When We Were Orphans

Banks feels excited about his reunion with Akira, and the wounded soldier confirms Christopher’s words without adding much of his own. Banks cleans his shrapnel wound and tells him about the house where his parents are imprisoned, admitting he is now lost. The soldier tells him he knows where the East Furnace is because the warrens are “like my home village” (255), and Banks corrects him, saying he must mean the International Settlement. They move on and soon reach the edge of the front line. Banks hears another man cry with pain, seemingly in the same way, only he realizes the soldier is Chinese.

They move into an alcove to avoid potential gunfire, and the Japanese soldier teaches Banks the word tomodachi, for friend, in case the Japanese accost him. The next morning, the soldier tells Banks he has a five-year-old son in Japan, which surprises Banks. They continue their trek to the house and soon reach the East Furnace, from which they follow the road to the house Banks believes holds his parents. The house looks almost untouched from the outside. The soldier tries to warn him that many years have passed and that he should not expect a miracle, but Banks is determined.