The Birthmark (12 page)

Once the runway had been restored the work gang moved to Anbwido. Now they bent their backs to dig trenches in the soil around the coast, while others built pillboxes.

It saddened him to be digging about like a crab in his old village. Apart from the Ring Road, Anbwido had become unrecognisable. None of the Tevuans' huts remained the same. Some had been transformed into makeshift barracks for the Japanese, but most had been ransacked, just like his own. The coconut palms and pandanus had long been stripped of their crops. Their leaves, tattered and dry, hung in the humid air like stiff flags.

Toiling in the sun on the afternoon of the nineteenth, Tepu witnessed two astonishing things. The first involved Edouwe and her grandmother.

The work gang was beside the beach, so close to the leper colony that Tepu could see the pinnacles of Leper Beach. At low tide two figures traipsed towards them, westward along the reef, pausing now and then at rock pools to collect unwary crabs or shellfish. They came closer. Tepu recognised Edouwe, although she had grown thinner and her ragged clothes flapped in the sea breeze. Mele, stooped and skeletal, followed her until they were within shouting distance of Tepu. The old woman began to sing.

‘Our beautiful island, our home of joy…'

The workers looked towards the reef, but dared not stop shovelling. The marines shouted at Mele and Edouwe to go away. Then one marine called out to the others, ‘
Rai-byo no onna
.' And immediately the rest backed away from the edge of the beach. Two marines picked up bits of coral and threw them at the women.

Undaunted, the old woman kept singing. ‘We'll never leave our golden shores…'

One well aimed piece of coral smacked against Mele's side. Edouwe pulled her grandmother out of range of the missiles and added her own verse before Mele could interrupt. ‘Don't fear for us, Tepuariki! We find enough, though we are hungry, we will see the devils gone!' Then they picked their way through the reef and out of sight.

The second surprising thing occurred after the women had left. Egirow began to behave strangely. He was agitated. Tepu noticed him wringing his hands. He feared Egirow was ready to launch into an attack, so he stayed alert as he worked.

When the supervising marines had their backs turned, Egirow disappeared. He walked uphill into the Anbwido forest in the direction of the Witch Track. He was gone for hours. Egirow normally only left the gang for short breaks unless a higher ranking officer called him away.

Where had he gone? There wasn't a bunker up there. Tepu knew the hills of Anbwido intimately. The Witch Track wound through the hills for miles with smaller paths leading off at intervals. Eventually the main track emerged onto the phosphate mining area on the island's plateau. An idea crept into Tepu's mind. If Egirow went off alone into the forest, he was vulnerable. Anyone could hide behind a pinnacle and thrust a knife into his back. Repulsed by his thoughts of murder, he nevertheless resolved to monitor the marines' movements. With the help of the black stone he could ambush them one by one, if he had the courage. He thought once again about his grandfather's words. Was this his chance to prove himself, the ultimate test of strength and bravery?

Black Hearts Nightclub
Anbwido
Tuesday 29 June 2004

Lots of shell, there's always lots of shell at these dances, Hector thought. The girls lolled as they danced, round buttocks, bouncing breasts. He could imagine them full and soft, rolling around him as he danced. Dream on, he thought. Who was going to dance with him? The girls hated his busted face and he knew it.

He cursed at the memory of the dog attack that had left him sprawled in the dirt screaming, his face covered in blood. He'd only wanted to look at what the dog was eating. He was just a little boy then, not yet at infant school, but he could remember the snarl, the hot breath, the sudden lunge of sharp teeth. The vision still made him flinch.

Hector shut it out of his mind and stared through the barred windows into the darkened shed flashing with coloured lights. He saw the men swill warm beer and fumble with cigarettes. And they fumbled with the few girls they could reach. They staggered to find benches when they came back to sit down after a stint outside at the toilets. They were all big men so drunk they could hardly walk. How did they manage to dance? One guy hadn't even made it back to his seat. He lay on the concrete floor, arms spread out like Jesus on the cross. A huge landed tuna, still now, after vomiting underneath the bench beside him.

Boom, boom, boom—the bass thudded into the night. Hector pulled away to let another boy sneak a look inside. He glanced down the side of the shed at the groups of boys huddled around the barred windows. Some were so young they had to be held up to get a good view. This was Tevuan night life. This was where the gossip grew. If Hector watched carefully, he'd learn how to act cool, be a man and pick up girls.

He looked behind him. The light above the shed lit up the first section of the carpark. Rows of vehicles sat half in shadow. He saw a movement beside a Landrover at the edge of the carpark. Girls, trying to hide. He watched carefully to see if they moved again. There were three of them and Hector could guess who they were from their silhouettes and the pale limbs of one of them. Stupid! What was Lily doing out at night? Still, it was his big chance now to act cool in front of her. He'd go and find a cigarette, that's what he'd do.

Hector slunk along the wall of the shed. As he reached the corner of the building he looked towards the girls' hiding spot, but they'd faded into the shadows. He turned the corner, still looking over his shoulder when, bwack! He collided with another boy.

It was Jonah, the footy hero from Pago. He wore a sleeveless sports jacket with the hood pulled over his head and he held his cigarette between thumb and forefinger.

‘Got a smoke, Jonah?' Hector asked, as cool as he could.

Jonah took a cigarette from inside his jacket and passed it and his own cigarette to Hector. Hector pressed the two together, pulling deeply and quickly, delighting in the red sparks that shone in the darkness. So cool, don't need a match—are you looking Lily?

‘Want to come in?' Jonah asked. ‘We'll stay over by the back door and you can choose some music.'

Hector hesitated. He wanted to see what the girls did next. Before he could answer, something flicked against his leg.

‘Hey, who's chucking stones?' Jonah said.

Hector spun around. He could just make out a shadow behind one of the motor scooters. ‘Over there,' he pointed, and together they walked over to the bike.

Lily got to her feet and stood awkwardly in the spotlight.

‘Hi, Lily, what are you doing here?' Jonah said.

‘Just checking the place out.' She fiddled with the scooter's mirror as she talked.

‘I didn't think you'd come here,' Jonah said. He ran his fingers through his spiky hair and seemed to puff out his chest. A bit like a rooster, Hector thought. And then he understood. Lily was interested in Mr pretty-boy Jonah. And from the way he was talking to her, flashing his toothy smile and posing with his bulging biceps, Jonah was interested in Lily too.

Hector felt the hot sting of jealousy. He became oblivious to everything they said, and they said a lot. Lily smiled and fidgeted, all the while watching Jonah, and laughing at his jokes. She was too bold, so conspicuous in the light, her eyes shining in its glare. She was fearless, that's why she thrilled Hector so much. But now as he watched, he thought she was just plain dumb.

‘I'd be careful, Lil. Cyrus said he'd come tonight,' Hector lied, interrupting them.

Lily looked at him with distaste, as if he was some kind of annoying insect. ‘Bullshit,' she said flatly.

‘No, true.' Hector had often seen her younger brother peering through the windows when the nightclub was rocking. He wouldn't be surprised if Cyrus did turn up at some stage tonight.

Lily turned to Jonah. ‘I suppose I better go. Mum will kill me if she knows I've been here.'

Jonah nodded and smiled at her. ‘Thursday then, at the Pago volleyball courts.'

‘OK, see you there,' she said. Then she dashed back into the shadows.

Jonah slapped Hector on the shoulder. ‘Well, you coming in or what?'

Hector made an excuse about a stomach-ache and strode off home. His head spun with rejection. Why Jonah? Why pretty-boy Jonah? Thursday, eh—Thursday they had a date. Well Hector knew what to do. He'd turn up too, and do his best to make sure that Jonah looked like a shithead.

twelve

Yamek District
6 March 1943

Tarema returned to the lean-to at sunset carrying a large orange shape, a ripe pumpkin. He set it down in front of their mother who stared at it vacantly. Tepu didn't like her reaction. Over the past few weeks she'd done a lot of sitting and staring. Now she'd been presented with the equivalent of a treasure chest: a whole pumpkin. His mouth watered just looking at it, but she didn't even blink.

‘Where did you get it from?' Tepu asked his brother.

‘They steal our house, I steal their pumpkin,' he said, leaning heavily on his knife, slicing the vegetable in two. Tepu couldn't help but laugh, only the seriousness of the crime changed his tone. ‘They'll catch you, Tarema, and then they'll hurt you.'

‘They won't catch me, I move like a rat in the night.' Tarema was thin and agile, and his nose was pointy. Tepu could imagine him twitching it like a rat. ‘Yes, but rats gnaw and keep people awake. One day a quiet cat will be waiting. Be careful, Tarema.'

‘I will. What about you? You walk around the forest at night, too. But I never see you come back with any spoils. What are you up to?'

Tepu considered telling him about the ancestor bird. Then he thought better of it. Tarema would only want to come along. He'd ruin things, frighten the bird away or maybe it wouldn't come at all. Then Tarema would think he was crazy.

‘I'm scouting the forest, looking for patrols. One day I'll lay a trap for them,' he said.

Tarema's face lit up, excited at the thought of sabotage. ‘I'll come with you.'

‘No, it's best if I work alone. What if they catch us both, then what good would it do?'

Tarema looked offended. ‘You don't want me to come because you're really a spy, right?' he whispered.

‘Don't ever accuse me of such a thing,' Tepu spat.

‘Well, prove to me you're not. Take me with you tonight.'

Anbwido
Wednesday 30 June 2004

There she goes, off to the shower block. She's trying to avoid me, Lorelei thought. She's stayed at Decima's no doubt, but who knows what sort of mischief they'd been up to. They probably met with her thief of a boyfriend late in the night.

Lorelei hated it when Lily didn't come home to sleep. It was OK when Lily was a child, but now she was a young woman, she couldn't be trusted. Neither could Decima. Besides, they had a room for her here and even if Amos wasn't home at night, then Rongo and Eldon took care of the place, made sure no boys came prowling about. She was really slipping, young Lily. She needed a reminder, she needed sorting out.

Lorelei pushed herself up from the armchair. Her insides were queasy from too much beer the night before. She'd have to go to the toilet anyway, she'd catch up with Lily when she came out from the shower block.

As Lorelei walked to the kitchen her head pounded with every step. She held her hands to her head and squeezed in a futile effort to stop the pain. Why did she do it? She had to tag along with Daphne, had to go and drown her disappointment from the bingo. Still, one day she'd win. One day she'd win the thousand dollar jackpot or a fridge.

Yeah, a new fridge, that would be excellent. She opened the old one and sniffed at the cool air. She looked for comfort, but there was nothing: no beer, nothing except cold rice. She slammed the door shut and examined its surface. There were rusty spots and patches where the white paint had chipped away. Dots of black mould grew down the sides. Yeah, she could do with a new fridge. And when she'd won it, she'd stock it full of beer and fish and throw a party.

Shit, what a party it was last night! All that dancing, and singing too. No wonder she felt sore all over. And what time was it when she got home? Maybe after four in the morning, but her sons were asleep in the lounge room in front of the DVD player as she lurched down the corridor to her room. And in her bedroom there was nothing but the mattress on the floor and a crumpled sheet. Amos was missing again. Why didn't the bastard stay home and look after the kids? But no, once again he'd gone to the shanty town in Dabweg where his young lover stayed. Lorelei wouldn't see him till late Wednesday night, if she was lucky. Amos the stupid arsehole, he was never home, never did his share.

She walked outside into the midday sun and screwed up her face to block out the glare. She headed towards the shower block. The door opened.