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Talking and Reading from Japan by Hidemi WoodsAuthor: Hidemi Woods
This podcast is narration works of short stories from the books Hidemi Woods wrote. And her talking about them. Hidemi Woods was born and raised in Kyoto, Japan. A singer-songwriter and an author. Her stories and talking are about life in Japan, music, family, childhood, and embarrassing everyday-experiences. Language: en Contact email: Get it Feed URL: Get it iTunes ID: Get it |
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the thickest door
Episode 17
Saturday, 28 March, 2026
Episode from The Family in Kyoto: One Japanese Girl Got Freedom by Hidemi WoodsHidemiWoods.comAudiobook : Japanese Dream by Hidemi Woods On Sale at online stores or apps.Apple Books, Audible, Google Play, Nook Audiobooks, 43 available distributors in total.the thickest doorIn the summer of my fourth grade, I was in the hospital. It started as cold-like symptoms with a high fever. But I was left unattended because summer was the peak season for farming and my parents were extremely busy as farmers. To make things worse, my family had been rebuilding our house at the time and extra attention of my parents was paid to that.About a week later, I vomited blood and fainted. That at last captured my parents’ attention and they realized the seriousness. When I became conscious, they had called a nurse who lived in the neighborhood and she was attending me. She suggested taking me to a hospital. After examination, I was diagnosed with nephritis. As the summer break for school was just around the corner, I was admitted to the hospital on the day the break began. Although I had been longing for the summer break as the precious time of my freedom, I was locked up in the hospital instead.I shared the room with five other girl patients. Except for a very small or very sick child, parents weren’t permitted to stay overnight with the patients. They came during the visiting hours. I was nine years old and had never stayed outside home for such a long time before. I suffered from homesickness rather than from nephritis. My parents were too busy working seven days a week as farmers and only my mother visited me everyday. But she only made it less than one hour before the visiting hour ended although I was waiting for her all day long. No matter how desperately I begged her to come earlier, she prioritized her work and I got to see her merely forty minutes or so a day.Sometimes my father also came to see me, taking my younger sister with him. In that case, when the visiting hour was over, I would see my parents and my sister off. They went into the elevator together and the door shut before me, excluding me alone. That was the thickest door I’d ever felt it was. I went back to my bed and lay down hiding tears from other girls and nurses. Maybe it hinted my future relationship with my family. The three of them still live together in their house that I left after I struggled and couldn’t quite fit in…
