Southern Greed (20 page)

I came back over to where he was and looked down at him.  He had his hand on his chest and I took it in my own.  It was covered in blood.  I unbuttoned his uniform.  He had landed on a branch and a splinter of it had gone through his chest.

I pulled out the stick.  He bit his fist to keep from screaming and blood started pouring from his chest.

I didn’t know what to do but by some miracle I thought about taking off my blouse and holding it against the wound.  It seemed to take a long time to get the bleeding to stop and by then he was really weak.  I ran back to where the parachute was and tore off strips and tied them around his chest.

I buried the rest of the parachute.  When I got back to him he was sleeping.  I didn’t know what to do with him.  I was also without a blouse.  The only thing I saw left to do was to put the bloody blouse back on.  I would have to make up a story about why it was bloody.

I didn’t think I should tell anyone he was here and I looked around for a place to hide him.  I was afraid to move him and ended up unburying the parachute and putting it over him.  I knew I should at least get him some water and I looked around.

I took his helmet and walked around the area and found a small stream and filled his helmet
with it.  I raised him up and helped him to drink.  It was frustrating to try to communicate with him.

I must have been gone for hours and they would all wonder if I was still alive.  I tried to tell him I would be back, using sign language.  I don’t know if he understood.

The guns had quieted down some as I started back toward the bunker and I was thinking about how I was going to explain all this blood on my blouse.

I could see the shocked look on everyone’s face when they saw me.  “I’m not hurt,” I said.  “I was trying to help a wounded sailor but he died anyway.  It’s a mess out there.  I don’t understand.  Why have they attacked us?”

No one knew the answer to this.  Later that night, Cole came and got me and the baby and walked us home.  He told me that all three of them had to ship out that night.  I understood but I was afraid.

When he left, he gave me a wad of money.  “From all three of us,” he said, “it should be enough to get you back to Addison Georgia.”

But I knew I couldn’t go.  I needed to look after the Japanese soldier.  For some reason, I felt responsible for him.

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