Page 53 of Sisters Under The Rising Sun

Squashed in the crowd of women, Norah clings to Ena. ‘Do you think John is with them? Oh, my God, Ena, could he be here, on the other side of the fence?’

‘I don’t know, we can only hope he is, and soon we’ll find out.’

The next day, the women gather. Mrs Hinch has chosen a handful of women, including Norah, to approach the prisoners, with Margaret leading the way. The rest of the camp waits outside the house for the women to return.

Norah is glad that the men are in the cooling shade of the trees, given the blistering weather.

Within half an hour, they are back inside. Margaret steps forwards to announce their news.

‘We saw them!’ she begins. ‘There were dozens of them marching through the trees. A Japanese soldier was out in front, so we waited a bit before calling out. It was an Englishman who told us there are Dutch amongst their group.’

‘They’re being held in a prison and every day they’re taken to work on a camp a few miles away that they’ll soon move into,’ Norah adds. All these expectant faces beam up at her as if she is delivering their freedom. ‘They’ve been at it for some time and the camp is nearly ready,’ she continues. ‘They didn’t give us any names – it was too risky for us to talk too long, anyway. But I don’t see why we can’t go back every day.’

‘Thank you, Norah,’ says Mrs Hinch. ‘We haven’t worked out what time they return in the afternoon and some of us could take turns in the backyard to wait and watch,’ she suggests.

The following morning, Norah and the women gather again in front of the Dutch house. In an orderly manner, they file inside and out into the backyard and wait in silence. The nurses remain at the back of the crowd: there won’t be anyone they know amongst the male prisoners, but today they want to be part of this. They give thanks that their fathers, brothers and boyfriends are safe back at home in Australia. Once again, Nesta thinks about Rick, wondering what it would be like to suddenly be so close to seeing him again.

The silence is finally broken by the sound of footsteps crunching through the forest. As the Japanese soldier in charge of the men appears, Margaret holds up her arm before slowly letting it drop. She is leading the women in song.

Beyond the wire, the men hear sweet voices raised to the heavens; just forthem.

‘Oh come, all ye faithful

Joyful and triumphant …’

Norah’s heart fills as she sings a Christmas carol for their fellow prisoners, communicating in the only way they are able.

The men in front pause for a moment before they are shoved on their way. She can see them peering between the trees, hoping to catch a glimpse of the women who are serenading them. Other Japanese guards stop and turn towards the singing. Through the leaves and branches, the women watch the men remove their hats and shirts to wave at them.

‘Thank you,’ they hear the men calling out, both in Dutch and English, before being moved along.

‘I didn’t see John,’ a distraught Norah tells Ena afterwards.

‘I couldn’t make out anyone; it’s impossible to know,’ Ena soothes. Norah knows that Ena harboured her own wild hope of seeing Ken.

The next day at the same hour, the women gather once more, silently waiting for the moment when they will hear the crunch of footsteps approaching and their voices will send the message of hope to the unknown men.

As they strain to make out any noise from the jungle, the men’s voices filter through the trees. Hearts full of hope and fear, they begin singing.

‘Oh come ye

Oh come ye

To Bethlehem …’

Once again, the men pause, but they are silhouettes in the dappled light of the jungle. Norah can’t make out a single face, but she sings with all her heart. When the final notes ring out, the song is sung again, this time in Dutch.

The women weep, clinging to each other, desperate to call out, but heeding Mrs Hinch’s words:

‘You must do nothing that might put the men in danger.’

Already, Christmas 1942 is like none Norah has ever known; it has been a wonderful moment, powerful and uplifting, but when it is over, she and everyone else is once more mired in the stark reality of their circumstances.

As the men pass by the following day, they call out their goodbyes: this is the last time they will walk the path from their prison to their new jungle camp. This time, the women don’t hold back, calling out their own goodbyes.

‘John!’ Norah screams desperately. ‘John, it’s me, Norah. Are you there? Please be there!’

Caught up in the emotion, Ena also calls out, ‘Ken, my darling Ken! It’s Ena, I’m here, I’m here.’