Weedflower

Sumiko continues to visit the bean field, hoping to see Frank, but he doesn’t come. One day, Auntie announces that she found a job in a sewing factory near Chicago, and that it’s time for them to leave the camp. Sumiko resists; the camp is safe and familiar. Who knows what life will be like for them if they leave? Sumiko thinks about staying with her Uncle Kenzo, who is staying at one of the nearby camps in Poston. However, thinking back to when her parents died, she recalls that it was Bull who had made her smile again and reminded her that she still had a family.

Sumiko takes the bus one day to Camp One to visit her Uncle Kenzo and ask if she and Tak-Tak can stay with him. When she finds in him the camp, he’s playing cards and hardly takes time to listen to her request. He tells her that she belongs with her Auntie, and Sumiko goes dejectedly back to camp. The barracks have a goodbye party for the men who are leaving as soldiers, including Bull and Ichiro. She follows Bull outside of party and tries to imagine him in the future but can’t. She can envision Ichiro raising children and growing old, but she can’t imagine Bull beyond what he’ll look like in his uniform. She promises to write to him, and they embrace. When Sumiko wakes in the morning, Bull and Ichiro are already gone. Auntie cries quietly as she folds their sheets, and Sumiko notices two notes Bull left about farming: one for Frank and one for Joseph.

As Auntie prepares to move to Illinois in a few weeks, Sumiko constantly maintains that she won’t be going. She visits the bean field often, hoping to see Frank and deliver the notes to him from Bull. One day, he shows up and shares that his oldest brother, Henry, died in battle. Sumiko feels guilty that he was likely killed by Japanese soldiers, yet also defensive, in case Frank decides to blame her. Frank tells her about the Mohave mourning traditions and expresses surprise that she hasn’t left the camp yet. He tells her that her future isn’t there in Poston; in his view, leaving is what’s best for her. Sumiko is bothered that he wants her to go and doesn’t recognize that he wants her to leave because he cares about her. Frank leaves suddenly and Sumiko is left feeling responsible for his brother’s death and unsure of whether she should stay or leave the camp.

Sumiko returns to camp and starts working to extend her garden. While she works, she thinks about Jiichan and his journey to America. For the first time, she realizes that his goal of reaching American was not for his own benefit; it was for her. Before she was even born, Jiichan wanted to create a better life for her. This realization helps Sumiko come to a decision: She’ll leave the camp with Auntie. Sumiko visits the bean field every day hoping to see Frank to say goodbye. She asks Mr. Moto for his prized garden carving to give as a gift to Frank, and he agrees. Finally, three days before she leaves, Sumiko leaves the carving and a note in the bean field telling Frank when she’ll be leaving. On the morning of their departure, Sumiko says goodbye to Sachi and Mr. Moto. Just before she boards the bus, she sees Frank riding toward camp on his bicycle. He gives her a bracelet and his address so that they can write to each other, and they hug tightly before Sumiko boards the bus. Sumiko cries and worries about Frank, but Auntie comforts her in a rare moment of affection and thanks Sumiko for the money she gave to be sent to Uncle and Jiichan. As the bus gets farther from camp, Sumiko thinks of all the friends and family she’ll miss and will have to write to. She feels afraid of how people will treat her in Illinois, but she remembers her dream of owning a flower shop—which feels like it might be possible once again.