The day had started out as usual for Mrs. Ito until the late afternoon, when the news of the destructive tsunami (海啸) waves came over the radio.

At last, 12:30 a.m. came as the radio warning had said and nothing happened. She could hear passing people say the tsunami waves must have missed the islands and they laughed as they were returning to their homes. Mrs. Ito went into her living room and looked down the street. It was calm.

Then, a sudden flash-like lighting lit the sky over Hilo Bay and a deafening explosion broke the night’s silence. The first large wave of the tsunami had burst Hilo’s electric power plant. Suddenly, all the lights in Hilo went out.

Next thing Mrs. Ito heard was a trembling sound. Before she knew it, the wave broke into her house. She was knocked to the floor as her house began to spin and finally tore apart. Desperately, Mrs. Ito grasped for anything to stay above water. Suddenly, something heavy fell on her. The floorboards opened up and she became trapped. She used every bit of strength to struggle out of the boards and managed to squeeze free. Then she blacked out.

When she woke up, she found herself being washed back and forth as the water rose. There were no waves, so she figured she had to be floating over flooded land. Not knowing how to swim, she hung on tight to her tiny temporary raft (木排).

At sunrise, she spotted two boats on the horizon (地平线). She saw in the distance a radio station tower light. She remained at peace and kept her head down. She thought that death was just a matter of time away. She thought the people on the boats hadn’t seen her. Then the boats came closer and closer. Mrs. Ito was seen and saved.

Lena could clearly remember the night she had to flee her home in Hungary. It was the beginning of the Second World War and her family needed to escape fast. She quickly packed a suitcase with a few pieces of clothing, her diary, and her most prized possession — a beautiful silk scarf. Lena and her best friend, Monika, had persuaded their parents to buy them matching scarves, which they each wore tied around their neck as a symbol of their friendship. Lena had no idea that when she left for America that night, she would never return. Her family settled on the sunny west coast in California.

Lena kept that special silk scarf for many years. One day she decided to give it to her granddaughter, Eliza, to wear to her first job interview for good luck. Lena was afraid that Eliza would lose the scarf, but her granddaughter reassured her, “Don’t worry, Grandma, nothing’s going to happen to your scarf. You’ll see. It is going to bring both of us luck today.” With that, Eliza kissed her grandmother on the cheek and left.

That afternoon, Eliza left the interview feeling confident that she had got the job. She decided to celebrate by going to a restaurant. As she sat at her table, she felt someone staring at her. Sitting next to her was an elderly woman who could not take her eyes off her. “I’m sorry. Do I know you?” Eliza asked.

“I’m sorry, dear, but you remind me of someone I once knew,” the old woman replied in an accented voice. “My best friend looked like you and used to wear a scarf just like the one you’re wearing around your neck.” Eliza felt goose bumps go up her arms. She had heard stories of her grandmother’s best friend and knew the significance of the scarf. Could this be Monika, her grandmother’s childhood friend?

Eliza introduced herself and waited to hear the name of the other woman. “My name is Monika, dear. I’m originally from Hungary, but my family had to leave when I was 14 and I’ve been living here in California ever since.” Eliza could not believe it. She said, “Monika, would you mind going somewhere with me? I want to show you someone very special.” The elderly woman agreed and they left the restaurant together.

They walked the short distance to Lena’s home and rang the doorbell. When Lena opened the door, she was amazed to see her childhood friend standing in front of her. The scarf had indeed brought good luck.

Today we were looking after our two nieces. They started screaming in the room where they were playing while my husband and I cooked lunch. We quickly ran to see what happened and there was a small scorpion (蝎子) that somehow got into the house.

My husband picked up the scorpion before it had a chance to get away. As he was catching the scorpion, the elder niece Alice said that it was good that he was there because “girls can’t deal with that thing”.

My husband asked her who told her that. Alice just shrugged (耸肩)and said,“Everyone knows girls are afraid of bugs (虫子).” So my husband called her over and told her, “You never have to be afraid of anything because you’re a girl. You’re just as good as boys. When you saw this scorpion, you called me and your aunt here. You recognized there was something that could hurt you. So you got help. I’m proud of you for letting adults know about something that was a danger to you. You’re very smart.”

He held the scorpion’s tail, adding, “As you grow up, people are always going to try to tell you what you can and can’t do, but you can do anything if you put your effort into it. There’re women that work with bugs for their jobs and study them.” She got so excited at the thought of woman being able to do things a man can do.

At this point her little sister Lisa came towards them. So my husband sat there and explained the different parts of the scorpion, completely firing their imagination. Alice asked if she could hold it. Then my husband put it on her hands. She was so proud of herself that she talked about it until she went to sleep.