Godzilla Titanomachy

Memories of Tokyo, 1954

Late autumn.

1954

The night Tokyo burned would forever haunt Aoi Handarwa.

She was a little girl then, 9 or 10 years old after the start of September, living with her loving family of two. It was just her and her mother. She was still in her belly when her father was drafted into the army along with her maternal uncle to fight a war against a place called America. Aoi would never meet him. He would pass in the fighting with the Americans in the Great Pacific War. She only knew her father from the stories her mother told her, of how he was such a great man, and intelligent too, like her brother, a member of a science division stationed in China. Her uncle would be the only one to return home after the war ended. Aoi could not remember a time her uncle smiled, he was quite absent, opting to stay away from them.

Aoi and her mother lived in Tokyo for most of their shared lives. She went to elementary school in the Minato Ward and knew how to get on board a train easily. The little girl was quite proud of this accomplishment. Her mother would say so whenever she met with the neighbors. She was good at school and had many friends, even helping her best friend with the difficult words in a book that they would have to read or the math problems their teacher would always give them. She would help her mother with dinner after a long day of work–she worked as a teleprompter for a fishing company–, even if she didn't like much of what they were eating. Life was simple in those days. Tranquil. One could say dull. A week into the end of October and the beginning of November, things changed.

She remembered overhearing the news the passengers on the train would talk amongst themselves, reading from newspapers or gossiping with one another. Three fishing boats had gone missing near the inland sea. No survivors were reported, leaving a great many of the loved ones in hysterics. There was one woman she remembered, an older lady similar in age to her own mother, weeping into a handkerchief while another woman, a younger one possibly her daughter or daughter-in-law given the ring on her finger, was trying to calm her down. Aoi thought this was odd but paid no attention to it. But then more news came in the next day and people were talking about it more frequently and openly. "Did you hear?" People would say, "Did you hear about the missing boats?" "I hear there were only three survivors from the Bingo Maru?" "I heard it was the Eiko Maru." "They say they were picked up by fishermen off Odo Island." But it always ended with "But I'm sure the government will sort it out. Don't make a public fuss and I'm sure the authorities will tell us what's going on, you'll see."

Aoi got the same answer from her mother when asked about the boats and the fishermen. Almost word for word. However she added no matter what were to happen, she would always be there for her. That was the last time her mother had given her hope.

It started early that evening. Aoi had just gone to bed, resting for a busy school day. They were studying for a big exam, when she heard the cannon shots and the rattling of machine guns. She jolted straight up seeing the flashes of lights coming from the shoreline followed by a howling roar. Her mother opened the shoji to her room, bag in hand, terror in her eyes, ordering her to get her clothes on and get a backpack ready. Before Aoi could ask why the air raid sirens came on and in the distance, she could hear something else over the noise. It was a sound she nor anyone of her generation could ever forget. A deep bellowing sound that rose high in pitch before ending with a growl. She would never forget that sound. Not even in her most private moments. Nor would she forget the glow of the fires that erupted from the houses after a beam of pure blue flame came bearing down on the wooden structures, causing explosions for miles around, spreading faster than the crowds of people fleeing could run.

Aoi and her mother join them.

The crowds were something Aoi never wanted to see again, seeing the terror in the people's faces, shoving and pushing, screaming. Some were carrying stuff, carrying children like her mother did after she almost lost her in the sea. Some were bent over, crying over the bodies of loved ones who weren't moving at all. Fire trucks sped past them, ringing bells to get people's attention. "Get out of the way, you idiots!" was what was supposed to be meant. But not a lot of people listened. A little kid was almost ran over by a speeding truck until a man rushed over scooping him up in his arms. She watched as embers from the burning buildings danced around her like fairies in her storybook before disappearing. Only these fairies were mean and hurt you when they touch you or anything else. The night sky above glowed a bright red as smoke billowed up in huge columns. The smell of the smoke made Aoi cough loudly. Her mother told her not to breathe it in but couldn't hear her over the chaos. Suddenly more cannons were fired at something that was approaching them. She could see companies of JSDF tanks rolling in the streets firing upwards that something. Then came the BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! of a giant's footfalls, followed by that roar.