Summary
Mrs. Yokokawa is initially depicted preparing her family for the impending air raid, securing a hood on Setsuko’s head and urging the children to behave and heed their brother’s guidance. She instructs them to make their way to the shelter as quickly as possible while she heads there first. When Seita questions whether she has brought her heart medication, she confirms this and gestures toward her bag, reassuring him not to worry before departing. Upon arriving at the shelter with Setsuko, Seita learns that his mother has suffered severe injuries. He rushes to her bedside, where he finds her unconscious, covered in heavy bandages, and visibly burned and bloody. Overcome with horror, Seita reminds the attendants of her heart condition and pleads for her medicine, but is told the information will be checked. When the man leaves, Seita attempts to rouse her, receiving only faint breaths in response. He later returns to Setsuko, lying to his young sister by claiming her mother is merely injured in a hospital and will recover, shielding her from the grim reality. The narrative concludes with the sight of Mrs. Yokokawa’s corpse being loaded onto a truck, her body so gruesome that it remains bandaged, while flies and maggots swarm around it. A worker notes that the heat requires immediate disposal, and Seita watches helplessly as her body is taken away for cremation alongside many others in a large fire.
