4/12/78

"I saw a woman whose blond hair and green dress were on fire, running with a silent baby in her arms, I saw humans melted into thick pools of liquid, three or four feet deep in places, I saw bodies crackling like embers, laughing, and the remains of masses of people who had tried to escape the firestorm by jumping head first into the lakes and ponds, the parts of their bodies that were submerged in the water were still intact, while the parts that protruded above water were charred beyond recognition, the bombs kept falling, purple, orange, and white, I kept running, my hands kept bleeding, through the sounds of the collapsing buildings I heard the roar of that baby's silence" (212-213.)

The first thing that hit me in that passage was the line "running with a silent baby in her arms," then followed by "I heard the roar of that baby's silence." This just really hit me and made me feel the emotion that he is feeling while writing this letter and I thought it was really sad the way he heard the silent baby's roar.

Another thing that hit me in that passage was the incredible amount of detail. If I am not missing something, I think that these letters were written awhile after the actual bombing happened. If I'm right about this, then I find it really interesting how much detail he remembers about that day, remembering the woman's blond hair, the bodies in the water, and the colors of the bombs falling. I understand that an event that traumatic would be remembered, but it's still a lot of detail