Chapter 3

CHAPTER 3 Ben stood between Mom and Ojisan as the doctor looked Harry over. Ben's stomach was still twisted in knots from the sight of Harry lying on the ground. The little guy looked terrible — a blood-crusted nose and a big gash on his arm. But as battered as he looked, he wasn't so badly hurt. It seemed that the branches of the tree had slowed Harry's fall before he hit the dirt, and that the ground was soft from all the rain. The doctor — his name was Dr. Sato — checked Harry over very carefully. When he was finished, he put his hand on Harry's head.

"You must be made of rubber, Harry," he said in perfect English. "Did you bounce when you hit the ground?" "I think so!" Harry exclaimed. This made them all laugh, even Ben. The sound that came out of his mouth surprised him, it had been so long since he'd heard it. "I just need to fix up that little cut on your arm," Dr. Sato said. "It will just take a few stitches." Uh-oh. "Nooooo!" screamed Harry. Show Harry a cobra and he'd smile and reach out to pet it. But the tiniest needle sent him into fits of total panic. Dr. Sato wasn't going to get anywhere near Harry, Ben was sure. Except it turned out Dr. Sato was a genius. "Mrs. Kudo," Dr. Sato said to Mom, raising his voice above Harry's screams. "Is it true that Darth Vader has a scar on his arm?"

Harry stopped crying. "Yes," Mom said, putting on a serious face. "Isn't that right, Ben?" "Totally," Ben answered, trying not to smile. "He got it in a lightsaber fight." They all looked at Harry, who finally took a deep, hiccupping breath. "Can I get a scar?" he asked softly. "If you sit perfectly still while I do the stitches," Dr. Sato said. Harry held out his arm to the doctor. "Go ahead." He sniffed bravely. Forty-five minutes later, Harry admired his sewn-up cut as if it was the best birthday present ever. They all said good-bye to Dr. Sato. They piled into Ojisan's little car and headed back to Shogahama. The road was narrow, and curved around high rocky cliffs. Out one window, Pacific waves crashed against a wall of craggy rocks. On the other side, the view stretched across

rice fields to the mountains, which towered up to the clear blue sky. "Daddy was right," Mom said. "I think this is the most beautiful place on Earth." "You should stay longer," Ojisan said. "I want to!" Harry shouted. Not Ben. He was glad they were leaving in two days. He'd miss Ojisan. But being here had turned Ben all soft. He'd been dreaming about Dad every night, thinking about him all the time.

Back home, Ben managed to keep his mind clear. It wasn't easy. He'd given up basketball, even quitting the travel team he'd worked so hard to make. Hoops had been their game — Ben and Dad's. After the accident, just the sound of a bouncing ball would hit Ben in the chest like a bullet. He'd cleaned out his room so there were no more pictures of Dad. He'd ripped down the F-16 poster that had hung over his bed. When Mom knocked on his locked door, Ben said he was doing homework. When Harry wanted to play, Ben told him to go away. Sometimes it seemed that Ben had turned his room into a cave, a dark space like where Dad hid after he was shot down in Afghanistan. Yeah, it was lonely in there sometimes. But at least in his cave, Ben felt safe.