Page 49 of Sisters Under The Rising Sun

June and two of her friends have a special stray they look out for, sneak food to and cuddle.

Today, out walking with Norah and Ena, she has been on the alert for her friend, Bonnie.

The dog reacts to her name and turns towards them but is then startled by the sight of a soldier bounding towards her, rifle drawn, screaming. Behind the dog is another soldier, frozen in place.

‘Nooooo!’ yells Ena, throwing herself onto June, and they hit the ground as a shot rings out.

Nesta and Norah turn to see the dog bolt away but the soldier behind falls down, grasping at his chest. June screams while Ena holds her close. Nesta runs to the fallen guard.

‘Take her back to the house,’ Norah tells Ena, and to June she says, ‘Bonnie’s fine. She ran away.’

Ena pulls June to her feet and, wrapping her arms around her, she hurries away.

Norah looks at the solider who fired the shot; now it’s he who stands frozen. Norah runs over to Nesta and the injured man, while other soldiers stream onto the street, some heading for the wounded soldier, others towards the man who is still trying to comprehend what he has done.

‘How is he?’ Norah asks, kneeling beside Nesta.

‘He’s dead.’

Soldiers grab Nesta and pull her away. But Norah takes her arm, and the two women quickly leave, warning those who have come out of their houses at the sound of a gun firing to go back inside. This is a reminder, thinks Norah, more alert than ever to the danger they’re in. A reminder and a lesson: any one of their lives could be snuffed out by a poorly aimed bullet, with few, if any, repercussions.

Nesta is pleased the concert the following Saturday is a success. She despised Miachi and his soldiers in the front row, loudly applauding every performance, and felt her heart contract.

Her four volunteer nurses stood apart from the crowd, in the doorway to the kitchen, where they could enjoy the evening without being spied by their rapists. It was with a grateful tear she watched them sing an encore of ‘Land of Hope and Glory’ at the tops of their lungs.

Chapter 11

Camp II, Irenelaan, Palembang

April 1942–October 1943

‘I wish they would hurry up; the suspense is killing me,’ Betty whispers to the other nurses.

‘Shush, Betty, I don’t want you getting into trouble for talking,’ Nesta tells her.

‘Everyone else is talking,’ Vivian counters.

‘Talk quietly, then. I’m just on edge. I have no idea what’s coming.’

‘Those aren’t soldiers outside the admin block, are they?’ Jean asks.

‘They look more like locals. And they don’t have rifles, just revolvers,’ Betty says.

The buzz of the previous evening still lingered amongst the women the next day, until Mrs Hinch announced the women were to assemble for an announcement at noon. Rumours run rife in the crowd. It’s hard not to hope for freedom.

Well before the appointed hour, the women line up in rows outside the administration block at the end of the street.

A hush falls over the camp as the door to the administration building opens. Miachi strides out, with Ah Fat, surrounded by young men in simple, unadorned uniforms. He comes to a stop in front of the women. A crate is placed before him, and he steps up and begins to talk. Ah Fat yells over Miachi’s statement. The women in the front rows grasp enough to send the translation down the lines.

‘The honourable, brave Japanese soldiers have gone to fight, and we are now being guarded by local police. We are to treat them as if they are Japanese. Do not be in any doubt that they will punish bad behaviour.’

All the nurses gather in Nesta’s living room and quieten down as she and Jean call them to order.

‘Well, wasn’t that the best news we’ve had for a while?’ announces Nesta.

A chorus of ‘Oh yes!’ and ‘Best ever’ is echoed back.

‘There are four of us here for whom it means so much more.’