When There were Tigers in Singapore by Schirmer Edmund M.;

Author:Schirmer, Edmund M.;
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Marshall Cavendish International (Asia) Private Limited

The Municipal Building, with the Padang in front.

7

A FRIEND OF THE EMPIRE

As Edward left the Padang area to return to the apartment in Changi, he glanced over at the droves of Europeans standing about, still waiting to be registered for their internment.

Men, women and children with dirty, doleful faces. I should be among these people, yet I am not. But really, why should any of them have to be there? And if any of them were given a chance to leave as a free man, who would not take it?

Inwardly, Edward cursed the callous British administration, who had let everyone down despite such a show of pomp and circumstance before the invasion. But that was now neither here nor there. It was up to everyone to do their best to survive the enemy occupation.

While walking, he scanned the crowd for the neighbor who had given him a ride to the Padang earlier that morning. So many faces. Edward failed to find him.

Despite all the rationalization, Edward still felt a sense of guilt that he was going home, and these ones were not. Nobody here had asked for the tragedy that was war. Yet it had affected everyone differently. Some were dead. Some had been maimed for life—either physically, mentally, or both. Everyone had lost something; some had lost everything. But by a strange stroke of fortune, Edward was now going home.

They never asked for my papers...

General Yamashita had even arranged for one of his men to drive Edward back to Changi, as the buses were still not running.

The young Japanese lieutenant was a friendly man who spoke, surprisingly enough, some French. As they drove, they exchanged small talk at first, but the conversation dwindled after a while. Then the lieutenant loosened his collar and began humming a tune. Edward did not know what the tune was, but it definitely sounded Japanese to him. After offering Edward a cigarette, which he declined, the lieutenant lit one for himself and contentedly smoked and hummed his tune, smiling all the while.

The elation of a victor. The elation of a man who could breathe once again, after having faced death up close. Edward could certainly identify with that feeling.

The car, an older Vauxhall Cadet, drove away with the young lieutenant at the wheel, waving goodbye. Edward turned to walk up to his shop when Hans and Carl ran to him, hugging his legs and crying out, “Papa! Papa!”

Tears welled up in Edward’s eyes. He absolutely knew then that he had made the right decision.

I will do anything for these boys—for my family.

“Yes, Papa is home. Everything is alright.”

They walked up to the apartment. Florence stood at the door carrying Eugene. She put him down and folded her arms. Eugene wobbled over to his Papa. Edward picked up the toddler.

They’re still babies...

Edward and Florence had come to a truce, cooling off after the moment of tension caused by the bombing had subsided. But the fight had essentially snuffed out the already smoldering embers of their relationship.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.