616
1941
The Japanese soldier poked Alex, Sugar and David with his bayonet as they stumbled up the ramp to the canvas covered truck.
“Don’t you dare stab my son – he’s just a boy!” Sugar screamed at the soldier, who shouted orders back in Japanese. Alex – resigned– pulled Sugar onto a bench. Since they were only allowed one suitcase between them, they each wore three layers of winter clothes – though their coats were soaked by the heavy rain drenching the streets of Anqing’s international compound.
“Why are they taking us today?” David asked. A man on the opposite bench whispered:
“Pearl Harbor.”