sadako and the thousand paper cranes

everyone remembers this book,..right?

the incredibly sad story of a little japanese girl who contracts leukemia as a result of the bomb on hiroshima.

she spends her days in a nursing home creating origami paper cranes in the hope of making 1,000.  the japanese saying went along the lines of implying that one who made 1,000 origami cranes would then be granted a wish.

her wish was to live.

unfortunately she died after only constructing 644 cranes.  however, her friends finished the remaining cranes and they were buried with her.

a picture book version has been released, and i have been reading it to lottie, and for what it's worth, the tale is MUCH sadder after becoming a parent.

last night, she wanted to make me a paper crane to take to my big appointment (small writing indicates whispering, and hence not wanting to talk about it!).

dear little girl.

anyway, we have sort of run out of time,....so i will be content with this beautiful image,

and the knowledge that my darling girl knows how important this meeting is to me.

fingers crossed!

jane xx