The Birthmark (26 page)

‘I don't understand,' Christina said, ‘the marine killed her, you didn't.'

‘Two times I tried to save her, two times I sent her to

die. I thought the people at the hospital were safe. But they took them, made us force them onto the boat. I thought we would die together in the boat. But he was cruel, he made me live. We thought the people would float for a few days, then sink, or perhaps someone would rescue them. Then boom! Everyone died. They blew up the boat. And Edouwe, she died in the water but I wanted to be with her. If I was with her, maybe she would have lived.'

Riki turned to Lily and took her stained hand. ‘That's why you're special. You have her scar. You are here to heal the past. You helped me do that today.'

‘Sometimes I hear her cry, some mornings when I wake,' Lily said. Hector could see her eyes shining with tears as she spoke.

‘She calls you, to wake up and heal her, heal the past. I think you'll hear her no more now.'

Hector jostled for position in front of his
ibu
as they walked. He wanted to know more about the ghost. ‘How did you kill him, Ibu?' he asked.

The old man sighed again. ‘For three days I was sore from the beating. On the fourth day I went in the night to his secret place. It was Egirow's secret place. A place to rest, to hide, to worship. I don't know. No other marine went there. It was his secret but I knew it and I waited and I took the black stone.

‘Just before dawn Egirow came and hid inside the pinnacles. I waited to surprise him when he came out but the bombers came too. Boom, boom, boom. I covered my ears. Then there was a big one, so big the ground

shook and stones flew down on me. More bombs landed further away. I heard him cry out and I came slowly, into the clearing, but bushes and trees all about were smashed and filled the clearing. He was not in the secret place; he must have run away. I heard another cry and I saw him down the hill, lying down. He moved his legs and tried to crawl but a big bean tree was on his back, holding him. I took a piece of rock to smash his head and he saw me come. I saw his eyes hate me, but before he could shout I smashed his mouth and blood came out. I took his sword because his hand couldn't reach it. I poked the sword in his neck, like I killed a pig and blood sprayed out. He was dead.

‘I cut at the tree, and cut at him, and threw bits around the site, like I sliced bait for fishing. But I took his head and some bones and I buried them at the entrance to the secret place. Then I made the magic with the stone and I put it on his tin, to stop him speaking now he's dead. And I knew they'd find him and they'd say the bomb killed him, but they would never find all the pieces and it was me that made him a ghost.'

‘So how come no one found him?' Hector said.

‘I buried his spirit, the sword, further down the hill.'

‘So when we found the sword, he was released from your magic?' Lily said.

‘Yes, but he couldn't speak,' Hector added.

‘So why did he speak and say Baringa Bay?' she asked.

‘The sword was with him again and when Hector took the stone, I called to Egirow. I broke the spell.'

‘But why did he want to go to Baringa Bay?' Christina asked.

‘He knew that was where he hurt me most. He knew I wanted to go with Edouwe, to die in the open sea. So that was where he should be now. Him instead of me.'

‘So it really was an evil thing,' Lily said. ‘I thought you were just saying that, to make me throw it away, but it really was the spirit of a cruel man.'

‘Yes, but because I became cruel like him, I was ashamed, a coward, and my magic was like a curse. I told no one, except you three.'

‘But you weren't a coward, Ibu. You fought back,' Hector said.

‘I wanted to kill him, but I killed him like he was an injured dog. I didn't fight fair. That's not a shaman. That's a coward.'

‘I don't think the Japanese fought fair, either,' Christina said.

‘It's not a bad secret, Ibu. And people will think you
were
brave because you tried to save Edouwe. You can tell people about it now because it's so long ago,' Hector said.

‘No, it's not for everyone to hear,' he said and he squeezed Lily's hand and reached out for Hector's also. ‘It's our secret. It binds our families. Let it be a gift to them only if they're ready, when they suffer and hurt and need to know their past.'

Hector nodded and looked across at Lily. She winked at him. He blushed as he thought of the love between his
ibu
and Edouwe.

The old man stopped walking. ‘I am tired,' he said, ‘go on ahead and make us all some tea, then we can rest too. After a long night.'

‘You can come and stay at my place for a few days, Lily. Dad won't mind. At least until I go back to Australia next week,' Christina said. She smiled and clasped Lily's hand.

‘Thank you,' Lily said. ‘And Riki, one day, if you don't mind, I'll go home and tell my mum about your secret.' Lily looked down at her left hand. It tingled. She was stained, just like the girl's arm was stained with blood, the blood of a desperate soul, a soul that had run through her on the reef, that had been a part of her. A great wisdom and sense of connection flowed over her. Her stain was not a dirty mark, it was a symbol of belonging, a link to the past.

acknowledgments

Thank you Arnold Zable for your inspiration, and to Heather Tobias, Richard Kentwell and John Irving for your encouragement.

To the workshop teams at WWW and Berwick, your comments were invaluable.

Thanks to Penny Hueston for her expert care and critical eye. But most importantly, thank you Jeffter, my husband, for your unceasing support and belief in me.