Today is a day I’ll never forget. My name is Akira Saito. I am now 22 years old, but at the time, I was 11. I’ll never forget it. I was studying for the big math test coming up. I had been studying all night and only gotten three hours of sleep. I wasn’t grumpy, though. I was ready, energized for that test, when suddenly, I felt a rumbling. I was so focused on taking my test, I had completely forgotten about breakfast! Oh no! I got up and ran to the cafeteria and they hadn't stopped serving breakfast yet, so I was in luck. Rice and miso soup. A hearty breakfast to help my mind focus. I sat at an empty table and began to eat my breakfast. It was so warm and delicious. As I got up from my spot at the table, I had an odd feeling in my stomach, like something bad was gonna happen. I brushed it off and went back to the library. 1

As I walked back to the library, I felt a small shake coming from under me. I thought a stampede of students was coming after me. I turned around and no one was there. That’s odd. Then, I felt it again, but a lot more shaking this time. It was hard to stand. I fell to the ground and crawled to the nearest classroom. I got under a table and held on to the leg of it. I heard little taps on the table, then a big BAM! The school was crumbling, falling apart on top of me. I was scared, I was crying and hoping this would be over soon. All of a sudden, it stopped. I looked up and I could see the sky, the sun, it was beautiful. Completely the opposite of what just happened. I stood up and I could see classmates everywhere. Some were crying, some were frozen in fear, some were looking for their parents. 2

I walked around the rubble that once stood as our school. Everything was gone, destroyed. The math test didn’t even matter anymore. I just wanted to find my family. I saw my mom’s car and I ran towards it. She opens the door and greets me with the biggest hug she’s ever given me. I started to cry and asked about my dad and two siblings. She said they were safe at home. What was left of our home, she meant. As we drove home, I looked out the window and saw all the houses and restaurants destroyed. When we got home, I saw my dad and siblings sitting in front of our house with suitcases in their hands. “Where are we going,” I asked my dad. “Pack your bags,” he said with sadness in his words, “we have to leave. We’re going to America.” 3

I was confused. I was too confused to be mad and too upset to say anything. We didn’t have a choice, we had to move. I went into the broken walls of our house and gathered what clothes I could find. I packed them into a suitcase and went back to the car with tears in my eyes. I opened the door, looking back at the ruins one last time. I can’t believe it was all gone in a matter of minutes. As mom was driving, we saw people running, screaming, and frantically going the opposite way of the ocean, the same direction as we were going. We made it to the airport just in time. There was a huge, 15 meter tsunami that washed over the town, destroying houses and buildings. It washed over the Fukushima Nuclear Power Plant and took out the power supply. The reactors were overheating and their cores were melting. 4

We were boarding the plane when I heard a loud BOOM! One of the reactors exploded! We’ve got to get out of here, I thought. The plane took off and that was that. My home was gone and we had to leave. We landed in the states and found a hotel. It took a few months, but my dad found a job with a local mechanic and my mom used what funds we had to apply for college to become a nurse. She graduated with her Bachelor's degree and got a nursing job. She is now the head nurse at the biggest hospital in the state. I’m in my junior year of college for my associates degree. I want to be a performer, but I’m majoring in business so I’ll have something to fall back on if performing doesn’t work for me. And that was the day my life changed forever. I’ll never forget it for as long as I live. 5

The End. 6