Page 31 of Sisters Under The Rising Sun

‘Well done, Bully,’ Nesta whispers. ‘That can’t have been easy, but we’re all so proud of you.’

‘Come on, Norah, you have to get up,’ Ena pleads. Ena and her sister are in one of the small classrooms, along with many other women and children.

‘What’s the point?’ Norah mumbles. She is lying flat on her back, gazing up at the ceiling. ‘Sally’s gone, John’s gone. My family …’

‘The point is that you need to get them back and you can only do that by getting up and carrying on.’

June lies down beside Norah, snuggling up to her. ‘Please get up,’ says the little girl. ‘I’m so hungry and we have to go outside to eat.’

‘June’s right, Norah, they’ve set up the food outside. You know as well as the rest of us that we have to eat when we can.’

Norah slowly sits up, reaching for Ena’s extended hand. Ena pulls her to her feet and hugs her tightly. June wraps her arms around their waists.

‘I’m sorry, Ena,’ Norah sighs. ‘Especially because I know how worried you are about Ken. I’m being selfish.’

‘My darling sister, you don’t ever need to apologise to me. I’ll always be here, whenever you need me.’

‘Me too,’ pipes up June and the two women stroke the girl’s hair.

‘You sweet girl, thank you,’ says Norah.

While the women and the little girl share this precious moment of warmth, Margaret Dryburgh appears.

‘Ladies, I’ve put aside some rice for you. Are you coming?’ Margaret waits by the entrance and takes Norah’s hand. ‘I can’t imagine how you’re feeling right now, but I want you to know I’m here to help you.’

‘Thank you,’ says Norah, and adds, ‘Is there any news?’

‘There is. Apparently, we’re moving on shortly. This is just a temporary stop.’

‘Where to?’ Ena asks.

‘They didn’t tell us anything other than that we’re leaving. I wish at least one of them had a few words of English, but that’s all I could make out.’

The next morning, the women and children are lined up and marched off the school grounds. Curious eyes follow them through the town as they walk towards the countryside. Eventually, they are led into a small village where two rows of houses face each other across a central street. The soldiers begin to divide the prisoners into groups.

‘They’re giving us actual houses?’ exclaims Nesta. A soldier has approached the nurses, roughly counting them before aiming his rifle at the women and gesturing for them to split into two groups.

‘Looks like it,’ Jean says, ‘but it’s a shame we can’t all be together.’

One group, led by Nesta, enters a house with the number 24 on the front door and Jean leads the second group into a house two doors down. Dutch settlers must have occupied these houses before they arrived and it’s clear they had been moved on in a hurry. Their possessions are everywhere. In the kitchens, the nurses find a couple of tins of European food; the bedrooms have children’s clothing hanging in the wardrobes. There are squeals of delight heard between the houses when soap and toothbrushes are found in the bathrooms, and even more delight when they turn on the lights to find there is electricity. Food being the most pressing of their needs, Jean instructs her nurses to build a firepit in front of the house where they can cook.

Nesta leaves her house and joins Jean and together they watch the firepit take shape. They hope they will be given something more than the few tins of food they found in the kitchen to prepare.

‘Can we all get together when they’re finished? I’d like to talk about how we should use our skills for however long we’re here,’ she tells Jean.

‘Excellent idea, I’ll gather my lot up shortly and join you.’

When Nesta returns to her house, she finds the girls gathered, waiting for her.

‘What’s wrong?’ Nesta asks, unable to make out the silly grins on their faces.

‘We have something for you,’ Betty chortles.

‘What?’

‘It’s in one of the bedrooms. It’s a real bed and we all want you to have it.’

‘Ha! That’s lovely, but I’m more than happy with the floor. One of you can take it.’