A Rose In The Ashes

Chapter 3

The Far Side Of The Mountain

The train rocked slowly through the countryside. Ernst tried reading a Japanese novel but his thoughts kept returning to Kinuko. He had managed to wrangle two weeks leave from the embassy. Then came the endless paperwork involved in getting permission for a foreigner to travel around a country with a military dictatorship. Now weeks later he was finally on his way. It was a long way from Tokyo to Nagasaki, about 1000 kilometers or 600 miles in a straight line.

But trains never travel in a straight line. They amble around the countryside stopping at nearly every little town along the way. The landscape was beautiful. Japan is a very mountainous nation with spectacular views. But all those lovely mountains were also a weakness, there just wasn't enough flat farmland to feed Japan's growing population. Those mountains were mostly volcanic. Volcanic islands don't produce much in the way of metal, coal, or oil. They have to import most of their raw materials and they need a strong navy to keep their sea lanes open.

Ernst shook his head. There he was, thinking like a naval officer again. His thoughts returned to Kinuko. He hadn't been able to contact her since he'd kissed her though the fence. He had sent several letters to her grandfather's house but never got a reply. He suspected that her grandfather was intercepting the letters but he had nagging doubts. He might be just one of a series of teenage infatuations. She probably had a new boyfriend now. Probably never wanted to see him again. It that was true, he would bid her fair well and take the next train back to Tokyo. But he prayed it wasn't true.

He was sound asleep when the train pulled into Nagasaki station. The conductor shook him awake and Ernst groggily retrieved his suitcase from the overhead rack and wandered out through the station and into the cool night. He stopped at a small, run down hotel called the Seaside Inn which wasn't anywhere near the sea. He got a room from an elderly woman who assumed he was an American. She probably assumed every foreigner was an American and Ernst was too tired to argue with her. He got his room key, trudged up to his small room, and fell asleep while in the process of taking his shoes off.

The next day, dressed in a cheap brown civilian suit and clutching a road map of the city. Ernst set out searching for Kinuko's grandfather's home. It took him a while walking through an unfamiliar city. He did notice a few other Europeans and Americans in the city. Nagasaki was a major seaport with dozens of ships coming in and out of the harbor every day. He did stop to ask directions a couple of times. Since arriving in Japan his Japanese had improved greatly and now it was proving useful. When he found the house he didn't immediately knock on the door but instead stood by the corner and checked his watch. Ernst had no intention of meeting Kinuko's grandfather, at least not yet. He had to speak to Kinuko first.

Eventually he saw groups of young people walking down the streets singularly or in small groups. Young women in their sailor suits and young men dressed like military cadets. School was now out. After a few minutes he noticed on girl, a little smaller than the rest, walking alone. Ernst took a deep breath. Now was the time, she was going to reject him, laugh in his face, humiliate him. But he had to do it. He had no choice. He stepped out in front of her. "Kinuko?"

She raised her head, behind the thick glasses her eyes blinked in surprise. "Ernst? Oh Ernst!" She threw her arms around him and buried her face into his chest sobbing. "I thought I'd never see you again!"

"I had to see you again Kinuko." He tilted her head up to kiss her. "But now I don't know what to do next."

She gave him a heart melting grin. "I guess you just have to marry me!"

"But we hardly know each other, shouldn't we wait?"

"Wait for what? How often can you visit Nagasaki? Once or twice a year? Wait until you are transferred back to Germany in a couple of years?" She frowned deep in thought. "We have to this now or we don't do it at all. Once Grandfather Tamotsu finds out you're here he'll find a way to separate us." She glanced over at her Grandfather's house. "We're a pretty wealthy family and money buys a lot of power. You'll find yourself shipped back to Tokyo or even Germany. At the least you'll be arrested on some trumped up charge. We get married and the deed is done. It's easier to get forgiveness than permission although I don't really expect either one." Then she smiled, "Besides, it's February 14th. Can you think of a better day to get married?"

Ernst sighed. "Yes, you're right, let's go."

"Wait, aren't you forgetting something?"

"What?"

Kinuko grinned, "When a man wants to marry a woman, shouldn't he propose to her first?"

Ernst smiled, "Kinoko Matsuda, will you marry me?"

She threw her arms around him. "Yes I will!"

He took her by the arm and led her away. "Now all we have to do is find a place to get married where your family won't be able to interfere."

"I know just the place."

The Franciscan monastery was just outside the city built on the side of a mountain, Ernst and Kinuko had purchased a beautiful blue kimono to serve as a wedding dress, bought a pair of gold rings at a pawn shop, then took a cab there. They walked into the quiet gardens searching for one of the monks to talk to. They spotted a bald, bearded European priest who was sitting on a bench watching the birds. Ernst led Kinuko to him. Pardon me Father, we would like to get married."

The priest peered at them through his spectacles. "I trust you have your marriage license." Ernst produced the paper which he examined. "Yes, it seems to be in order."

"Your accent, you're Polish aren't you?" Ernst asked.

"Yes, I'm Father Maximilian Kolbe, when would you like the ceremony?"

"Immediately!" Kinuko demanded.

"Maximilian Kolbe?!" Paula sneered, "You actually want me to believe that your parents were married by Saint Maximilian Kolbe?!"

"I don't vant you to belief anyting. I don't veally care vhat you belief. And he vasn't a saint yet!" Edna replied.

"But Maximilian Kolbe was murdered at Auschwitz by the Nazi's!"

"Vell, he obviously vasn't murdered yet, now can I go on wit the story?"

"This garden to so quiet and peaceful." Kinuko remarked as they walked to the chapel.

"Yes it is," Max answered. "The mountain blocks off the noise of the city. We built it on the side of the mountain facing away from the city. According to Shinto beliefs it unlucky to build anything on this side. Since we're not Shinto we were able to buy the land very cheaply."

"In 1945 building on the back side of the mountain proved to be wery lucky indeed." Edna remarked. "The mountain completely blocked the blast from the atomic bomb sparing both the monks and the monastary."

Like most girls, Kinuko had often dreamed of her wedding. She had dreamed of having her family and friends present watching her taking her vows with her new husband. She would have spent weeks planning the reception. She would be eager to open her wedding gifts. But here, she had no family or friends, the only witnesses were a handful of monks of an unfamiliar religion. The only reception would be an invitation to share the simple supper the monks had prepared for themselves. And her only gift was a wreath of white flowers that Father Kolbe had woven for her hair. But as Ernst slipped the gold band on her finger and Father Kolbe pronounced them husband and wife, she knew she had made the right decision.

Ernst and Kinuko Mode walked arm in arm toward her grandfather's house. Ernst had changed back into his German naval uniform. This was an unpleasant task but it was one that they had to do together. He felt nervous, all of a sudden he felt incredibly thirsty. He could tell that Kinuko was nervous too. Before they even reached the front door it opened revealing a scowling Japanese man who appeared to be about sixty. A very healthy and powerful sixty as Ernst noticed.

"You are Lieutenant Mode!" He barked out. "Where have you taken my granddaughter!?"

Ernst bowed at the waist. "I am honored to tell you that I am now married to your granddaughter, Kinuko."

"You have no honor! Don't speak to me of honor!" He turned to Kinuko, "Your father entrusted you to my care. You have shamed me in his eyes to become the whore of a foreign sailor. I no longer have a granddaughter!"

Ernst 's eyes narrowed in anger. "You may insult me all you want. But I won't tolerate you insulting my wife!"

"I'm eighteen years old, I'm old enough to make my own decisions." Kinuko stated staring her grandfather right in eye. "I would like to go in and collect some of my things."

"Since I no longer have a granddaughter, you may not set foot in my house."

Kinuko took Ernst by the arm and pulled him a way. "Come on Ernst, let's go. We'll make a new start together. A new beginning for both of us." She could feel her grandfather's eyes boring into her back as she walked away with her new husband.

Hours later at the Seaside Inn, Kinuko lay in the tangled damp sheets curled up to her sleeping husband. Her mother had warned her that the first time was often painful but it wasn't as bad as she feared. She gently ran her fingertips across the tips of his chest hair and smiled. Some of her friends at school had told her that European men were as hairy as apes. Ernst may have a little more body hair than most Japanese but he was no ape. Right now she felt happy and sad, completely exhausted, a little sore, very warm, and extremely loved. Her life was going to be different, in some ways it will be much better, in other ways it will be much worse. She just hoped the better outweighed the worse. But one thing was certain, it was going to be different.

Lieutenant Ernst Mode returned to work with a smile on his face and a skip in his step. The naval liaison officer, Commander Vogel, was waiting on him with a large stack of Japanese documents. "It's about time you got back from your little vacation!" he growled. "I want all these papers translated by this afternoon!"

"Aye aye sir!" Ernst plopped himself into his swivel chair and took the top paper off the stack.

"You seem happy. Where'd you go?"

Ernst grinned, "I got married sir!"

"You got married? To whom!?"

"I got married to Kinuko Matsuda sir!"

Commander Vogel frowned. "I'm sorry but I'm afraid you're not married to anybody. You are aware of the Reich's laws concerning marriage?"

Ernst got a sinking feeling deep in his gut. "Umm, no?"

"It's illegal for German citizens to marry foreigners without written permission from the Foreign Minister. You don't have such a document do you?"

Ernst sighed, "No." He felt a surge of resentment. Hitler seemed to want to control every aspect of his life. Now he seemed to want to take Kinuko from him too.

"I seriously doubt that you would get such permission. The party is trying to purify the Aryan race." Commander Vogel shrugged his shoulders. "If you want to shack up with one of these monkeys that's fine with me. God knows there aren't enough European women to go around. A bit of German blood will only improve their race." He placed a hand on Ernst's shoulder. "Don't worry about it. After a few years you'll get tired of her. Think of it as an easy way out of an unpleasant situation."

Ernst resisted the urge to punch his superior officer. "Yes sir, I've better get to work now."

Kinuko was tidying up the small rented apartment when he came home from the embassy. She noticed his glum expression when he came in. "Ernst, is something wrong?"

He smiled at her. "No, everything's wonderful." He gave her a kiss and held her tight. He would never give her up no matter what anybody else thought.

And unbeknownst to either of them, there was a third member of their family slowly growing inside of her.