The Birthmark Page 7

  Hector saw Christina frown. He made a mental note: Australians mustn’t like coughing and spitting. ‘Come on, Ibu, tell us about the Japs,’ he repeated.

  ‘They were bad, brutal, evil men. They shouted at you...never let us be. If they caught you with any food, you must give it to them, then they flogged you…beat you with a lump of wood. But they stole...stole the island... stole our life. So many islanders died.’

  The old man paused and swallowed back the pain of memories. He shifted in his seat and sighed.

  ‘Did they have swords?’ Decima asked.

  Lily glared at her.

  Again the old man paused, looked up and gulped the air. ‘Yes, they had swords. They chopped your neck if they wanted to.’ He was crying, Hector knew. Not openly like a child, but his eyes were wet and he blinked in an effort to stop the flow.

  How would the girls react to this? The old man droning on and blubbering about his memories. No wonder Lily’s family thought Riki was weird. But the three girls seemed transfixed by Riki’s story. Lily had relaxed and was even smiling now. Maybe it was all right to mention the sword after all.

  ‘I told you about the sword we found, Ibu. Do you think it was Japanese?’ Hector said.

  As soon as he said it he felt the sting of Lily’s kick beneath the table. Above the table she scowled at him.

  Riki grunted and wiped his eyes with the back of his hands. ‘Could be,’ he muttered. He gazed steadily at Lily and his voice shook as he spoke. ‘I’d like to see it one day, my girl, just to look—no pabwa.’ He pushed back his chair and moved to get up.

  Lily’s expression was troubled.

  ‘You seen a Jap yani, Riki?’ Decima asked.

  Riki clutched at the balcony wall and almost stumbled.

  ‘You OK, Ibu?’ Hector asked, moving towards him. But the old man waved him away, sat back in his chair and took a deep breath.

  ‘Ghost? Plenty ghosts on Tevua.’ He helped himself to the food. ‘I came back from overseas, from Majuro, I saw an old lady one day, a friend when I was young. She sat on the cemetery wall. I talked to her. She just smiled but she didn’t talk. I walked away. Then I found out she died when I was overseas.’ He smiled and his belly shook, like he was trying to stop himself from laughing. ‘She’s a ghost.’

  ‘Are you sure it was a ghost?’ Christina asked, frowning.

  ‘Yes. I talked to the ghost, but I didn’t know it!’

  ‘Did she try to hurt you?’ Lily asked.

  ‘No, she was a friendly ghost, not like that witch in Baringa, she’s evil.’

  The group fell silent again. Hector picked at the mackerel with his fingers, pulling the tender flesh free and coating it in the sauce before eating it.

  ‘How do you know if a ghost’s evil or not?’ Decima asked.

  ‘You must ask yourself, was it evil when it was alive? My friend was not evil.’

  ‘But how do you know, if you didn’t know them when they were alive?’ Hector said.

  ‘Yeah,’ said Lily, wiping rice from her lips, ‘that witch is an old ghost. She might have been good when she was alive, but because her children were taken, she’s angry. That’s why she wants to steal other children.’

  Riki stared at Lily before he answered. ‘Some people die in so much pain, fear or shame, that even though they’re dead, they walk the land they die on. They want peace, to set them free,’ the old man said.

  ‘Are there any Japanese ghosts on Tevua, Ibu?’

  Riki snorted. ‘I don’t know.’ His tone was gruff and he moved to get up once more.

  No one spoke as he rose and the girls exchanged nervous glances. Hector had to keep him interested. ‘Lily saw a ghost, just last week.’

  This time Lily swore at Hector and Christina’s mouth fell open. Hector wondered whether Lily would ever forgive him, now her secret was out. But Ibu was talking and it was so rare that he had to make the most of it.

  ‘Where did you see it?’ Riki’s voice was a whisper.

  Lily shifted in her seat but she didn’t take her eyes off Hector. ‘Near my house, just down there,’ she waved.

  ‘There is a pillbox nearby, yes?’

  ‘Yeah, it’s just down the beach from our house.’

  ‘Then that must be the home of your ghost, he probably died in a bombing raid. Have you been there to feel the air?’

  ‘What do you mean, “feel the air”?’ Hector asked.

  ‘She will know when she tries it. A cool breeze cuts your heart. You will feel its pain.’ He smiled at her and patted his belly.

  Hector was relieved: Lily seemed more relaxed now, engaged by Riki.

  ‘He seems dangerous…angry or something,’ Lily said. ‘If he was a Jap he was cruel when he was alive.’ The old man paused and thought for a moment. ‘When you see him, what does he do?’

  ‘He shouts at me, but I can’t hear him.’

  Riki smiled and nodded, ‘He is silent. It is good.’ Then he stopped and waved a finger at Lily’s face. ‘Don’t tell anyone else about this ghost, my girl. They might think you are crazy, like me.’ He turned and winked at Christina. ‘This one, she thinks we’re crazy.’

  Christina shrugged and avoided Riki’s eyes.

  Lily and Decima laughed. The girls weren’t so frightened of him now. Hector smiled too.

  ‘I have one more question,’ Lily said. ‘Do you know anything about the lepers that were on the island?’

  Riki’s face twitched and he straightened himself slowly. ‘They died,’ he muttered and their conversation was cut short by the slow put-put of a motor scooter winding up the narrow track.

  They all turned and looked down the path to see Lorelei, her fat frame bouncing on the small vehicle as it manoeuvred over the bumps.

  ‘You come home, girl!’ she shouted over the noise of the motor. ‘You come home right now.’

  Lily pushed away from the table. ‘I’ve got to go, sorry.’

  ‘Maybe tomorrow I’ll come around,’ Decima whispered to Lily as she left.

  Hector watched Lily walk down the steps and get on the back of the scooter. Although it was difficult with Lorelei’s bulk, she avoided touching her mother. Instead she kept her balance by holding on to the back of the seat. She looked like a dog when you shout at it: sullen and defeated. It wasn’t the same Lily Hector knew at school, the fearless Lily. But Hector knew better than most people that sullen dogs bite.

  eight

  Baringa Bay

  30 December 1942

  The marines came closer. Tepu held his breath. His pulse thundered through his body, urging him to run, but he dared not. They were only a few steps from where he hid. The slightest movement would mean capture or death.

  Suddenly a flurry of wings swooped upon the sentries. A dozen black noddies whistled, dived and darted around the clearing as if disoriented.

  The marines shouted, swinging their guns in the air. Shots rang out. In the confusion Tepu sprinted from his cover across the clearing and vanished into the night. He ran on as soundlessly as he could, terrified his breathing and the rhythm of his gait would attract attention. He only slowed down when he reached the hills at Anbwido. It was a few minutes from there to the leper camp. He knew he should stop to give thanks to the great ancestor bird but he feared the witch ghost that roamed the hills and devoured children. He was no longer a child though; surely she wouldn’t harm him. He knelt under a huge tomano tree. Its night-time flowers filled his lungs with their sweet heavy scent. He closed his eyes, raised his hands and began the soft chant he had now perfected, ‘Ancestor bird, I call you. Ancestor bird, I follow you.’

  Within minutes the floating sensation entered his body. He opened his eyes and saw the phantom bird sitting on a branch above him. He wanted to say how grateful he was for his narrow escape but the power of the bird’s green stare made Tepu’s voice catch in his throat. He hoped none of the black noddies had been killed in the shooting.

  ‘They sacrificed themselves to help me. How can I thank you?
’ he whispered.

  The black tern ruffled its feathers and whistled in response. Then it turned its head in the direction of the leper colony, made a chattering sound and flew away.

  Tepu heard a booming noise from down on the beach. He saw an orange glow in the direction the bird had just flown. Anbwido Leper Colony was ablaze.

  Baringa Bay

  Monday 28 June 2004

  ‘This is Baringa Channel,’ Decima announced, pointing down the hill. ‘The channels are the only way to get boats in and out. They blasted them through the reef years ago. They’re the safest places to swim because there are no rocks, but you have to watch the undertow.’

  As they neared the beach Christina saw a broad section of crystal blue water cutting through the reef. About a third of the way along, as it deepened, the water darkened. She gazed out to sea. Towering white clouds, which must have been tens of kilometres thick, plunged like giant cliffs into the horizon.

  Christina couldn’t wait to plunge into that crystal blue herself. The sun was fierce. They’d come from Hector’s hut along the Witch Track and even though it was only a ten minute walk, sweat drenched her T-shirt and trickled down the back of her neck.

  At the top of the channel was a concrete ramp. Christina spread out her towel. ‘You can share mine if you like,’ she offered.

  ‘Don’t need one,’ Decima said. ‘In a few minutes I’ll be dry again.’

  The two girls walked down the ramp to meet the water. Christina was surprised how warm it was, like a heated pool. She waded in up to her waist before duck-diving under. Instantly she felt cooler and wondered if it would drain some of the colour from her face. Hector had commented how red her face got just by walking. It didn’t normally do that. Perhaps it was the humidity. Secretly she envied her new friends’ colour. It would be nice to be so brown and not change from white to red so dramatically. She resembled a red-heeler, all freckles and strawberry-blonde hair.

  ‘Lily and I were down here yesterday for her father’s barbecue,’ Decima said, ‘except a bit further along.’ She pointed to the right where dozens of coral pinnacles stood in the sand and the jungle spilt onto the shore. ‘The leper colony used to be in there.’

  Christina was horrified. ‘And you go there for barbecues?’

  ‘Yeah.’

  ‘Aren’t you scared?’

  Decima looked puzzled. ‘What of?’

  ‘Catching leprosy.’

  ‘Don’t be silly! No one on the island has had leprosy since…since I don’t know when. You can’t catch it from the grass or anything.’ She lay back in the water and let herself float in the swell.

  Christina was silent. Wasn’t leprosy that disease where body parts rotted away and fell off, bits like noses and fingers and toes? She’d have to quiz her father about it when she got home. ‘I don’t know anything about leprosy, except I think they can cure it now,’ she said.

  ‘See, no problem then,’ Decima said smiling. ‘Not like what my mum’s got. She’s really sick.’

  ‘What’s wrong with her?’

  ‘She’s got diabetes. She gets her blood cleaned out every few days…her kidneys don’t work.’

  Christina didn’t know what to say. ‘Will she get better?’

  Decima shrugged.

  There was another silence as they both drifted in the gentle waves. Finally Decima said: ‘Do you have a boyfriend?’

  Christina considered lying to impress her but decided not to. Decima didn’t need to be impressed. She was straightforward and friendly, not like Lily. Perhaps it was because Decima had been to Australia before. She’d told Christina about her stay in Melbourne as they walked to the channel. Christina felt at ease in her presence.

  ‘No…do you?’

  ‘No.’

  ‘What about Lily?’ Christina asked. ‘Is Hector her boyfriend?’

  Decima shrieked. ‘Eh, no! What a joke, Hector and Lily! Hector is only a baby.’

  ‘They seem to spend a lot of time together.’

  ‘They don’t usually. It’s just been this last week. Lily likes this boy at school, Jonah. He’s from the other side of the island and he’s really good at football.’ Decima shook her head and laughed once more. ‘Suh! Hector and Lily, if Lily heard that she’d kill you.’

  ‘I think she wants to anyway. I don’t think she likes me,’ Christina said quietly.

  Decima laughed. ‘She’s like that with everyone, don’t worry. It’s just her way. Things are hard at home. Her mum’s pretty mean.’

  Christina remembered how Lily’s mum had ridden up to Hector’s hut and taken her away. A fat lady with a pissed off expression. Then she remembered Lily’s bloodshot eye. She was too afraid to ask her about it, but it was obvious someone had hit her. Her cheek looked dark and swollen too. But what could she say? Hey, who’s been bashing you? Lily’s home life wasn’t any of her business. But she’d try harder with Lily.

  ‘I know where we should take you next!’ Decima exclaimed. ‘Come to the nightclub with us.’

  ‘But I’m not eighteen.’

  ‘Neither are we, but heaps of kids go. Not to dance; we go to watch.’

  ‘Are you sure it’s all right?’

  ‘Yeah, the boys do it all the time. We just have to be more careful.’

  ‘Careful of what?’

  Decima grinned at her and winked. ‘Careful our parents don’t find out we’re there.’

  Christina wrestled with her indecision. Her dad wouldn’t want her to go, that’s for sure, but she didn’t want to seem gutless in front of Decima. And anyway, they were only going to watch. What harm could it do?

  ‘OK,’ she said, grinning to hide her anxiety.

  nine

  Anbwido Leper Colony

  30 December 1942

  Tepu raced down the hill towards the fire. He could hear people shouting above the roar of the blaze. Flames grew tall and sparks of burning thatch twirled against the starry sky.

  As he entered the colony he saw the clinic building and a small storage hut were alight. People stood and watched, their faces illuminated by the orange glow. The fire was already too big for them to extinguish. A few bags of flour and rice were all the lepers had managed to salvage. Tepu was relieved to see the sleeping huts untouched by the flames. He found Edouwe and her grandparents huddled together at the edge of the crowd.

  ‘Are you all right?’ he gasped.

  The three of them turned to Tepu in surprise.

  ‘Tepu, the curfew…’ Edouwe began.

  ‘You shouldn’t be out after dark, it’s too dangerous,’ her grandfather said.

  ‘I had to see if I could get past them,’ Tepu whispered. The old man nodded and patted him on the shoulder. ‘Be careful then.’

  ‘What happened here?’ Tepu asked, pointing back to the blaze.

  ‘The Japanese did this,’ Mele said.

  ‘We were all asleep but a patrol went by. They shouted and shot something, maybe a grenade or a shell. We don’t know. It woke everyone up. Now the clinic is gone and our food supply as well,’ Edouwe said. Tepu could tell she was struggling not to cry.

  ‘They mean to make us starve,’ Mele said. ‘I thought they would leave us alone, but I fear they want us dead.’ ‘You won’t starve, Mele. You can still fish the reef here. They’re too scared to come into the camp or take any food you’ve caught,’ Tepu said.

  He hoped his words would reassure them, but he knew from his own meagre rations that food was becoming scarce. The old woman was probably right. Soon they would be fighting not just the Japanese but amongst themselves for a stunted coconut shoot or a small reef fish. Soon enough, people would begin to die.

  Anbwido

  Monday 28 June 2004

  Lorelei slammed the door shut and pushed Lily forward into the lounge room. ‘You stay inside—for the rest of the day! You hear me?’

  Lily made for the nearest armchair and flung herself down. ‘You can’t make me,’ she snarled, sinking into the cushions.

>   Stupid little bitch, Lorelei thought, she’s asking for a fight. Thinks she can do whatever she likes. ‘You watch your mouth girl, or I’ll smash it again,’ she growled. She grabbed her daughter by the jaw and squeezed it hard, distorting Lily’s face. ‘You do what you’re told, and I told you already, keep away from that crazy old Riki.’

  ‘There’s nothing wrong with him,’ she mumbled.

  Lorelei pushed Lily’s head to one side and held it there. The girl breathed deeply and looked away from her mother’s face.

  Eyes like a frightened dog, Lorelei thought, squeezing harder, willing her daughter to flinch. She was not rewarded. As the tension grew Lorelei became conscious of the clack clack clack of the fan above them. ‘Shut that noise up!’ she shouted, pushing Lily aside and advancing on the fan controls. She fiddled with the knob until satisfied with the hum, then turned back to Lily. ‘There’s plenty wrong with that man, girl, believe me. He’s not normal.’

  ‘Like what?’ Lily said in a surly voice.

  Lorelei paused for a moment. How could she convince her? How could she make her understand that some men weren’t safe? She wiped at her brow with the side of her hand and wished she had a beer in her to cool down. ‘He’s rude, Lily. He doesn’t talk. People say he went for twenty years without speaking to anyone, not even his wife or children.’

  ‘Well he spoke to me,’ Lily said.

  ‘And who are you, girl? You’re not special,’ Lorelei said, curling her lip and wiping her sweaty hands down the front of her dress. ‘And what are you doing talking to white people? I don’t want you getting any stupid ideas in your head.’

  Lorelei knew all about what white people did, she’d seen enough movies. Plus she’d had her own encounters with them. They were all immoral and out of control. And they were always in those porno DVDs. No shame—white people had no shame.

  She waddled over to the kitchen and took the broom from the corner. ‘Plenty of housework to do, girl. Don’t just sit there.’

  Lily dragged herself out of the chair and snatched the broom from her mother.

  Lorelei was relieved she’d won, but she wondered for how long.