How we cite our quotes: (Chapter.Paragraph)
Quote #4
Dr. Sasaki found himself the only doctor in the hospital who was unhurt. (1.26)
In a second lucky stroke for Dr. Sasaki, he ended up being positioned within the walls of the hospital such that he ended up the only uninjured doctor there… which is pretty crazy, when you think about it.
Quote #5
Mr. Tanimoto climbed up the bank and ran along it until, near a large Shinto shrine, he came to more fire, and as he turned left to get around it, he met, by incredible luck, his wife. She was carrying their infant daughter. Mr. Tanimoto was now so emotionally worn out that nothing could surprise him. (2.35)
If a fictional story included all the coincidences and chance meetings that occur in this true account of the Hiroshima attacks, you probably wouldn't believe it. Here, we learn that Mr. Tanimoto ended up running into his wife, despite the fact that Hiroshima was a large city (and, you know, thrown into total chaos after the attack). Incredible, right?
Quote #6
Judging by the many maimed soldiers Mr. Tanimoto had seen during the day, he surmised that the barracks had been badly damaged by whatever it was that had hit Hiroshima. He knew he hadn't a chance of finding Mrs. Kamai's husband, even if he searched, but he wanted to humour her. "I'll try," he said. (2.56)
Despite the fact that some incredible/lucky things had happened to him since the bomb dropped (for example, randomly running into his wife amid all the chaos without having to go searching for her), Mr. Tanimoto was not feeling so sure that Mrs. Kamai's husband was going to turn up. In fact, he believed "he hadn't a chance of finding" him. So, you kind of get a sense with this passage that there was a fair amount of despair/fatalism going on.