My Beautiful Enemy by Cory Taylor

Author:Cory Taylor [Taylor, Cory]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Fiction
ISBN: 9781921961618
Publisher: The Text Publishing Company
Published: 2013-04-23T12:00:00+00:00

Three days later the war officially ended. The first I heard of it was at morning roll call when Colonel Hollows got up on a special podium to make the announcement. The way he worded the news was confusing. He said that Japan had officially accepted the terms of the Potsdam Declaration and agreed to an unconditional surrender. He then paused and cleared his throat as if overcome with emotion. Following a moment of uncomfortable silence he pocketed his notes, tapped the microphone a couple of times then spoke into it haltingly.

‘I know how many of you have waited for this day with a sense of disbelief and dread,’ he said. ‘To those people I give my word that no recriminations or acts of vengeance against you will be tolerated. This war has raged across the world for too many years already. It has taken the lives of too many innocent people. Let us not allow this spirit of violent hatred and fanatical destructiveness to dictate our behaviour here in this place at this time. Instead let us begin today the long process of returning the world to peace and civility.

‘To those of you who, like me, have looked forward to this day with a sense of relief and deep sorrow I plead with you to act generously and in a spirit of reconciliation. Nothing can be achieved in the weeks and months ahead unless we decide to put aside our differences and embrace each other as fellow human beings, regardless of race or creed or religion. I firmly believe that this is the only way forward for all of us here, and indeed for the entire world.’

When he stopped speaking there was a silence unlike any I had ever experienced before. It was as if the air around us had suddenly thinned, and we were floating. Apart from the wail of a baby there wasn’t a single human sound. The silence went on for so long and was so intense I wondered whether anyone had understood the meaning of the speech. Colonel Hollows must have had similar doubts because he tapped the microphone a second time before leaning into it and shouting.

‘The war is over. We have won a great victory.’

In an instant explosion of joy Riley danced around me, kicking up the dust with his boots and making wild noises. He grabbed hold of me and made me dance with him and then we embraced and fell over together.

We weren’t the only ones making fools of ourselves. A few of the women were wheeling each other around and crying while their kids stood by and watched, confused about whether to try to comfort them or not. When I got to my feet I looked for Stanley in the crowd and saw him propping up his mother who leaned into him as if she might be about to faint. His uncle Shigeru and the rest of the family were standing in a line, shoulder to shoulder, their arms around each other.

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