The Fifth Season (61 page)

She looked out, her eyes floating with the moving horizon, again tempted to slip into the ocean and cool her sun-scorched body in the sea. Suddenly, her mind was alert. She sat upright and glared at the listless form, half-floating on the partly sunken deck. In that moment, Lily wished she had the energy to push Hani down the ship's side, to punish her as an act of retribution for all those who had filled her life with so much pain.

In the mists of her mind, she imagined seagulls, wondering if this meant they were close to land. Again, someone coughed. This time, Lily knew that it was Mary Jo. With considerable effort, she raised herself on one arm and checked to see how the American woman was faring. Her light, sunburned skin was covered in blisters. Lily could see that her lips were cracked, unconsciously touching her own as she peered at the foreigner's sun ravaged face, pieces of their discussion, coming to mind.

Lily wished she had been strong enough to explain what was really in her heart but their condition and language barriers prevented her from doing so. Because she was a journalist, Lily wanted Mary Jo to understand how the indigenous Indonesians refused to acknowledge that the ethnic Chinese had as much right to preserve their culture and heritage as any of the two hundred minorities throughout Indonesia. Lily wished she could have explained but did not know how to do so. Words such as ‘frustration', ‘rage' and ‘betrayal' had come to mind but she had avoided their use, suspecting that Mary Jo would not have understood.

The hypocrisy of Indonesian politics had left her people permanently scarred. The application of racial and cultural tolerance embodied in the
Pancasila
and Constitution were never applied to her race.

Lily remembered what it was like to be constantly ridiculed by the young, handsome,
pribumi
boys, with their deeply-held prejudices and their snide, cutting remarks suggesting that she and her friends were cold that they could not enjoy the intimacy of a sexual relationship unless money was involved. The more she thought about what she had wanted to say but could not, the more angered Lily became with what had happened to her in Jakarta. Her eyes fell on the sleeping form not meters from her feet and Lily's heart turned to stone, annoyed again that she had not let Hani Purwadira drown.

* * * *

Mary Jo had been first to identify the sounds of gunfire. She pulled herself up into a sitting position and peered out wearily across to the warship, unaware that this was the very same vessel which had threatened to sink them when it passed perilously close in the darkness of night. Every bone in her body ached and she wished desperately for a cigarette.

The Indonesian frigate had been prevented from further acts of piracy by navigating directly into the reef area, aground and now under fire from an Australian destroyer. As the three women looked on from afar, a number of naval patrol boats scoured the area for survivors. Aerial reconnaissance reports had not been encouraging. Coastwatch aircraft had been joined in the search by R.A.A.F. Orions, crews scouring the sea for what was left of the devastated fleet had reported many of the fishing boats as being abandoned. The Norman Islander crew which had flown the area the day before, reported sighting bodies strewn around the decks on a number of boats, resulting in the Australian Navy's two hundred ton patrol boat being dispatched to investigate. Her throat on fire, Mary Jo felt herself sway as she tried to hold herself steady, struggling to focus clearly on the scene before her.

‘We're over here!' Mary Jo willed the distant ship silently, wondering if her eyesight was playing tricks again. Then, she thought she saw movement and rubbed her eyes before looking back. Was that a ship coming towards them? At that moment, Mary Jo imagined movement under her feet and was suddenly struck with fear. She looked slowly around the trawler and closed her eyes. Don't sink now, please don't sink now!

How their trawler managed to remain afloat was almost beyond comprehension. The heavily water-logged trawler's deck was now barely visible, the light ocean swells reaching more than half-way to where they clung for dear life. Mary Jo noticed the fingers of her left hand as these gripped the side of the boat. The nails were all ripped and torn, her hand swollen. Her shoulder still ached and her mouth was dry. None of them had eaten for days. She wondered how much longer they could hold on.

She looked out again, the reflections of sunlight dancing across the sea blinding her vision. Mary Jo rested her eyes momentarily, then tried again.

There. She saw it again!

Hani's hand moved across and touched Lily's.
‘Lily,'
her voice was barely a whisper.
‘Lily, I'm sorry,'
she managed, her head dizzy now. Lily squeezed the other girl's hand, her mouth far too dry to carry on further conversation.

‘Don't talk,'
Lily croaked, releasing her grip.

Hani coughed, her tongue felt swollen. Lily remained quiet, hoping Hani would do the same.
‘Thank you, Lily,'
the words came slowly, her hand searching for Lily's again.

‘Just rest,'
Lily replied, incapable of carrying on further conversation.

The question of whether she would have saved Hani's life had she known who it was beforehand had plagued her mind since the event. Now, she was just too damn tired to care.

Then, from Hani,
‘Mary Jo,'
she called weakly.
‘I can't hold on much longer.'

‘It won't be long now,'
Mary Jo whispered comfortingly through dry, cracked and swollen lips. Her head had started to swim, her head ached, the dehydration now playing with her mind as she thought she could hear engines somewhere. She glanced wearily towards Lily, who now lay half floating with her legs dangling back across the deck, partially under water.

There it was again! Mary Jo raised her head groggily, wishing she had the full use of her other arm. She waited for her eyes to become accustomed to the glare again, then squinted, concentrating on the shape she could see moving through her line of sight. It was a boat. She turned to Lily and called out, her voice barely more than a hoarse whisper.

‘
Lily, there's a boat coming.'
Then, to Hani,
‘There's someone coming to help us.

Hold on!'
Mary Jo then stared back at the approaching Australian Navy patrol boat and tried to smile but her eyes filled with tears instead, clouding her view, when she identified the flag and knew in that moment that they were saved.

‘I'm not afraid, Mary Jo,'
Lily said, rising from the seat. She moved to Mary Jo's side, and took her hand in hers. ‘
I was just thinking how wonderful it would be if they let us stay.'
This, while looking down at Hani, totally preoccupied with the sailors running around the wharf, preparing for the patrol boat's arrival. They had not been transferred to the larger Australian ships due to the possibility of further conflict with the Indonesians.

Instead, they had steamed back along the coast, arriving in Darwin late the following day. The twenty-two officers and sailors had gone out of their way to make the women as comfortable as they could. Having rested, they were treated to their first real meal in more than a week, for Lily even longer. At first, Hani and Lily were worried that they would be locked in some cell but this was not to be. Both the Indonesian women were treated civilly, their concerns soon swept away by their rescuers' friendly manner.

‘I'm sure they'll let you remain, Lily,'
Mary Jo suggested, reassuringly.

‘What about me?'
Hani turned, playfully pouting while hiding her apprehension. Mary Jo smiled at them both and shook her head.

‘After what you have both been through, how could they possibly send you
back?'

‘Would you speak on our behalf,'
Lily asked, embarrassed that her knowledge of English was so limited. Mary Jo nodded.

‘Sure,'
she promised and wrapped her arm around Lily, kissed her on the forehead, turned to Hani and repeated the gesture.

At that moment, all three lost balance when the two hundred and twenty ton patrol boat's twin, sixteen cylinder engines suddenly slowed, as the ship came alongside the wharf and stopped. They were ushered on deck, then assisted onto the wharf where immigration officers waited to take them away.

‘Not you, Miss Hunter.' Mary Jo turned to the official dressed in shorts and long socks.

‘I'm sorry?' she asked, frowning.

‘These two ladies will be processed at the camp facilities. You're being cleared through immigration here.'

‘Why?' she asked, taking Lily by the hand. Detecting that they were in trouble both Hani and Lily moved closer together.

‘Because they're illegal immigrants and you're not,' was the man's response. She had wanted to argue but was just too damned tired to engage the official any further.

‘What's happening, Mary Jo?'
Lily asked, intimidated by the presence of officialdom.

‘They want you to go to the camp with all of the others for processing.'

‘Will you come with us?'
both pleaded, fearing deportation.

‘I can't,'
she answered, angry that she could do nothing.

‘But why not?'
Hani demanded but Mary Jo was lost for an answer.

‘They'll take good care of you, I promise,'
she said.

‘Will you come and visit us, Mary Jo?'
Lily now close to tears, pulled her hand from Mary Jo's, taking Hani's instead. She did not want to cry. It was just that she felt so alone. Mary Jo was overcome by the emotion of the moment, tears welling up inside.

‘I promise to come and visit, wherever you are,'
she said sincerely. And then turning to the two officers waiting impatiently for Hani and Lily to follow, she added in Indonesian, as if they could understand,
‘and if anyone
makes either of you unhappy, I will take their photos and have these put in the
newspapers.'

‘Come on, ladies,' the more senior of the two officials insisted, stepping in to shepherd the Indonesian women away. Hani sobbed, tears flowing freely down her cheeks and, as Mary Jo watched the two small frames walking away, dwarfed alongside the Australian men, her eyes blurred, and she took a step to follow.

‘No, Miss,' the official warned, not unkindly, ‘better to let them get on with it.' Filled with sadness, she watched as they were led away and ordered into a waiting pickup.

‘Follow me, please Miss,' she heard her escort say and Mary Jo looked back for one final glimpse of her companions as they were driven away.

Suddenly they were gone, an emptiness enveloping Mary Jo as she gazed after them.

With her eyes fixed dejectedly on the over sized rubber sandals she had been given on board the patrol boat, Mary Jo followed the officer, her legs still wobbly from the time spent at sea. They entered a small, air-conditioned office where she was offered coffee and instructed to wait.

Moments later, as she stared down at the floor Mary Jo heard the door open, then close, her thoughts still preoccupied with what might happen to Hani and Lily.

‘Even dressed like that, you're a sight for sore eyes,' she heard someone say, and looked up, astonishment flooding her face when she saw Hamish McLoughlin standing there. Then, she frowned. Her heart awash with a flood of mixed emotions, Mary Jo rose slowly to her feet, images of the suffering, the grief and sacrifice she had witnessed over the past days suddenly clouding her mind.

‘Hamish?' as Mary Jo started to rise, he stepped forward to take her arm, unprepared for the stinging slap which followed. ‘Bastard!' she cried, swinging with deadly accuracy. He rocked back on his heels, staggered by the force of her blow and the venom behind it.

‘What in the….!' Hamish yelled, stepping back out of striking range, one ear ringing loudly from the attack.

‘That's for not coming back to get me,' she said, her voice trembling.

Mary Jo took another step towards Hamish, her hand flashing through the air again. ‘And that's for…' she started, cut off in midair as Hamish leapt forward and caught her by the wrist, forcing both arms behind her back.

‘Jo! Stop it!' he shouted, holding her tightly, then pulling her roughly to his chest. He heard Mary Jo gasp in pain, and Hamish immediately let go, startled that he might have hurt her.

‘Jo, are you okay?'

Fighting tears, she clenched her teeth and gripped her injured shoulder, her anger spilling over. ‘What happened to you, Hamish?' Her voice was filled with bitterness, unaware of events surrounding her unexpected voyage from Pelabuhan Ratu. She pulled away and stepped back, suddenly spent, and slid into a chair. Out of the corner of her eye she caught a glimpse of an immigration official approaching from one of the inner offices down the hallway. ‘I could have died out there,' she said, with a glaring look. ‘And I've lost all of my film and equipment.'

‘Jesus bloody Christ!' he swore, ‘of all the ungrateful…'

‘Ungrateful?' she exploded, struggling to stand, ‘why didn't you commandeer a goddamn boat and come back out to get me?' She flopped back into the chair. Embarrassed, the immigration officer had stopped in mid-step, remaining in the hallway until the quarreling had finished. It then dawned on Hamish that Mary Jo had no idea as to why she had been trapped on the fishing boats. He started to explain.

‘Jo, I'm sorry. It's obvious you don't know what happened back there. I just assumed that the others on the fishing boats would have told you.'