you really had to confront it in a serious way, right? yes. i had i had never loved someone the way i loved georgia. and so i, i guess i just hoped that she was going to be all you know, she was going to be fine and i was going to probably didn t sleep much that night? no. the aftershocks went on all night. so did tsunami warnings. so you re thinking, is there going to be another tsunami coming through? you know, it s wow. i didn t really sleep.
at 5:30 a.m., he knew what he had to do. he left a note on his apartment door, just in case georgia made it there. and i said, georgia, i m coming to look for you. if for some reason you make it into kuji, stay here. if i haven t found you by sundown, i m coming right back here, so know i m coming back. and then he got in his car again, and headed toward the coast. and i just decided nearly come hell or high water, i was getting into that damned town. but how? he d certainly be facing hell and high water. but perhaps the biggest problem? was the japanese army, blocking the road. coming up. was time running out for georgia? had zach lost the love of his life? that feeling that she s not all right, it became growing as each minute went by.
changed so drastically to just looks of genuine fear. that s when i thought, you know, i myself was scared. now he understood. if the wave got as far as his town further inland, it had to have hit georgia s town, right on the coast. what happened to all those people there? to georgia? and suddenly he knew. he had to find this girl. just had to. i wanted to see her and i wanted to comfort her as well. no idea what would be waiting for you at that end? no, not the slightest. there s a moment in some lives that defines everything that comes after. the test. the trial. this was zach brandon s test to pass or fail. coming up. i ve never loved someone the way i loved georgia. but sometimes love doesn t conquer all.
kindergarten, his heart sank. the kindergarten was completely gone. wiped away? yes. they were, all that was left was a bit of the fence and some of the foundation. so a kindergarten that would have been occupied? i had hoped not. later, he found out those children were safe. evacuated before the tsunami hit. but now, zach went to another school, found a group of teachers, huddled in their office. unable to speak japanese, he passed around georgia s business cards with her photo. and i went in, and i just kept asking, georgia sensei, where is she? have you seen her? they had not. but they did give zach some hope. they said, chudako, go, junior high, junior high. i take that as oh, she s at the junior high.
wheels, and so immediately, as it started, the chair was, just kind of began to slide. zach had never been in an earthquake, but his co-workers knew this one was big. worried that the building might collapse, they ran downstairs and out to the parking lot. but soon they were told it was okay. it was over. but when the shaking stopped, the disaster was just beginning. there was a monster out there over the horizon called fate, and it was coming very fast. almost as soon as zach got back to his desk, warning sirens went off, and even zach knew what that meant. and if the tsunami was heading to his town of kuji two miles inland, what was it going to do on the coast in noda, where georgia was? what had happened to georgia? had anyone in her town survived the tsunami?