The Birthmark (21 page)

The door creaked open and Lily padded through the lounge room to the back door.

twenty-four

Anbwido Leper Colony
21 May 1943

In the evening Tepu reached the outskirts of the leper colony. He hadn't ventured this close since the deaths of Tarema and his mother over a month ago. Movement at the side of a wooden hut alerted him to danger. He fell back into the shadows of the pinnacles and beach creeper. He saw a shape he knew well. It was Edouwe, carrying a bucket from one hut to another.

He made a hissing noise to attract her attention.

She stopped, looked around, then placed the bucket gently on the ground.

He hissed once more and called her name.

Checking that no one was about, she dashed to the edge of the forest to greet him.

‘You're very bold,' she said, her eyes sparkling. She reached out and clasped his hands.

‘Are you well?' Tepu smiled.

‘We go hungry, Tepu. Sometimes we catch a few fish, but there is barely enough food.'

‘Eat what you can,' he encouraged her. ‘Even the rats have meat on them.'

‘Tepu, I thought…I'd heard…they'd beaten Tarema to death.'

‘Yes,' his voice trembled, ‘it was my brother.'

Edouwe leant closer. ‘They will catch you and kill you too if they see you here.'

‘Don't fear, they won't find me,' he said. ‘Meet me again, next week.'

She smiled at him, squeezed his hands, and nodded her head to the right, ‘Yes, when the moon is up, in those pinnacles towards the beach.'

‘I'll be there,' he whispered.

Anbwido
Friday 2 July 2004

Lorelei tossed in her sleep, lingering on the edge of wakefulness. Someone was talking in the night. ‘Lily'. At the word ‘Lily' she was awake in an instant. She listened into the darkness and heard snoring from the boys' room; the murmuring came from somewhere outside near Lily's room.

Trut!
That girl was going to get a hiding tonight if she was caught with a boy. Trying not to make a sound, Lorelei heaved herself off the mattress. Her knees cracked as she stood and she swayed for a moment, expecting to hear the night visitor run off, but the murmuring continued.

She tiptoed down the hallway past the snoring boys and into the kitchen. The voices were clearer now.

Lorelei held her breath. She heard the bolt on Lily's door slide open. The door creaked and she knew Lily had entered the room. She waited until she could hear her unlocking the back door, then she flicked on the light.

‘Going where, you
trut
?' Lorelei screamed and flew at Lily before she had a chance to open the door.

Lily blinked, stunned by the ambush and the bright light. ‘The shower block…I…I need to use the toilet.'

Lorelei wrenched at her daughter's hair, pulling her head sideways and smashing it into the kitchen bench.

‘You lie! I heard you talking with some boy…' Lily clamped onto Lorelei's wrists and dug her fingernails into the sinews. Her mother swore and released her grip on Lily's hair. The girl spun free and retreated to the lounge room. ‘Leave me alone, you witch!'

‘You're not going outside!' Lorelei screamed and she leant heavily on the door.

‘I'll do what I want!'

‘What's going on?' came a groggy voice from behind Lily. Rongo stood rubbing his eyes, wearing only a
lava
lava
around his waist and a pained expression. Eldon staggered behind him blinking stupidly.

‘A boy, there's a boy outside!' Lorelei shrieked.

Rongo's eyes widened and he sprang at the door, pushing his mother aside, ‘I'll get the bastard!'

‘No!' Lily screamed, trying to follow Rongo. But Lorelei pulled her back by the arm, flinging her towards Eldon. Then she pushed the door shut and leant against it again.

Lily ran from her uncle and scrambled to her room, slamming the door behind her.

Lorelei lumbered over to the door. She pounded her fist against it. ‘Come out, come out, you
trut
!' she bellowed.

She recognised the scrape of shifting furniture. Lily was barricading herself in. She'd have to break the door down now. She thudded her shoulder against it. The door bowed and flexed against her weight but it didn't break. ‘Get this door open now!' she screamed at Eldon.

He hesitated, then moved to help his sister. Together they rammed their shoulders into the door and this time something cracked. The door fell open a few inches then jammed against the barricade.

‘Push it, you fool, push it away from the door,' Lorelei yelled.

Eldon reached inside to push the wooden chest away. Something clanked and whooshed, then Eldon sprang back.

‘Fucken! Eeiyee!'

He pulled his arm out from the doorjamb. A spray of blood painted the wall beside him.

Lorelei roared and pushed harder against the door. ‘Open the door, you bitch!'

‘My hand, my hand!' Eldon groaned, bumping Lorelei sideways. ‘Look at my hand…' and he held up what she thought was a bloody fist. ‘My fingers…' Lorelei took a few seconds to notice in the stream of blood that there were only two fingers left on his hand.

‘My fingers…' he said pressing his hand to his chest.

He backed away from her in shock, his mouth open and a spreading stain darkening the front of his T-shirt.

‘Jesus!' Lorelei screamed. ‘Your shirt. Wrap it in your shirt.' She lunged after him. In her efforts to help her brother, she didn't see Lily emerge with the sword and slip out the back door.

twenty-five

Anbwido Leper Colony
30 June 1943

‘They've sent my parents away, and my sisters, even baby Rita,' Edouwe whispered.

‘What do you mean?' Tepu asked. He held her hand and they sat together in the darkness, enclosed by pinnacles and beach creeper, on the edge of Baringa Bay.

‘Last night, in a big ship, they took my cousins away too. But not just mine, everyone who has relatives at the leper colony went in a big ship. Only a few of us…carers who stay at the colony, like me…well they didn't take us.' ‘Where did they send them?'

‘I don't know, no one knows. Maybe they'll blow them up, or take them back to Japan and eat them.' She leant against him for comfort and he hugged her tightly to him. Her hair smelt of coconut oil and it was soft and greasy against his cheek.

‘Why have those evil men come here? How much longer will they stay?' she said. ‘I hate them.'

‘They will die soon, Edouwe. They will die for all they've done and then we must marry.'

‘Marry!' she said snuggling closer. ‘Yes, we will marry.'

Tepu grinned. He'd asked her in such an off-hand way and it worked. There was no romance, no glamour. But she'd accepted him. He wanted to leap to his feet and shout with happiness, but they had to stay hidden. Instead he smiled at his fortune, praying that the war would end soon.

Anbwido
Friday 2 July 2004

Hector hid his bike in the long grass beside the pillbox near Lily's house. In the blackness he felt his way up onto its surface. It was still warm from the day's heat. The warmth was welcoming as the wind off the sea made him shiver in the night air.

What he really wanted to do was go to Lil's house and tell her what he'd found, but she was too angry to talk to him. Never mind, it was a small island and there would be a right time. She'd talk to him soon enough when she realised that Jonah was just a dumb shit like the rest of them.

Hector had crept out after his
ibu
had fallen asleep. He wanted to tell Ibu about the skull, but he thought Lil should be the first to know. And Ibu would want to take control and tell them what to do. Right now he didn't want advice, he just wanted to talk to Lily.

He lay watching the stars, wondering whether the ghost would come to him or not and somewhere in his thoughts he fell asleep.

When he woke the warmth had almost gone from the pillbox. His bones were sore, as if someone had stretched him like a plastic dolly then let his arms and legs spring back to off-centre. He sat up and rolled his head from side to side to relieve the stiffness in his neck.

A movement to his left startled him and he flattened himself against the pillbox, turning his head slowly to make out what it was.

A figure staggered along the beach. He couldn't be sure but he thought from the way he moved it might be Jonah. He looked drunk. What was he doing here? Creeping around Lily's house, I'll bet. Bastard! Hector spat his envy out into the sand. There was nothing he could do. He couldn't stop them this time. He couldn't risk hanging around any girl's house at night. Shit, Jonah was such an arsehole. What was he thinking? He'd get himself killed if they caught him.

Certain now it was Jonah, he watched him move past the bunker and continue up the beach until the darkness ate him. Hector dropped down onto the sand. He breathed deeply and scratched his head. Should he follow or just wait here? No, he had to go. He had to see what Jonah would do. He crept up the beach at a safe distance and listened into the night.

Soon enough he heard a faint tapping sound. He edged along the path until he saw the house in the distance. Jonah's figure was lost in the shadows against the wall. Hector heard him speaking but he dared not move any closer. He stood on the path as motionless as a pinnacle, controlling his breathing and hoping that Lily wouldn't wake up.

Suddenly a light flared in the house and Jonah ran from the shadows, bolting towards him. Hector fled to the beach, making for the safety of the pillbox again. He heard shouts from the house, a door slam and panting from Jonah running behind him. Hope they catch him, the arsehole, he thought as he reached the side of the pillbox and crawled in.

The pillbox stank of urine, dead fish and stale beer. He perched on the rubble wondering what other rubbish was inside with him.

He saw Jonah's silhouette approaching and heard someone shout from behind. Jonah turned, looked back, tripped, then got to his feet again, making straight for the pillbox.

Hector froze and braced himself for another occupant, but Jonah pulled himself up onto the roof of the pillbox and was gone from sight.

‘
Ngaitirre!
' Jonah cried out, then gasped in pain. Hector hoped he'd hurt himself badly.

‘What the…stupid shit bicycle,' he heard Jonah exclaim, then he heard nothing more. Hector grinned, imagining how Jonah would have jumped off the pillbox and landed on his bike. Then he thought again and cursed silently: Jonah had probably ridden off on it.

He was about to emerge when another figure loomed into view. Puffing and swearing, Rongo reached the pillbox and lugged himself onto the dome.

‘Bastard!' he bellowed into the night. ‘The police will get you, you arsehole. You wait!'

Hector didn't move. He held his breath until he thought his brain had begun to spin. He heard Rongo land heavily in the grass on the other side of the pillbox and at last he let himself breathe out. He waited a moment or two then crawled outside. He pulled himself up onto the dome and looked out to the roadside. A pale shape in the distance walked along the side of the road back towards Lily's house; it was Rongo in his
lava lava
. Hector waited until Rongo disappeared then he jumped down into the grass and felt around in the shadows for his bike. Just as he'd feared, it was gone. Jonah was probably half way to Pago on it by now, the bastard! Hector would have to steal himself another one.

He sighed. The day had been so stuffed up and now his bike had gone. Shit! What was the point of it all? He climbed back onto the pillbox and stared out into the blackness of the sea.

‘Hector, is that you?' came Lily's voice from the beach.

‘Yeah,' he said warily. Was she about to tell him to piss off again? Then he saw her emerge, her shoulders slumped. She dragged the sword behind her in the sand.

‘What are you doing?' he said. ‘Are you OK?'