All We Left Behind
Page 25
I snuck around the side to the backyard, then stopped in my tracks as sheets billowed in the breeze on the clothesline. A pair of polished black shoes turned in the grass and an arm gracefully pushed the edge of the cotton to the side. Loose pieces of her hair, like shiny raven feathers, hung down from the clip I had given her a lifetime ago. Her complexion glowed softly in the sunlight, even more stunning than I remembered.
She lifted her head when she sensed the presence of someone watching, and her eyes locked with mine. Even if it was going to be the last time I ever saw her, I would be eternally grateful I had made the trip to witness the vision of beauty in a blue dress that stood in front of me. She placed her hands on her belly as if to settle a flutter and her lips moved as if she said my name, but the sound didn’t actually come out. She took a step closer and squinted. ‘Am I dreaming?’
‘I surely hope not, but if you are, I pray you never wake up.’
‘Hayden,’ she sobbed and covered her mouth with both hands.
The tears of joy running down her face washed away all my doubts and fears. My smile broke the spell that kept us locked in our stare, and she sprinted towards me. I dropped my kit and the bouquet of roses and rushed to meet her as she squealed and leapt into my arms. I spun her around so many times I got dizzy and fell to the grass with her tumbling on top of me.
Her hand slid along the side of my face and she gazed deeply into my eyes. ‘Are you really here?’
I nodded. ‘With apologies, I’m here to interrupt your wedding. I hope you don’t mind.’
She wiped her tear-streaked cheeks with her fingertips and grinned. ‘Tosh is getting married, not me.’
With immeasurable gratefulness I closed my eyes and thanked God. Maybe He had owed me one last favour.
Chidori showered my cheeks and neck with kisses and the loose tendrils of her hair tickled my skin. ‘Oh, Hayden. I’ve been dreaming about this day for so long. I’m utterly gushing with joy.’
I was too choked up to speak but nodded to agree, then rolled both of us so she was lying on her back on the grass and I was stretched out on my side, propped on my elbow next to her. The charm bracelet on her wrist sparkled in the sunshine and it made me beyond happy to know she still wore it. I reached to find her left hand and checked to see if she also wore her engagement ring. I wasn’t sure what I would have done if it wasn’t there, but it was, so I kissed her hand and blinked back my relieved tears.
She gently ran her finger over the smooth pink skin of the burn scar on my neck, then whispered, ‘I knew in my heart you would come for me eventually.’
‘We can’t be broken.’
She smiled and clutched the fabric of my shirt to draw me closer. I kissed her again, then hugged her tightly against my pounding heart. Every hardship we had endured melted away, until the only thing left to feel was love. Everlasting love, which nobody could take away from us. We won.
THE END
If you enjoyed reading about Hayden and Chidori, you will love The Orphan Thief by Glynis Peters, the beautiful story of a young woman and a street urchin orphaned during the Coventry Blitz.
Similarly enthralling, The Brothers of Auschwitz by Malka Adler weaves the untold story of two brothers separated by the Holocaust and their extraordinary journey back to each other.
You will also love The Last Letter From Juliet by Melanie Hudson, a moving and powerful novel about a daring WWII pilot who dreams of a lost love on the eve of her 100th birthday in Cornwall.
And why not try The Secret Messenger by Mandy Robotham, a sweeping tale of the courage of everyday women in German-occupied 1940s Venice.
Author’s Note
On April 1st 1949 the restriction that prevented Japanese Canadians from travelling west of the Rocky Mountains was finally lifted by the Government of Canada, four years after the war had already ended.
None of the Japanese-Canadian residents from Mayne Island ever returned home.
From 1984-1988 the National Association of Japanese Canadians (NAJC) Strategy Committee, led by Art Miki, lobbied and successfully negotiated a redress agreement with the Government of Canada for economic losses incurred by Japanese Canadians as a result of the forced relocation. In 1988, Canadian Prime Minister Brian Mulroney stood in the House of Commons and officially acknowledged the human rights violations that occurred against innocent Japanese-Canadian citizens at the hands of their own government. Redress payments of $21,000 were made to each living Japanese-Canadian who had been expelled from the coast in 1942 or who had been born before April 1st 1949. Unfortunately, this settlement occurred forty years after the fact, and many of the citizens who had lost everything had already died and never received an apology or compensation.
Seventy years have passed since the war officially ended for the Japanese Canadians. Perhaps some people might argue that the past is the past and we should forget about all the injustice that happened and move on. But for my nephews, whose great grandfather Ted Kadohama was interned in Taylor Lake, and for all future generations, if they truly understand history they will be able to acknowledge the mistakes that were made, recognize prejudice when it is being repeated, stop messages of fear and bias from spreading, and have the courage to stand up for what is right.
I grew up in Steveston, British Columbia – an historic fishing village, and one of the few communities on the coast where Japanese Canadians returned after 1949. I also have a home on Mayne Island where the novel is set. Much of my historical research began while I was writing a psychology master’s paper on the intergenerational impact of the internment on Japanese Canadians. As I began to write a novel, the research expanded to include the records of my grandfather who was a WWII Spitfire pilot shot down during the battle of Dieppe, RAF pilot logs, POW journals, museum collections, Government of Canada documents, and archival information.
I have made efforts to create an historically accurate backdrop of true or conceivably feasible events from Mayne Island, the internment, and the war, but this is entirely a work of fiction and not an authoritative record of events. Any errors in historical facts are my own. Please note that, although some of the surnames mentioned in the book would have existed on Mayne Island in 1942, the names of characters and the incidents portrayed in the novel are wholly a product of my imagination and do not represent any real person or family, living or dead.
In writing this novel I respectfully acknowledge the more than twenty-two thousand Japanese Canadians from British Columbia who were forced to evacuate the coast in 1942. I also acknowledge the more than one million Canadians who served in WWII, the more than forty thousand who were killed, and the approximately nine thousand who were prisoners of war.
This project has been years in the making and I have several people to thank for helping my debut historical novel reach the readers. I am grateful for all of the students and instructors at the UBC creative writing program, where I attended alumni summer classes and workshopped a very early version of this novel. Special thanks to my fellow classmates and authors Jenny Manzer and Audrey Nolte Painter for your insights. Lisa Marks, thank you for being the first brave soul to read my novice attempts at being a writer. Thank you to my author friends Denise Jaden and Mark David Smith for your editorial suggestions. I feel very fortunate that Mark Sakamoto, author of Forgiveness, graciously took the time to lend his support to the project. I am also very appreciative for all my other friends and family who were kind enough to offer support or read my drafts and give feedback: Teresa Takeuchi, Justin Nomura, Allison Ishida, Greg Ng, Brian Tingle, Lana (Oseki) Cavazzi, Cory Cavazzi, Ryan Ellan from the Sunshine Valley Tashme Museum, Belinda Wagner, Erica Ediger, Rasadi Cortes, Nicole Widdess, Pam Findlay, Veanna Reid, Amber Harvey, my brother Rob, my sister Luan, my dad Bob, and Anita Lau and her daughter Bella’s book club. There are also a lot of supporters of my work who are not specifically named but quietly buy my books and tell their friends about them, which I appreciate immensely. And, as always, I owe immeasurable gratitude to Sean,
my champion for life.
I would also like to make special mention of my sister-in-law Kim and her family, the Kadohamas. As well, I would like to acknowledge our very close family friends and neighbours, the Uyeyamas. Mr Uyeyama was the first person to ever explain to me what had happened to the Japanese Canadians during the war.
As always, I am eternally grateful to the Editorial Director for One More Chapter at HarperCollins UK, Charlotte Ledger, for her tireless efforts to get my books ready and out onto bookshelves. Thank you also to Penelope Isaac, Emily Ruston, Bethan Morgan, and the rest of the publishing, editorial, design, and marketing teams at One More Chapter and HarperCollins Canada.
And to my readers, thank you for always being willing to tag along on the adventure with me.
About the Author
Danielle R. Graham is the author of both sweet and edgy young adult and new adult novels for HarperCollins and Entangled Publishing. She was also an award-winning columnist for the Richmond News. All We Left Behind is her first historical novel.
She worked as a social worker with at-risk youth for seven years before becoming a therapist in private practice. The clients she works with are children and teenagers. Her romance, suspense, and psychological thrillers deal with issues relevant to teens and new adults in love, transition, or crisis.
She currently lives in Vancouver, Canada, with her husband.
@drgrahambooks
/drgrahambooksauthor
drgrahambooks.com
About the Publisher
Australia
HarperCollins Publishers Australia Pty. Ltd.
Level 13, 201 Elizabeth Street
Sydney, NSW 2000, Australia
www.harpercollins.com.au
Canada
HarperCollins Canada
Bay Adelaide Centre, East Tower
22 Adelaide Street West, 41st Floor
Toronto, Ontario M5H 4E3, Canada
www.harpercollins.ca
India
HarperCollins India
A 75, Sector 57
Noida, Uttar Pradesh 201 301, India
www.harpercollins.co.in
New Zealand
HarperCollins Publishers New Zealand
Unit D1, 63 Apollo Drive
Rosedale 0632
Auckland, New Zealand
www.harpercollins.co.nz
United Kingdom
HarperCollins Publishers Ltd.
1 London Bridge Street
London SE1 9GF, UK
www.harpercollins.co.uk
United States
HarperCollins Publishers Inc.
195 Broadway
New York, NY 10007
www.harpercollins.com