on the shore where we gathered to swim, do surfing, or only get a tan. He would sit down on his T-shirt and have a smoke while talking about the day's wave. Then he went in the sea without warming up.
On the day of fireworks display (a very special day for my whole town) our group took up a large area on the sea shore being crowded by many people, wearing YUKATA or swimsuits, and making beer toasts that were the most delicious of the year. We had a very good time under the sparks of many colors, with the big sound that the fireworks made at their best and final glory. There, with the smell of the sea, he was always smiling.
Even though the next summer was also hot, he had to choose a bodyboard instead of surfing and sailing. Besides that he could not wash his own right arm. A summer sweater usually wrapped around his waist was now worn to cover his shoulder. He had lost his left arm. The "Osteosarcoma" snatched his whole arm and the radiation therapy used to exterminate the disease plucked away his hair. Still he was smiling, but we couldn't find anyway to help him. The only thing that we could do was to protect the fire of his lighter, when he light a cigarette in the high wind of the seashore.
The "Osteosarcoma" is a kind of cancer, a malignant bone tumor. Incidence is the highest among teenagers, the cases for people over 30-years -old are rare. Among men, compared with women, the ratio of incidence is high. The occurrence is highest in the thighbone, and next the legbone, and then, the armbone. As a main cure, it's common to be given anticancer drugs in large quantities, and because of radiotherapy, the treatment is apt to produce side effects. Usually, after all, the diseased part will be amputated. Unfortunately, it's usual that the cancer spreads to the lungs in people who are diagnosed with "Osteosarcoma". My friend's case could be called the typical pattern of this disease, seeing that he was only 23 years old.
We believed he had gotten his health back completely, in return for the loss of his left arm, and above all he looked so well. He was well tanned, improved his skill on the bodyboard, and his new car and girlfriend were the envy of us all. The fireworks of that year were perfect, because we could occupy the same area as the year before which was located right front of a seaside clubhouse named MEGUMI. A pleasant breeze blew the smoke made by fireworks away. The big flowers exploding in a summer night were beautiful beyond our expectations. Balls of fire went up higher and higher like a snake, keeping us in suspense until the ball would break. Finally our wide field of vision was filled with innumerable sparkling light falling down toward us, the sky becoming a flower garden, the flower repeating their blooming and falling in a flash.
Now our friend is no longer with us. Even though he had a check-up every month, it was too late when the cancer was found in his lungs. Until just before his death, he spent every day as usual, having regular mealtimes, taking his dog for a walk, speaking to his friends on the telephone far into the night, and going to Thailand with his girlfriend. I don't know what he felt, thought, and hoped for. His life was too short, but full enough to enjoy its brightness. According to his will, the part of ashes were strewn on the sea by his family and girlfriend. This summer will be hot, and the fireworks will also be beautiful, the same as the summer with he.

COMMENT
When I finished reading Ayaka's essay, I thought that she loved the man and memories with him were valuable for her. But until I started reading second paragraph, I wondered what she gave in this essay because the content of first paragraph was not about fireworks. After reading final paragraph, I saw the scene of hot summer day without him in my mind's eyes. I really understand her sad feelings that she lost her friend. The story point of this essay lies in how the story ends with the loss of her friend combined with the image of fireworks, I think.

Kanbe Shino