18Chapter 2: Beyond barriers
Rong-ge never came back. Apparently, the Japanese wanted to screen out all the Chinese men 18 years and above to ensure they did not harbour any anti- Japanese sentiments.
This was Operation Sook Ching.
According to a fortunate young man living in the cubicle adjacent to ours, the men waited for hours on end just to be checked by the Japanese. There was a large ditch in front of the massive crowd, and those in the front row who got pushed in had to go to the back of the crowd for another few hours of waiting to get to the front once more. The Japanese officer who examined these men did little other than scrutinise their faces and hands. If the person had thickened skin at certain points on his hand from writing, he would pass to the left and be loaded into a waiting truck. If the candidate looked relatively stupid and bore evidence of hard labour, he would receive a chop in red ink that meant 'examined' and move to the right, where he was free to go.
Most importantly for the people who had passed was not to wash off the chop one received; anyone spotted without it afterwards would be executed. If one received the cop on his arm, he would not wash his arm or even let it come into contact with water. If one was fortunate, and had the ink imprinted on his shirt or any other article of clothing; he would keep the shirt in a safe place and guard it for dear life.
I supposed that Rong-ge had been loaded into one of the trucks, and it was rumoured that those loaded into trucks were sent to Changi Beach to be executed. After days and weeks of waiting for Rong-ge, we finally resigned ourselves to the fact that Rong-ge was never coming home again. I shocked myself when I did not even mourn the loss of my dearest brother, but then again, it no longer mattered to me who died, as long as I lived, everything was okay.
I grew selfish. I hoarded a little rice and sold it in the black market at high profits in exchange for the new banana notes, which would surely come in useful later.
It was only four months since were renamed Shonan-to, but three out of my five remaining siblings had already died of malnutrition. Although I did feel guilty initially for being so selfish, for being the indirect cause of their deaths, I hardened my heart and told myself that I would continue to take care of Ma, Jing and Wei, until my life was directly jeopardised.
*****
I wasn't even threatened. Damnit, I was just taken! The Japanese soldiers reeking of alcohol said nothing but carried me off, despite Ma's protests. They swatted her away like a fly; it wasn't surprising at all, she was little more than skin and bone.
I had little idea of where I was going to be taken, but I feared the worst that could ever befall a girl my age: being made into a prostitute to serve those bloodthirsty, ruthless Japanese soldiers. I definitely did not want that, so I screamed and kicked and scratched and called for help, but crowded as the street was, no one dared to help me. Storekeepers and patrons merely stared at me, a flailing mess of arms and legs, and resumed their business as soon as I passed; they feared for their lives; to them, mine didn't matter. I guess one of the soldiers found me too noisy, for I felt something hard hit me on the head, and then everything before me went black.
*****
I awoke to find myself in a small, rundown hut, its floor lined with a carpet of dry leaves and twigs. There was a small hole in the roof, and the walls seemed to be made of wood.
The crickets were chirping away merrily outside; it must be night now. A man, clad in the khaki Japanese military uniform, was stoking a fire. His cap was on the ground next to him. The fire's crackling sound seemed ominously loud. Before I could locate the exit, the man turned towards me, his back to the fire now. I could not see his face; the dancing flames behind him only served to heighten my fear as he stood up, and approached me calmly.
He took off his shirt, and I cowered away from him, leaning against the wall for support, listening to the wood emit a soft cracking sound with the increased pressure exerted on it. Each step he took made the dry leaves and twigs on the ground crack under his boots. Time ceased to flow as I squeezed my eyes shut, and prepared for the worst. Each step the soldier took thundered in my ears.
Instead of what I feared, I was covered with his shirt. I was pleasantly surprised by the sudden turn of events and I looked up in wonder at his face, which was shrouded in shadow.
A low, husky, totally masculine voice asked me gently and fluently in Mandarin,' Are you okay? I am San Jing Shou, or Mitsui Hisashi in Japanese. You were nearly gang-raped by a bunch of good-for-nothing alcoholics. You are really fortunate.'
Out of politeness, I replied. 'My name is Ling. Because you saved me, I believe you are a good man.'
'Do you believe all Japanese soldiers are cruel since you make it sound like I am the only good Japanese man alive?' I could practically hear him smiling as he said this.
I hesitated. If he were the nice guy I believed him to be, then telling him what I thought of them in general wouldn't matter. However, if he were offended by my words, then my life would be in great danger.
I decided to play it safe. 'I'm sorry, I didn't mean it that way, sir.'
'Call me Hisashi. You will stay here and not move about out of this shack unless you are threatened by an immediate danger, like a forest fire, for instance. I will come here as often as I can to bring you food and water. In the meantime, try to learn as much Japanese as you can from this book here. This will increase your chances of survival in this war.' He tossed me a worn book, its pages torn and tattered and yellow, but the string binding was as tight as it could ever be.
I was dumbfounded. Here was an enemy soldier trying to help me survive this war! I thanked all the gods with all my heart, just as a wave of euphoria washed over me. I. . . I can survive this war!
'Pardon me for my bluntness, but why do you want to help me? I mean. . . I am a Chinese, and you are . . .'
He turned his face such that I could see his shadowed features. I gasped in pure surprise. He. . . he was the soldier I had hoped to see for so long. . . and here he was, right before my eyes, and actually helping me to live out this war!
All he said was,' Because, just because, you are the one. . .' he blushed furiously in the dim light of the fire, and then continued,' . . . for me.'
A/n: hello. Haven't updated for ages. Exams are over liao. Goot. Hope you all will enjoy the story. Honestly, this is my first romance fic, so do pardon me for any parts lacking. No, this will not be a lemon, and I doubt there will be any kissing. For goodness sake, I'm just an underaged kid who has never been in love! XP