Owed Favours
HKUGA College , Tang , Yo – 14
" K
enta , I ' m sorry to tell you this ," Ming ' s face scrunched with unease , " I don ' t want to do this , but we have to , um , fire you . You know , because we are at war with your people ." I nodded . It had been a hard year . My country invaded China a few months ago . As a Japanese working in Shanghai Report , I knew my risk as a foreign journalist . Ming was my mentor . He discovered my passion and talent and invited me to join his press . This time , it didn ' t seem like he had another choice .
As I stepped out of the door , a Japanese soldier put his hand in front of mine . In my mind , I felt safe having only been stopped by fellow countrymen . No harm would be done to me . “ Just relax and let him do his work .” I thought . Then , he pointed at my clothes . What ? Excuse me ? He was getting annoyed . I stared blankly at him . He wanted me to take off all my clothes for a “ check ”. I pretended I didn ’ t understand what he meant . With my facial features , I could easily blend in with the Chinese . Ignorance is bliss . Being picked out is my worse nightmare . Then , he called back up . They brutally tore off my clothes . I was naked , shivering in the cold , humiliated by people of my own country but too scared to confess that Chinese hid me in their homes . They spanked my butt cheeks , laughed when they saw my ribs sticking out and my stretch marks .
The gang proceeded to ask a Chinese boy to stand naked in front of them for a checkup . He refused , which was both idiotic and bold . The gang was not too happy . They aimed their guns at him . His face twitched with worry . He was speechless as the gang cornered him . My legs ran towards the boy . Before I knew what I was doing , I said , “ TOMARI ! STOP !”. The gang ’ s eyes were fixed on me .
One of them asked me in Japanese ,” Why , brother ! Care to join us ?” “ I don ’ t understand what you ’ re talking about !” I hid my fear and tried to play it cool . “ Well , well , well , seems like our dear Japanese DID let go of his roots .” one of them smirked .
The boy and I backed away . I squeezed the boy ’ s hand . We exchanged a look before I shouted , “ RUN !”
The soldiers were in shock . I grabbed the boy ’ s hand and dashed across alleys . Time seemed to stop and everything seemed to flash by . Miraculously , we made a sharp turn around the queue of people lining up for third-class rice grains and the soldier lost track of us . The boy ’ s face was as pale as a sheet , shivering and mumbling words of thanks which was barely audible . I bid him goodbye in my most non-Japanese accent and left .
Out of nowhere , a voice boomed ,” Who are you ? What did you do to my son ?” I stammered ,” I ... I err , nothing …” He wouldn ' t believe me if I told him I saved him from Japanese pedophiles . The expression of distrust was fixed on his face . He clearly saw that I was a Japanese myself . The man clenched his fist , ready to punch me unconscious any moment . “ No , dad ! He saved me from those Japanese perverts ! If he weren ' t there , they would have been harassing me right now !” The father ’ s expression softened slightly . He turned to me ,” I ' m sorry , I was being too protective . It would be a pleasure if I could offer you help in return .”
“ I was wondering if you could possibly help me find a way back to Nagasaki , where I used to live ,” oh no ! Why did I ask for such a huge favour ?