The Plantation - Di Morrissey [150]
I looked at Gilbert and he nodded. ‘Do as they say, and don’t argue,’ he said.
‘So Philip was passed up and then it was my turn. Philip, I could see, was clinging to the railing and sobbing for me. Gilbert helped me scramble onto the Japanese boat. I remember the touch of his hand as he squeezed my arm. “You’ll be right,” he said.
‘At this point, the Malay suddenly jumped up shouting “Allah Akbar” and waved one of those big parangs, knives, at the Japanese. Well, the soldier on the gunboat fired at him and the poor man was riddled with bullets and fell onto the deck of the boat. The soldier then turned his gun on Gil. Gilbert made a wild dash to jump overboard and then I saw everything as if in slow motion. As he went over the side, the soldier fired at him, I don’t know how many times, but the sea went red. Gil didn’t have a chance.’
‘That’s terrible,’ said Julie, tears springing to her eyes. ‘Poor Gilbert.’
‘What a horror for you and Philip. How do you recover from something like that?’ said Caroline.
‘You have to learn to live with it,’ said Bette simply. ‘Later I learned to live and love again, but the scars are still there. Still part of you.’
‘What happened to the Malay woman and her children?’ asked Julie.
‘I don’t know. The Japanese just left them there. I don’t think they were interested in making anyone else, except Europeans, prisoners. Philip and I huddled in their boat as they headed across to Sarawak. The Japanese had already established a POW camp near Kuching, some distance out of the town. We were driven and then marched to it. Through all this I managed to keep my bag slung over my chest. In it were Philip’s blue elephant and some money. I had nothing else. And so began our sojourn at the Emperor’s pleasure.’
Bette reached for a glass of water on the tray.
‘When did my grandmother find out that you’d both survived the bombing of Singapore and were interned in a POW camp?’ asked Julie.
‘Not for years. Twice in the camp the Japanese gave us special postcards and we were allowed to write two lines on them. They were supposed to be sent to our families, but we never knew if they got through, and they hadn’t. It was only after the surrender that a full list of names of those interned in our camp was made known, so neither my parents nor Margaret knew that we were alive until the war was over. I find it difficult to forgive the Japanese such cruel indifference.’
‘Internment must have been hard on Philip,’ said Caroline.
‘Yes. He kept asking where his mummy was, and why she wasn’t coming back to get him. For a while I was angry with Margaret for fussing with all the unnecessary stuff and getting separated from us, but I realised that I couldn’t really blame her. Everything was in complete chaos, so it was no one’s fault. I promised myself that I would protect Philip and see us through whatever was ahead.’ Bette straightened up and gave a small smile. ‘It was a tough three and a half years. But he came through it. We both survived.’
Julie looked at Caroline. This was her mother’s brother that Bette had been talking about and Caroline had been quite ignorant of these terrible experiences he had been through. She wondered how much Shane and Peter knew about this episode in their father’s life. For a moment all three women sat in silence.
Finally Caroline spoke. ‘And when my mother knew that her son was safe and that you’d protected and looked after Philip, got through this incredible, horrible ordeal, surely she must have fallen on her knees to give thanks,’ said Caroline.
Bette was noncommittal. ‘I have no idea how she reacted when she first heard the news. But certainly, when we were all reunited, it was very emotional.’
‘I can’t imagine how it must have been for you all. The days sailing back to Australia, what was