Page 105 of Sisters Under The Rising Sun

‘Do you know where Jean and the other nurses are?’ Nesta asks.

‘They’re at the hospital waiting for you. Come on, we’ll give you a hand. June, honey, run ahead to the hospital and tell them that Jean, Nesta and the others have arrived,’ Ena says.

‘On my way, Aunty Ena.’ June runs ahead to deliver her important message.

‘Finally!’ Jean yells, sweeping Nesta into a hug. ‘Wait till you see our huts!’

‘Leaky roofs, no bedding, I can guess,’ says Nesta, grinning.

‘No! They’re new buildings. Huge. They can sleep around one hundred people.’

‘And the best thing,’ says Betty, joining them and throwing an arm around Nesta’s shoulder, ‘there are grass mats on the ground with enough room around each to stretch out without hitting the person next to you. Can you believe it?’

Nesta is led to the centre of the camp where the large kitchen is pointed out, along with two further kitchens with small fireplaces for cooking. The huts that they are to sleep in are wooden, light and airy inside, a distinct change from their last camp.

‘This is better,’ Nesta says, finally relaxing. ‘Toilets?’

‘Bathrooms!’ Betty says. ‘Actual bathrooms. And … wait for it … nine concrete wells.’

‘Clean water?’ Nesta asks. ‘This may very well save all our lives.’

A few days later, the number of internees swells when two hundred English women are marched into the camp. Amongst them are several Indo-Dutch young women dressed in beautiful clothes; they are led away by soldiers to several small huts on the hillside beyond the camp. It is obvious to all that they are the new ‘entertainment’ for the Japanese officers. Each day, the women observe the platters of meat, vegetables and rice delivered to their huts.

Within days, all nine wells are empty. Nesta complains to Mrs Hinch that the sick women will not get better if they are dehydrated on top of everything else. Mrs Hinch demands a meeting with Captain Seki, Ah Fat escorting her and Nesta into the commandant’s new office.

Mrs Hinch enters the room already talking; they are beyond the niceties of polite introductions. ‘The facilities are an improvement, and we’re grateful. However, your wells are useless; there is not a drop of water left in any of them.’

‘The women are ill and thirsty,’ Nesta adds. ‘We really need water.’

Seki listens to Ah Fat’s translation. Following his long retort, Ah Fat bows to Seki before turning back to Mrs Hinch.

‘Captain says more water will come when it rains.’

‘W-When it … rains?’ Nesta stammers.

‘And when will that be? Do you have a reliable weather forecast for us?’ Mrs Hinch says. ‘This is preposterous.’

Ah Fat doesn’t attempt to translate. Seki grins at Mrs Hinch and then at Nesta.

‘What’s he smiling about? This isn’t funny, Ah Fat!’

Ah Fat doesn’t attempt to hide his silly grin. ‘Inchi, Inchi. I’m making joke. Captain Seki not a monster. He says you can get water from the stream nearby.’

Mrs Hinch is not amused. Neither is Nesta. Fighting to control her temper, she bites her bottom lip, nods to both men and storms out.

Norah and Nesta join a line of women carrying whatever they can find to fetch water, creating a path through a jungle ablaze with colour, the tropical vegetation bearing the lush reds, purples and orange hues characterising so much of this landscape. Equally luminous wildflowers carpet the ground upon which they walk.

‘So much beauty,’ Norah says to Nesta.

‘And all we want is water,’ Nesta responds. ‘I’d trade all of these wildflowers for a tap.’

Down in a small gully, they find a babbling stream. Norah and Nesta exchange a glance and follow the other women, who are throwing off their clothes and plunging into the cool water. After they feel refreshed, they sit on nearby rocks, using the sand gathered from the streambed to wash their hair.

‘It is so good to still be alive,’ Nesta says.

‘And not thirsty!’

On their way back to camp, clean, and bearing containers full of water, Nesta pauses to pick a bunch of the wildflowers.