Page 115 of Sisters Under The Rising Sun
And then Nesta gives the eulogy.
‘How can we even begin to show our gratitude to this woman who gave us purpose and a reason to live, if only to hear her incredible music each Saturday night? She gave us back our voices to sing, with passion and pride, our national anthems. Margaret wrote plays, poems and songs, and never wavered in her belief that we could all survive, even while others around us perished. She created beauty where only sickness and death prevailed, and whether the duration of our lives is long or short, we will never forget her …’ Nesta clears her throat, but finds she is unable to continue.
Norah steps forwards and takes Nesta’s hand. ‘We will carry on looking up even when all around us is squalor and sickness. That is her greatest gift to us all,’ she says, her eyes shining.
‘I would like to bring this service to a close,’ Mother Laurentia tells the crowds of mourners. ‘Margaret so loved to sing “Land of Hope and Glory” and there isn’t a better song to bring us all together right now and to remember her.’
Birds soar into the skies from the giant trees, circling overhead as the women’s voices ring out. They are not the most powerful voices, and certainly nowhere near as robust as they were a year ago, but the women sing with passion nonetheless; today their hearts are full of love, and that is enough.
Every woman wants to take a turn dropping a little of the soil into the grave. When Margaret is finally buried, banana leaves are laid over the entire mound. As everyone steps back, Norah and Audrey together push the little cross into the soil.
Margaret Dryburgh
21st April, 1945
Norah, exhausted, joins her sister, who is sitting on the ground just outside the cemetery clearing. June squeezes between them.
Reaching into her pocket for a handkerchief which is not there, Norah’s fingers close around a small metal object. She pulls it out and stares disbelievingly at the gold ring in the palm of her hand. Her wedding ring. She thinks back to the moment she sat on Tante’s bed, when she hugged her goodbye.
Norah sways suddenly, on the verge of fainting, before she feels Ena’s steadying arm around her shoulders. Wrapped in her sister’s embrace, Norah slips the ring back on her finger.
‘Inchi, Inchi!’ Mrs Hinch is chased down by Ah Fat as she and Norah return from the stream with buckets half full of water; neither of them has the strength to carry a full one. It’s been weeks since they arrived at the camp, and along with the disease that is running rampant among the inhabitants, there have been torrential monsoons, and it is difficult for them to think of a time when they might be dry again.
‘Hmm?’ she grunts.
‘Captain Seki wants to see you.’
‘We will drop this water off then come to the office.’
‘No, you come now. Leave water. Captain wants to see you now.’
‘We will meet you there after we have dropped off this water, Ah Fat,’ says Mrs Hinch, heading belligerently away. ‘We’ve got little enough power as it is,’ she explains to Norah. ‘We have to take our small victories where we can.’
The women arrive at the hut deemed the captain’s office to find Ah Fat waiting for them. Captain Seki stands from behind his desk when they enter and he speaks to Ah Fat.
‘Captain says he is sorry to hear Miss Margaret died. He liked her, he liked her music.’
‘Thank the captain for his words, I will pass them on to the women.’
Ah Fat translates. Seki nods and sits down.
‘Is that it?’ Mrs Hinch asks.
‘Yes, you can go now.’
‘But I have to talk to the captain about what’s going on here.’
‘Inchi, I said—’
‘No!’ Norah steps forwards. ‘We need to tell the captain that we’re in serious trouble.’ Her grief and growing weakness are momentarily forgotten as she gets into her stride. ‘The monsoon rains have flooded the camp. The stream has swallowed up the bridge so we can’t get to the huts on the other side.’ She takes a deep breath, preparing herself to say more, but Mrs Hinch is already speaking.
‘We’re ill and so weak we can’t fight off any infection. Do you know that mice feed on our toes while we sleep? The winds have whipped off the roofs and rain pours into the huts … and … and …’
‘And the soldiers are doing their business upstream and it’s pouring into the camp when the banks overflow,’ Norah finishes for her.
Both women stand panting before Ah Fat and Captain Seki. Ah Fat makes no attempt to translate.
‘Go now!’ is all he says.
