Aloha Brides
By Yvonne Shirley Lehman ms
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LOVE FROM ASHES
He could think of nothing more to say than thank you again.
Her brief nod resembled a bow, then she walked with graceful steps out the door and along the hallway.
Standing with his back against the closed door, Luke stared at the tray, smelled the aroma of that rich, dark Kona coffee. It beckoned him. But a realization kept his feet planted to the floor.
That woman was the wife of Pastor Jacob Grant. And she was unmistakably Japanese.
That meant Amelia Grant Thurstan, the lovely young woman with black hair pulled back in a thick roll, olive skin, deep brown eyes was…part Japanese.
The girl Joe wrote about was Japanese.
He could not tell his mother.
It would kill her.
One
Hawaii, April 1946
“Will you show me Hawaii as he saw it?”
That’s what Luke Thurstan would ask the girl named Amelia—if he found her. No, this had to be when he found her. As the plane droned on and on over the vast Pacific Ocean, he told himself he needed to do this for his parents because his mother’s inner war had not ended.
“Whoa!”
Apparently the plane hit an air pocket that took his breath away. He envisioned the plane doing a bellyflop or a nosedive into that cold, murky water. Then it leveled off, as if the sudden drop had never happened. He turned his head to see how other passengers had reacted. They wore smiles, seemed to chatter faster, perhaps convincing themselves the little scare was nothing to be concerned about.
It wasn’t, compared with his having been exposed to near drowning that June day in 1944. He’d jumped off the warship into the sea with his military gear and began to sink. Someone yanked him to the surface in time to be met with machine gun fire on the Normandy beach. He’d been fortunate. Some buddies had survived neither the sea not the bullets.
Now with this little airless bump in the sky, he reminded himself the war was over. This trip would mean closure for his family. But to be honest, he had a feeling this survival as a marine had been more than luck. He had a mission: to walk where his younger brother, Joe, had walked, lived, loved, and died for this country and…had died for Luke.
Before closure could ever come for Luke, he had to stand where Joe had stood and ask his brother’s forgiveness.
The words of the song “Sentimental Journey” tripped through his mind. The line “Gonna set my heart at ease” wasn’t all that convincing. But he would try.
He, too, had fought for God, country, Mom, and apple pie. Now was the time to pursue happiness. But first he had to say good-bye to Joe—at Pearl Harbor.
…Wanting to think of the good instead of the haunting memories of war, Luke welcomed the landing at the airport. He breathed in the clean, fresh air that held a faint smell of water and fish, reminding him of childhood days of sitting on a riverbank with his dad and Joe, enjoying fish tales.
He welcomed the feel of cool trade winds brushing against his face. The sky, he’d read, could turn crimson at sunset and was already changing from blue to golden orange. The welcomed the beauty and peace of this so-called paradisiacal place, but alongside it lay the memory of Joe having lost his life here.
Amid the peaceful setting were the m any military bases, including Pearl Harbor, a reminder of war and destruction that had destroyed such a setting as this.
Later that evening… After dinner… he sat in bed, looking at the letter Joe had sent back in 1941, two days before the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor. Luke hadn’t read it until 1945 when he returned home.
After having served in the marines for three years, his term had been extended and frozen when war was declared against Japan. He’d been a firearms instructor at Camp Lejeune, North Carolina, before being sent to the Normandy beach, which was no place for letters.
Luke’s fingertips touched the words written in Joe’s hand:
Pearl Harbor, December 5, 1941
Hey Bro,
After your stint in the marines, you should come to this Paradise. You’ve never seen anything like it. It’s like another world. But what I’m writing about mainly is, I know we weren’t on the best of terms the last time we talked. Or I should say, when you socked me in the jaw. But you know how I am. I hope you’re not still holding it against me.
Just to let you know, I met this girl. You’ve never seen anything like her, either. Amelia Grant. Her dad’s a preacher in Hilo. Believe that? Me and a preacher’s daughter?
Anyway, I want you to know I’m sorry about Penny. I’m not leaving her hanging. I let her know I’m not ready to settle down. I’m sure she’d come back to you now that she knows for sure you’re a better man than I am.
Be seeing ya, Yo Bro Joe
Not the greatest of bedtime stories, but Luke had studied the letter before and had given it a lot of thought. There wasn’t much left to think about it. He laid it on the bedside table, switched off the lamp, and gave in to the fatigue overtaking him before he could even begin his intended prayer to the Lord, asking why exactly had he come here and how was it going to solve anything.
No matter how many times he read Joe’s words “Be seeing ya,” that wasn’t going to happen.