Tears of the Moon - Di Morrissey [104]
Niah relaxed and felt comfortable leaving Maya with the old women while she went hunting and gathering food with the other women and young girls. There was much to learn.
One day after they reached the coast Niah felt a need to be on her own. She found herself thinking a lot about Tyndall and Broome. While the others collected oysters and shellfish, Niah clambered over rocks to a deserted inlet. She wandered idly for a short time kicking at the sand, then sat and stared out to sea. Somewhere across the ocean was the island where she’d grown up and where her other family lived. She remembered how her grandmother had sat and told her the story of the land across the sea. It had been a long time ago and Niah’s mother told her stories of how her grandmother had sailed back over the sea to visit, returning with gifts and stories of the great welcoming ceremony for her. Niah, by inadvertently returning to the home of her grandmother, felt she had completed the circle.
Deep in thought she didn’t hear the footfall behind her. An arm grabbed her around the throat and her arms were swiftly pinned behind her back.
‘Got you!’ The grinning face of Karl Gunther leered close to hers. ‘What a pleasant surprise, my pretty. What are you doing up here?’
‘I, I, I come with Tyndall,’ she stammered frantically.
‘Oh yeah? And where’s ‘is boat. I’m moored around the cove, there ain’t any other boats ‘ere.’ He dragged her to her feet.
Niah tried to scream but he clamped his hand across her mouth. ‘Now, now. Don’t make a noise. Or I’ll hurt you real bad. You’re comin’ with me.’
He dragged her, kicking and struggling, along the sand. She bit and scratched until he gave her a solid backhander and she went limp. Slinging her over his shoulder, he hurried along the beach.
Niah came to in the dim cabin of a boat. She could tell by the sound and movement that they were getting under way and she struggled to rise, but found she was tied by her ankles, the rope looping up to tie her hands behind her back. She attempted to cry out but a rag had been tied across her mouth. Her frantic heavings sent her crashing to the deck where she lay bruised and sore. A black cloud of fright and despair descended on her.
Once the boat was under way, Gunther appeared and yanked her upright. ‘So, you fell. Dear me.’ His voice dripped facetiously. He flung her back on the bunk. ‘Stop fightin’, woman. There’s no point. Be nice ‘n’ things may go easier for you.’
She lay there, her eyes burning with anger as she watched him fuss around the cabin. He then threw her one last look and a leering grin. Niah thought longingly of her child—at least she was safe, but her urge to get off this boat and get back to Maya overwhelmed all other feelings.
Hours passed. She felt faint with hunger and thirst. Gunther returned and yanked the cloth from her mouth, loosened her hands and gave her water which she gulped greedily. She sat and glared at him.
‘Don’t give me the evil eye. You wanna get on in this life, you be nice to me.’ He flicked a finger under her chin and Niah resisted the impulse to poke a finger at his eye. He tied one of her hands to the ankle rope.
The cook delivered a plate of rice with a few strips of dried fish on it and turned away. Niah spoke swiftly in Malay but he didn’t reply. She ate with one hand and waited.
Gunther came to her, drunk, later that night, forcing her back on the thin coir mattress of the bunk. He pulled out a knife, casually slit her sarong and flung it away. Grinning in the lantern light he drew the knife around her nipples and slowly ran it down her chest and belly to her pubic hair where he held it as their eyes locked. Niah remained motionless.
‘That’s the girl. No point in fighting me now,’ he slurred. He reached down and slit the rope binding her ankles, kicked her legs apart and held the knife threateningly above her. Niah didn’t move. Gunther dragged off his trousers and flung himself on top of her, fumbling and groping, his rum-soaked breath almost smothering her.
Niah kicked out with her legs, pulling