Page 25 of Sisters Under The Rising Sun

The soldiers come face to face with the group of exhausted survivors and raise their bayonets. Everyone gets slowly to their feet. They are ordered out of the jungle.

‘What do you think you’re doing?’ The first officer is indignant. ‘I’ve just told you we’re surrendering. You don’t need the guns.’

The soldiers ignore him and begin to pull the men away from the women.

‘Matron, why are they doing that?’

‘Everyone, please stay calm,’ says Matron, although her own voice is cracking.

‘They’re taking them away!’ cries Vivian as the group of men is marched away. ‘Jimmy!’

‘It’s OK, Vivian,’ calls Jimmy. ‘Please look after yourself, it was a pleasure getting to know you.’

Jimmy, the soldiers and all the other men disappear around the bend of the beach. What follows are sounds that Vivian will never forget.

‘NO! NO! OH, MY GOD, NO!’

‘Quickly,’ shouts Matron. ‘Sisters, block the children’s ears, they shouldn’t be hearing this.’

The sound of the gentle lapping of the waves on the shore, the calls of birds and insects from dense forest, all is made mute by the ferocious staccato of gunshots erupting into the air.

‘Matron! They’re killing them, they’re killing the men!’ Vivian weeps.

‘Everyone, stay close together now,’ Matron orders. ‘We must do exactly as they say.’

A nurse pipes up from the stunned crowd. ‘Why don’t we make a run for it? Those of us who are strong swimmers can head into the water, the others into the jungle. That way, at least some of us might escape.’

‘No, Sister, we’re not going anywhere. Can’t you see there are people here who need us? Yes, they have probably killed the men, but all our training and everything we stand for means we do not abandon those who need our help. I want you all to remember that where there is life, there is hope.’

‘I’m sorry, Matron,’ sobs the nurse. ‘I’m sorry.’

‘We’re all scared, Sister, but we’re all scared together.’

The soldiers have reappeared and are making their way steadily towards the group. Some are using bloody cloths to clean their bayonets. They indicate for everyone to head down to the sea, pointing first at the people and then at the water.

‘OK, Vivian, you and Sister Kerr help Sisters Halligan and Wight to their feet. Let’s just do as we’re told,’ says Matron. ‘All together, girls, hold hands.’

One by one, the women step into the sea. They are all so hot that the cool water is a momentary relief.

‘Such a beautiful day, such a beautiful place. How could anything so terrible happen here?’ Vivian is struggling to resolve the reality of the ravishing landscape with the brutal attack on the men. She imagines them now, fatally wounded, just a few feet away.

A feeling of terrible dread settles over the women. The nightmare is not yet over.

‘Oh, Mother,’ whispers Vivian. ‘I am so sorry you will never know what happened to me. I love you, and I guess it will be great to see Dad again.’

‘GIRLS!’ yells Matron Irene Drummond. ‘I WILL CARRY YOU ALL IN MY HEART. YOU HAVE NO IDEA HOW PROUD I AM OF EACH AND EVERY ONE OF YOU.’

Before Vivian turns away from the beach and focuses all her attention on the horizon, she has noticed the machine gun being set up at the water’s edge. She turns around; she doesn’t need to see this. For the second time that morning, gunfire pierces the tranquil skies.

Vivian comes to slowly. First, she opens her eyes to see the startling blue above her, and a bright white sun. She blinks, dazzled by its brilliance.Am I alive?she asks herself, incredulous. She is on her back in the shallows.

She doesn’t move, terrified the soldiers are still close by. She shuts her eyes and tries to steady her breathing. She’s in pain, knows she’s been hit, but right now, she can’t locate the source. Play dead, she tells herself.

When she opens her eyes again – did she fall asleep? – the sun is lower in the sky. She can’t hear anyone else and risks raising her head to look at the beach. It’s empty.

It’s then the pain strikes in earnest. She has been hit in her side and back. She carefully runs her hands over her body. No major organs, thank God, she reassures herself. It is when she raises her head once more to peer into the waters around her that she sees the bodies of her friends floating there. It is a terrible moment and she wonders if she’ll ever gather enough strength to leave this burial ground and find safety.

Slowly, inch by inch, she raises herself into a sitting position. She has to find somewhere to hide. Away from the beach.