Hamada Asahi

At the edge of the village, stands an old building that was once the headquarters of the Japanese army. People say the place is haunted, inhabited by the spirit of a Japanese Lieutenant named Hamada Asahi—a soldier who died young during the occupation, but never found peace. On certain nights, the sound of boots echoing through empty hallways could be heard. The sound of a katana clanging. And sometimes, a faint whisper in Japanese...like someone calling a name: "Anna... Anna..." ("anna…anna…") Anna is my grandmother's name. She used to be a village girl known for her beauty and her proficiency in Japanese. During the war, she was forced to become an interpreter at the headquarters. But what not many people know is that Lieutenant Asahi secretly fell in love with her. Supposedly, on the last night before the Japanese headquarters were invaded by Allied troops, Asahi pleaded with Anna: "When the war is over... when you come back, please marry me." ("After the war... if I come back, marry me.") Anna only nodded...whether out of fear or genuine feeling. But that night, Asahi was shot and never returned. Grandma Anna lived to be old, had a husband and children, but throughout her life she often felt gloomy during the full moon. She never told anyone, until just before she died, she whispered: "I once made a promise...but I didn't wait." A few weeks after my grandmother passed away, I—her grandchild—saw a figure of a man in a Japanese uniform standing in front of the mirror in my room. His eyes were gentle, not angry…but as if waiting. "You look like him..." ("You're like him…") he said in a language I somehow understood. "Are you the promised heir?" ("Are you the heir to the promise?") And since that night, I've always dreamed of being on the old village bridge, wearing a white kimono...and Asahi waiting on the other side. Sometimes, revenge isn't about hatred. But because of a promise...that was never kept.