My American History Narrative

This is the narrative I wrote for my U.S. History class. Hope you guys like it :)


The sun was just beginning to form on to the horizon as we took our place in the food line. The December air nipped at our hands as we stood in the streets. My sister, Mary, was only 9 at the time; she barely understood what was going on at the time. I tried my best to raise my sister the way my mother would have; but I could never replace her.

We were given a single of bread from the distributors. Somehow, this was going to carry us over until tomorrow. We walked home with our treasure in hand, happy to have been early in the line that now stretched a block.

Our home, no more than a cramped apartment, was not far from where we were. The two of us walked by the empty buildings where shops and businesses once were. The troubles of the economy in far off mainland America seemed so distant, yet their effects stretched their cruel hands across the Pacific.

"I'm hungry." my sister pitifully said as we closed the door behind us.

"Mary," I calmly said to her, "we're going to have to make this last until tomorrow when the nice people will give us more." I sliced off a small piece of our bread and gave it to her. "Have this for now."

I sat down at my desk and rustled through the mess of papers. After organizing the mess, I pulled out my calendar. The 7th was circled in red because it was the day for Mary's 10th birthday. I opened the bottom drawer of the desk and pulled out a small, wrapped box. Inside was an small, ornate necklace I had bought as a present for Mary.
"What are you looking at?" Mary asked as she suddenly stepped into my room.
"N-nothing!" I said quickly as I hid the box in my pocket.

As the sun slipped away slowly in the west, the warm Pacific breeze blew inland. The wind stroked the curtains in my room and soothed me. Mary breathed calmly in the bed next to me. For some reason, I could not sleep that night. The night was not unlike any other in Hawaii; clear skies, warm winds, and the distant sound of waves gently lapping the beach. Something did not feel right, but those feelings soon slipped away as I dozed off.

The food lines were especially long on Sunday. I decided to let Mary sleep at home as I waited in line for over an hour for our food. "At least this time we have some meat and milk." I thought happily to myself as I walked home. I checked my watch, hoping that Mary wouldn't be awake so I could get ready. 7:47. I began to quicken my pace since I knew Mary would be getting up at around 8 o'clock. The low rumble of aircraft loomed in the distance as I hurriedly walked home. "A little early for flying." I thought annoyed. A formation of aircraft began to become visible as I looked out to see. Then in the distance, I heard the sound of a loud explosion. The sound startled me and I got the feeling something terrible was about to happen. The small formation had now grown into a swarm. The sound of guns began to crackle down by the harbor. Another boom. I began to run towards home; I needed to be with Mary. Smoke now began to rise over the hills surrounding the harbor, blackening the sky.

All of the sudden, a small formation of planes flew over where I was standing. Small, black dots began to fall out of the sky as they shot towards a collision course with the earth. The bombs crashed into the ground and erupted into a fireball that engulfed several houses. I dropped the food I was carrying and began to run, as if for my life, to my home. I glimpsed at the wave of fighters now flying overhead and caught the unmistakable insignia of Japan. "What are they doing here!?" I screamed in my head. The fighters began to strafe the buildings with relentless machine gun fire. Bullets whizzed by as they began their strafing runs. Another explosion cracked in the distance. I rounded the corner, but it was too late. Our home was engulfed in thick flames. I dashed up the steps to save my sister. The wooden supports groaned and then suddenly cracked. I dived off the steps into the street as the house collapsed. The crackle of flames drowned out my helpless cry. I lay there in the street; helpless to the situation presented to me. Now completely alone, I broke down. The sounds of battle still rumbled in the distance.