The Little Captive

Leaving her house was a turning point in Lise’s life, and therefore something she would remember for a long time. All her friends had already been deported by the Japs and her family was the only one left in the ‘foreign’ community. When the Japs finally arrive, Lismore is very reluctant to leaving, "We had a shelter at the bottom of the garden that would protect us from the bombs and the Japanese soldiers. But I knew we didn’t have a choice.” This is something I think Lise will remember forever since it was the moment her life shifted from a peaceful childhood in Java to a violent life in a POW camp.

This was one of the most brutal moments in the book, that Lismore later describes as something that “will never be erased from my memory.” All prisoners were forced to wear their number tags at all times. They had them attached to their clothes. One young boy, however, was still in the shower when they were called up for tenko, and had to run out in his towel without his number tag yet. What happened next made Lise realize to what point the Japs were cruel. “The officer stepped forward and spoke to one of the older boys. ‘Numbers to be worn on chest at all times.’ He asked the boy where his shirt was and the boy shook his head. The officer took a step forward and took the cardboard number from the boy. No, I thought … surely not … he’s a child. But he did. He nodded at two of the guards who took their positions on either side of the frightened boy. They held one arm each. The Japanese officer opened up the safety pin and gathered the loose skin of the boy’s chest between his thumb and forefinger. And while the boy struggled and screamed, the officer forced the rusty pin through the flesh and snapped the clasp shut. The blood poured from the boy’s chest as several of the women who had huddled together fainted. The officer turned towards them and repeated his statement. ‘Numbers worn at all times.’ He turned to the next bare-chested boy, who made a vain attempt to run, realizing he was next in line. A guard tripped him as he tried to run past and pounced on him before he could get to his feet. The poor boy struggled with all the strength he had left in him, but it was no good, and eventually the blood ran down his chest, too, the safety pin firmly in place, the weight of the piece of cardboard pulling at his skin.“

“I just wanted to sit with him and talk and play like we used to in Surabaya before the Japanese took us away. He seemed to almost distance himself from his children and from Mama, too, preferring to spend his time playing cards with some of the soldiers or locking himself in a room with several books. He had changed, something about him was different, the way he looked at us. I could see the fear in his eyes. I never found out where he had been held, nor what he experienced as he refused to talk about it.” This is Lise’s description of her first encounter with her dad, and how she perceives him.

This moment is right after the war ended, the first night Lise spends at her aunt’s house again. At dinner, Lise suddenly becomes obsessed with her food and describes her irrational fear of someone taking it away from her. “I had forgotten what other food was like. I watched the Indonesian, scared that he would take the food away, and I almost hugged my plate until it broke. I was conscious of the others looking at me, but they were not going to steal my fluffy white rice. For a moment, I secretly wondered whether I should discretely stuff some in my pockets, just in case…” This is the first time Lismore realizes what mental effects the POW camps have had on her, which is why this is a significant moment in the story.

Once in London, Lise and her family receive the telegram their relative are okay. “Our grandparents were well and looking forward to seeing us, but there was even better news: Uncle Wilhelm had survived the concentration camps in Germany. Everyone thought that Mama’s brother must have died as no one had heard anything about him since his capture at the beginning of the war. The telegram went on to say that he was very ill, but they expected him to make a full recovery. Granddad and Grandma said not to worry about Christmas if we weren’t back in time. They had lots of gifts for us, and a Christmas tree, but they would wait and we would have our very own special Christmas Day when we arrived.” This is the happiest moment in the book, and significant to Lise, as it is the real confirmation the war is over, and her family will be alright.