Revenge Factor

Chapter 1

August 3, 1945

Hiroshima, Japan

Three days before "Little Boy", eleven year old Asao begins the journey of his life. As he and his uncle ride away on the motorbike, the moment carries great significance for both, decidedly more so for Asao. He will never again talk with big sister Yuan Mei...never again hear the childish taunting from little brother Massey...never again share a make-believe world he and his best friend Hiroshi visit almost daily. Their battles against formidable, though overmatched American fighter squadrons, will be a part of life he now, unknowingly leaves behind forever.

Slowly disappearing behind an increasing density of dust stirred and pushed into the warm morning air by the motorbike's tires, the only home he has ever known becomes a final picture forever etched in his young mind. As he glances over his shoulder one last time, the small farmhouse fades from view as the bike carrying the two descends the crest of the final hill. Succumbing to their increasing speed and gaining momentum, they glance at the farmhouse as it appears to sink into the horizon, much like a normal Japanese sunset at the end of a day. His home, family, friends...as the distance grows between them...will be gone from his life forever.

Any sensibility he is about to experience, as innocent as it may now seem, will haunt him for all remaining days of his life. Years from now, this boy's emotions will act as the impetus in driving a grown man's desire for substantial, undeniable retribution...a most exact revenge. Asao's happy, carefree life, taken for granted by one so young, will soon be lost in a proud country's struggle for survival in the face of destruction. Unabated, he will be driven...driven by a recurring nightmare, a nightmare surprisingly charged with guilt. Intrinsically he will assume the position as standard bearer for his former compatriots; silently, patiently, he will one day carry the shield as their, and most importantly, his family's avenger.

Planning a devastating retaliation against the country he holds solely responsible for his great loss, Asao will spend years under a self-induced, guilt-driven psychological torture. Fifty-some years into the future, one man's life will find dedication to that complete and just revenge. Millions will once again be endangered. As will thousands of Japanese children soon suffer, die, experience Hell's inferno, so will children of a future America...so will they one day know the pain of a devastating loss, a horrendous suffering. There can be no other way. There can be no revenge more sweet or appropriate. There can be nothing less than this in his plan to gain the satisfaction he will seek. His plan will be successful. The "Revenge Factor" will take over and consume his existence...become that integral force in his life no other will be able to control. In a matter of days, this "all boy" child of eleven, will be forced into a darker, more sinister world unknown to him now.

Good-byes behind, the two are mere seconds into their journey. Asao's visit, a visit planned for one week's duration, has the young boy in a state of brisk anticipation.

However, those feelings are about to give way to an immediate pain, a pain emanating from within his small stomach...pain he may years later believe came to him as a warning, a warning of significance he failed to heed. For now, the young boy's self-diagnosis determines it to be nothing more than hunger, something with which he quite readily knows how to cope.

Stomach pain persisting, he reaches for a small cloth pouch strapped to the side of his uncle's bike, just in front of his right knee. It takes only seconds to find the treasure he seeks. Of certain medicinal value, the small juicy berries he now holds in his hand as it emerges from the bag, find their way, one by one, two by two into his small mouth. Promptly deciding to test his mouth's capacity with all that remain in his hand, he soon proves his diagnosis correct. Pain gone, the flavor of ripe berries inspire and stimulate thoughts of yesterday.