Simple Totem Pole Lunch [Weekly Short-Short Note]

My first overseas business trip at age 50 took me to the Philippines. The company is promoting digital transformation, and the goal of this trip was to confirm that the system introduced at the Japanese headquarters could be successfully integrated with the Philippine subsidiary.

Thanks to the troubleshooting we had anticipated in advance, we were able to integrate the system smoothly. Although I had set aside the final day as a buffer, I was able to take it off.

There was a place I wanted to visit if I ever went to the Philippines. I asked the driver contracted by the company to take me to a certain cemetery.

Beyond the cemetery of crosses, at the edge, stood a simple totem pole. It served as a marker for the place where Japanese soldiers who died in the Pacific War were buried.

I had heard from my father that my grandfather died in battle in the Philippines. A single postcard left behind as a memento read, 'I want to eat a rice ball. I want to eat a rice ball made of white rice.'

I offered the rice ball I had bought at a convenience store to the totem pole and quietly put my hands together in prayer. I was grateful for the peace we have.

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I am participating in Tara-ha-kani's project.
Thank you for every week.

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