—You all right? asked McCrory, putting a hand on my shoulder.
I pushed his hand away and started walking toward the ocean. The girls huddled on the beach watched me spit numerous times. With my eyes averted, I had just reached the shoreline when I heard McCrory shouting:
—That’s enough!
I turned around and saw him holding Henry, who was trying to go after the younger girls. The waves engulfed my ankles and washed away the sand burning my feet. The sunlight reflecting off the surface was so bright I couldn’t see straight ahead. I dove into the ocean and let the water wash over my body. Pushing against the resistance of the waves, I began swimming toward the opposite bank.
I continued to sweat profusely, and my clammy back felt disgusting. I needed to wash my body in a mountain stream. The ocean water near the island never cooled, even at night. That’s why I wanted to swim in the cool river in the woods near my hometown, back in the States. My entire midsection felt like it was on fire, especially near the wound on my right side. The red fruit lodged in my abdomen was scorching my insides like a hot iron.
—An inch to the side, the army surgeon had said, and you’d have gotten it in the liver.
He explained that the harpoon had penetrated to my bowels, and that the barbs got caught on my intestines when it was pulled out, causing some lacerations. Then he added:
—It’s not too serious.
I sensed the hidden scorn in his voice. No, it wasn’t even hidden; his sarcastic comment made his feelings obvious. The surgeons and medics looked down on me because not only hadn’t I been wounded in combat, but I had been stabbed by a civilian while swimming unarmed.
Apart from getting angry and clenching my fist, there was nothing I could do. The gecko on the beam over my bed started to cry. Then another joined in. Even the geckos sounded like they were mocking me. Kinser said they were creepy and killed as many as he could. When McCrory told him to stop, he laughed.
—What’s the big deal? We’re killing bigger ones every day.
His forced laughter was just to make himself look big.
When we were driving to the village, he was laughing like that the entire time. He laughed when the men under that big tree recoiled in fear after we turned our guns on them. He laughed when we kicked that shoddy house’s door down. He laughed when we dragged that woman out. And he laughed when he caught one of the men off guard and punched him in the stomach.
—They ring that bell every time we come! It’s a welcome bell!
As we rattled along in the jeep, Kinser kept laughing. The driver was one of his buddy’s from another platoon. Shouting over the engine noise, they took turns heaping abuse on everyone in the village:
—The men are as submissive as dogs!
—Yeah, and did you catch the look on that guy’s face when we had his woman?
—The kids are like flies pestering us for gum and chocolate!
—That last bitch was too old.
—Well, find a younger one next time!
Now, they were probably joking about me. Yeah, one of those submissive dogs did him in! I could hear them talking behind my back, the bastards. What the hell did they know about friendship? I recalled the shabby-looking villagers watching us from under that tree. The guy who stabbed me must’ve been among them. We should’ve shot every fuckin’ last one of them when we had the chance! Clenching my fist made my side hurt even more. Sweat slid down my scalp and down behind my ears. Outside were several of those trees with roots hanging down from the branches. I could hear the hooting of the owls coming from their direction. For a moment, the sound made me forget that we were in a war zone.
In less than two weeks, the Japanese army in the mountainous central area of the peninsula had abandoned their positions and fled. Though we still had to deal with small arms fire and occasional night raids, they were incapable of mounting any organized resistance. Their main army had retreated to the south, and it was our job to flush out the Japs hiding in the mountains. The village was already under our control, so we didn’t take the disheartened men of the village too seriously. They were scared and cautious at first, but after we gave them food and medical treatment, they made a complete about-face and became cooperative. There was no denying that their new attitude had put us off our guard. I now regretted my carelessness.
—Let’s go, said Kinser.
The four of us walked over to the pier. We hadn’t had any sorties into the mountains that day; we’d spent the morning cleaning our weapons and equipment, and we were free for the afternoon. After stripping down to our trunks, we dove into the ocean from the shade of some freight. Due to the sunlight streaming through the water, the ocean was a beautiful color. The water caressed our skin, even as our backs got scorched. This time, no one was interested in racing or betting, so we swam at a leisurely pace toward the island.
This ocean’s the only thing of value here, I was thinking, as I took up the rear. Henry, who was in the lead, was signaling for us to look to the right. Someone was swimming toward us. Appearing out of nowhere, a young villager was about fifty yards away. I tensed up, thinking he might be an enemy soldier. But then he smiled, waved with both hands, and headed back toward the pier.
—Was that a fisherman? McCrory asked.
No one answered. But since the man was alone and appeared to be
