Looking at the photo of Anne smiling, wearing a beautiful dress, I thought about her mother’s feelings. While Anne’s friends were getting married and living a happy life, she came to Japan alone, worked herself to the bone, and returned to her country sick. Even though she tenaciously followed her desire, and worked tirelessly in foreign countries, she must have been mortified. With nobody to talk to, she must have felt very lonely. These likely feelings of Anne’s mother stabbed my heart with pain. At the end of the letter, it said, “On the tombstone, Anne’s name is engraved in katakana also. That way, if you or any other Japanese visit England, it would be easy to find her.” I took a closer look at the photo and found “Anne Ross” in katakana. At that moment my mind was made up. I would travel to England without fail and visit Anne’s grave. I would convey to her mother how grateful I was to have met Anne, and tell her about the present situation in Japan.
