I can't hold back my tears when I talk about Sadako and my experiences in the atomic bombing and aftermath.

Tomiko Kawano

Sadako would ask us, "What is junior high like?" or "Is English class hard?" Since we knew she would never see the inside of the junior high school, it was painful to answer her. All we could do was try to ease her feelings by saying things like, "Junior high--what a bore," and "Elementary school was better.