contents - Gallatin School of Individualized Study - New York ...

hanako sakagami Being Together84She blames herself that she couldn’t take him back home and regrets that shedidn’t tell him.At my grandfather’s funeral, after having sutras chanted by a Buddhistmonk, we moved to the crematory in a small bus. There were lines of big cherrytrees on both sides of the road, making it look as if the bus was going through atunnel made of cherry blossoms. It was a warm sunny day, and I suddenly feltreally sad to see such beautiful cherry blossoms. I thought back to my childhood,of a happy time when we had played in the park with my grandfather. There wereso many cherry blossom trees. We spread mats on the ground under the trees andhad a party.Cherry blossoms are a metaphor for life and death. After they bloom,they will soon fall. They are connected to our lives. Recently, in a dream, I sawmy grandfather in my house in New York. I told him where we were. He wassurprised; he laughed and said, “That’s a good idea!” In the dream it was a warmsunny day, like the day of his funeral. When I woke up, I felt him very near. And Ismiled because my bed sheets had a cherry blossom pattern. Maybe they broughtthe dream to me. I believe now he can fly everywhere, even to New York.I always remember my grandfather when I see cherry blossoms.Hanako Sakagami, age 27, born and raised in Japan, studied creative writing incollege. She has lived in New York for four months, and in the United Statesfor two and a half years. She studies with Jessica Loor, the literacy centerassistant manager, at the Queens Library’s Steinway Adult Learning Center.Tsansiu Chow is the literacy center manager. “I wrote this story because Iwanted to remember my grandfather and explain our national flower, sakura,”says Hanako Sakagami.