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 * Jan. 19, 1938**

Dear Diary, I think it’s okay to say that we’re going to be safe again. We have lived in that small, cold cottage for a little over a month. Mother told us that it’s no longer safe to live here and she said that she has found somewhere better for us to live: the city. This morning, the morning of January 19, we moved to the city for survival. It was a long journey. We started out first thing in the morning and arrived at the city in the early evening at around 5 PM. Although my sister and I were excited about the having a taste of the city, we were a bit embarassed. We were lost, scared, nervous, and dirty. Mother, although clearly, she didn’t know anything, claimed that we were fine, and that we just needed to keep walking forward. The sun was almost down and Ming Ming and I were tired and hungry. The sole of my feet hurt, and I felt as if my legs were going to fall apart. My mother suddenly grabbed our hands. Puzzled, but yet sensing something was wrong, I gave a look to Ming Ming that said to get ready to run. Mother dragged us along walking faster after each pace. As we turned the corner on the curb, Mother stopped. She realized that the men who were following us were not Japanese soldiers. In fact, they weren’t Asian at all. They were Westerners! They told us not be scared of them and that they would help us. I noticed that the most kind looking man was a older than mother. He had no hair in the middle of his head and he wore glasses. Ming Ming told Mother and I that we should trust them, and she was positive that they weren’t helping the Japanese. He said that he was going to get us into the “safety zone,” whatever that was. As we walked along, he introduced himself as John Rabe. I asked him out of curiosity what the safety zone is and he explained that it was a place where the heartless Japanese soldiers wouldn’t be able to harm us or beat us or rape us. When we got there, we were welcomed by other Chinese women who shared similar stories with us. They gave us new warm clothes for us to wear and the food there was so warm I was scared that if I ate it all now, I might never eat anything like this again. I have never felt this much feeling of comfort for such a long time, I just really hope this is not a dream.

Sincerely, Happy Jing Wei