Patsy's Nightmare Love
Chapter 1
In Singapore is a delightful tourist site for the whole world to view and a river magical as the stars. Living in such a dreamy place is Patience Mount a 14-year-old student, who adores the freedom of the Singapore air along with her father, mother and sister. Her every morning is full of song birds and a delicious smell invading her nostrils from the kitchen, along with being jumped upon by her younger sister, Hope, who yells "Wake up" extremely loud down her tender ears forcing her to pry herself up and accompany her family for breakfast. Patience greets her mother in the usual way, hugging and kissing her cheek before sitting in her assigned chair awaiting her mother's service.
"Egg and bacon, you've got a big day today"
"I have?" Patsy pounders on what her mother could mean.
"You have an examination; gosh Pats don't tell me you've forgotten?" Her mother frowns at her always expecting Patsy to be at her best form.
"Of course not mother, I have studied very long and hard to forget such an importance"
Her mother raises her eyebrows, gazing at her from the side before patting her head softly.
"That's my girl" Her mother spoke softly returning to the stove to proceed to clean it.
"You liar" Patsy's sister whispered across her colouring book.
"I simply wasn't lying, I was bending the truth" Patsy explained with elegance convincing her simple minded sister that her words are the exact truth. Patsy proceeded to eat her breakfast as her sister coloured and her mother cleaned, silence was such a rare element in the day mornings was the only time they encounter it so they sat enjoying it, only relying on sighs to communicate with one another how they were feeling until screams echoed throughout the street and the engines of automobiles invade the silence.
Patsy shudders dropping her silver cutlery upon the family dining table, frightened by the terrifying screams of women. Patsy's mother rushes to the front window to gaze at the dramatic scenes of women being dragged from their homes and forced into vans, Patsy watches her mother's face drain of emotion whilst her sister is oblivious lost in a world of colour. Patsy joins her mother's side, watching her fellow neighbours struggling to break free from soldier's arms. Patsy set her sights on the man's army badge, making out the word 'Japanese' and nothing else, Patsy was confused to as whom these men were but her mother however was much wiser and the worry in her trembling voice informed Patsy of this.
"Take your sister and go upstairs" Her mother's eyes didn't move from the action outside the window.
"But mother..." Patsy choice the wrong moment to question her mother.
"Now!" Her mother snaps, frightening Patsy into following her request taking her sister and her colouring book upstairs to their shared room. Patsy's mind spins with wonder, she considered herself no longer a child but a woman who should be allowed to know why those men are dragging women away but instead she's sent to her room like a child in trouble.
"What's happening Pats?" Her sister tenderly asks, taking a moment from colouring.
"I couldn't tell you" Patsy says her head peaking above the windowsill to catch a glimpse of the action but the room it situated at the back of the house and her body slumps back to the floor.
"Why?" Her sister's naive behaviour was intolerable.
"Because I'm stuck up here with you" Patsy's head shot up from gazing at her gullible sister, to the sound of footstep her mother burst into the door and accompanies the girls, her mother's eyes stuck glued to the door, Patsy's glued to her mother in confusion.
"Moth…" Patsy is rudely interrupted by her mother, a woman of morals whom had never shown a sign of bad manner. Patsy obeyed the shush of silence to then hear the front door of their home being broken in by wailing Japanese mean, Patsy's heart beings to race as the men invade her home and the stairs echo their quickly running feet. Patsy's mother grasps her and her sister in her arms as the feet get louder outside the door. Patsy's sister whimpers in fear streaming tears down her cheeks, the door wings open and the soldier enters instantly destroying the shelves on the wall holding Patsy's and her sister possession with his baton and approaching the three aggressively, gripping Patsy's mother arm tightly dragging her off the floor, Patsy and her sister followed suit. The man shouts something in Japanese and two more men accompany him in the room ripping Patsy away from her mother the other ripping her sister. All are dragged out, kicking, screaming and crying being shoved into the back of a van full with fellow mothers and daughters all crying in fear, Patsy sits content gazing around at the others concerned for those who have been struck by the soldiers baton.
"Why are they doing this?" A little girl asks beside Patsy, drawing attention to them both to avoid stares Patsy thinks of something reassuring to say the girl isn't much younger than Patsy so Patsy watches her words carefully.
"They're taking us to a better place, like a holiday" Patsy fakes a smile whilst talking tenderly to the child, her mother smiles hearing her daughter talk so wise, relishing in the greatness of her daughters growth. Patsy cradled the girl who was smiling in a fantasy as she whispers delightful things into her ears, the van rattles traveling over pot holes and speed bumps the destination only known to the driver and horrible men aboard. The journey is continuous of this, people sleeping on one another leaving excrement in the corner or in their pants, constant whimpering from children and weeping from mother and the smell off soiled people lingering, becoming ripe all around them.
Patsy makes entertainment in her mind, counting mothers from children and children with toys form those without her sister sits getting her hair twirled by her mother and the darkness surrounding them being all they know about their journey. Patsy wished she was right about the fantasy place, but she knew she wasn't the mystery destination the foul transportation, only brought one thing to Patsy's mind, something she had read about in German newspapers- segregation camps. 'They're pleasant' Patsy had thought at the time from reading the conditions being 'delightful' and the 'food of sublime nature' but now the stench of excrement infected her hopeful soul, everything filthy and people suffering around her, 'this isn't a journey to pleasantness'.
The van came to a halt awaking the sleeping passengers and startling the sleepless, the van shuck as men dismounted if and came to the back of the truck swinging the doors open blinding the suffering passengers with light before tossing each of them out the van and into the mud surrounded by barbwire. Patsy allows the soldiers to yank her around, not wanting to risk a beating if resistance was shown. She regroups with her family once they've dumped every one behind the barbwire gates and finalised the imprisonment within them. The countless women are lead to through the camp to the only building that stood; all are hurried inside and told what to do in Japanese. Patsy had never learnt Japanese but guessed it had something to do with the grey stale clothes laying in front of her, she points them out to her mother and sister before changing out of her silk pyjamas, designed by her mother and into the foul clothing provided. The material makes Patsy's skin itch, so she keeps her silk pyjamas close to her, trying to disguise them a fat upon her stomach but with guards watching their every move, she is caught. The guard yanks the pyjamas from up her stale shirt, throwing them on the floor and standing on them yelling. Patsy's heart drops, in fright and sorrow her strong headed behaviour pushed itself through and Patsy no longer could hold her lip.
"What on earth?" The guard looked at her, shocked that one actually challenged him but he didn't let the gentlemen act of 'Never hit a woman' hold him back, he swings his gun round from his shoulder smashing its butt into Patsy's cheek. Patsy screeches and falls to the ground, her mother runs to her side to then be push back by the same guard who is smiling down at Patsy, basking in the glory of hitting a 14 year old girl for simply speaking. Patsy cries softly in her hand, the excruciating pain spreads to her head causing her vision to blur for a moment; she listens to the women gasping around her, the children weeping and the rotten Japanese man laughing above her she now regretted speaking and certainly wasn't going to do it again. The man pulls her to her feet and moves her hand away from her now red, swollen and scratched face Patsy fells liquid begin to flow down her cheek a tear perhaps? No blood, blood the Japanese soldier traces his finger through and releases a large laugh from out his evil mouth, Patsy felt like swinging for the soldier but knew more pain would come of it from the observing guards too.
His grip remains on Patsy until his laughter is silent and the injury now seeming of a serious nature. "Go to medic" the soldier raged his arm off Patsy, causing her to become unsteady on her feet, her mother caught her before she could fall and the guard stood like he was awaiting something "Now!" He yells shooting fear to spike in Patsy who leaves the building and through her blurred vision can make out the words medic on a tent across camp.
She walks cautiously, her head pulsing with pain whilst the mud sticks to her thin slippers bring her near fall. The sky was blue, so blue the clouds seemed three dimensional, the sight so beautiful until Patsy notices the turrets, with armed guards standing upon. Patsy notices them watching her, frightened they might shoot, her pace quickens and direction is only towards the medic tent, she ignores the active women around her who are going about their business, trying to survive and finally reaches the magical white tent.
Patsy throws back the opening to reveal the horrific sight of people deteriorating and screaming in agony. She thought her eyes must be lying to her, inside the tent was no different to the outside, the mud in every corner of the tent, people skin and bone from starvation even the dead lay in a deceased corner hygiene was thrown out the window in every inch of the camp. The nurses themselves looked like prisoners trying to help those who are severely suffering from beatings and malnutrition, Patsy stood at the entrance afraid to priorities herself over the other pain stricken people but one nurses spots innocent patsy bleeding face and briskly approaches her, afraid she might run from being approached by a stranger.
"Hello, I see your face is in a terrible amount of pain" The women spoke kindly, reassuring Patsy of her friendly nature, Patsy nods in respond to the woman's observation.
"Will you let me take a look?" Patsy hesitated at first, afraid she might be as evil as the guards but this woman didn't wear a uniform nor did her face scream evil, just kindness. The woman points Patsy to a stool stuck in mud by a make shift table that held medical tools, Patsy sat down and the woman tilted her head up gently to allow the light to illuminate her wounded face. The woman looks closer at the cut to perhaps make out if any dirty had gotten into the wound, the woman's only inches away from her own she could feel the woman's breath on her face, hear her pulse pound away in her neck, a woman had never been so close to her apart from her mother and sister but never a strange women, one so adorably kind with a light in her eyes that made the foul place pleasant even just for a moment.
"I'm going to clean it, this may sting" The women grasped at a grey cloth, bending down to dip it into a hidden bucket of clean water and bring it up to Patsy's face. She gently runs the cloth over the cut, Patsy winces with the stinging each time the woman touches upon her swollen face, each time the woman would apologizes and continue trying to soften her touch. The woman's hands lay on Patsy's face one busy the other simply holding her cheek softly, Patsy couldn't help but notice the pleasantness of the strangers hands laying on her skin.
Patsy's P.O.V
Her hands feel like angels, dancing on my skin whilst the water proceeds to sting my wound, my attention was on her, her eyes so relaxing to gaze into. I didn't even know her name but I instantly felt like we'd known each other for centuries, for a moment I forgot the hell in which I've been entrapped, my surroundings suddenly none existent it was just me and this kind woman.
Narrator
The woman cleans Patsy's wound of all blood and releases her face to procure a bandied, Patsy watches the woman carefully afraid she'll leave her before getting a chance to ask of her name. The women returns with the bandied and places it softly over Patsy's cut, tracing her thumb down her cheek to make it stick.
"That's the cut taken care of, sadly I don't have anything for the pain" The woman stands staring into Patsy's eye perhaps thinking of a possible pain relief but Patsy is enjoying the long lasting gaze, the woman's eyes glowing in her own.
"May I ask your name?" Patsy's voice is crispy afraid of causing the kind woman offence.
"I assume it's those kind of questions that got you this?" The woman is assertive, head strong with adorable facial features.
"I was contesting over them taking my possessions" Patsy tells the woman truthfully, who reacts in a manner of hearing old news.
"In this place, we have no possessions. We're their possessions now" Patsy frowns with dismay, she had never wanted to be owned by someone and the news of it is most frightful.
"We still have our family names" The woman looks plainly at the girl, shocked at the wisdom coming from the innocent, beaten girl.
"Our family names don't matter in a hell like this; we're merely numbers in a corrupted system"
"I see no corruption here, just a kind women whom I'd like to be on a first name basis with" The woman tried to resist Patsy's charm, but her speech made it excruciatingly hard.
"Why? Why me and not him who lay dying over there?" The woman's questioning wasn't without merit; Patsy noticed her nature was singling the woman out from others, something she now sees the woman dislikes.
"You're helping to make this place more heavenly for strangers whose pasts aren't your concern" The woman's eyes begin tearing up, the words have touched her heart and her spirit now glowing from such kindness being repaid by a girl so young, whose thought to not understand such concepts.
"Please don't cry, I didn't meant to insult" Patsy panics, the only tears she had seen for the past 3 days are those of suffering people, insulted by cruelty these- tears are foreign.
"These aren't tears of hurt" The woman's speech is shaky, blessing Patsy with relief, mind now stops worrying of insult but focuses on the woman's calming methods, as the woman wafts her eyes with her hands to dry them avoid infecting her clean hands with salty tears.
"Delia Busby was my name; now I'm…" The woman gazes at her shirt, the badge sewn upon it reading the numbers off it "5643". Patsy frowns at the kind lady in front of her realising she has become content with the situation of being entrapped in a prison camp and disapproves.
"You're Delia Busby, no such number can replace that" Delia picks her eyes up from the number badge gazing at Patsy lightly, the words flowing like blood through her veins anything Patsy said made Delia more forgetful of the horrid condition they've been forced to endure.
"Such thinking is dangerous in this place" Delia looks upon Patsy tenderly, relaying the fear of saying the incorrect thing as a guard stands watching the two talk quietly.
"They can't control our thoughts, that's our freedom" Patsy whispers gently into the ear of Delia as she comes to a stand, slipping in the mud that lay below resulting in Delia having to steady her. Her hands lay on Patsy's arms keeping her upright whilst Patsy regains her stance. "I do believe I'm clueless of your name"
"Patsy, Patsy Mount" The girl forces out before the guard approaches them.
"Anata, shigoto ni modoru, anata wa nigeru"
Delia takes her hands off Patsy at the sound of the guard and straightens her spin, Patsy was clueless to as why Delia acted as such but the wisdom the woman beheld gave reason enough to replicated her actions. Not speaking Japanese, the girls stand staring at the guard blankly until he speaks again, luckily translating his words.
"You back to work. You scamper off!" Once translated Delia jumps to action, walking away from Patsy to a fellow suffering prisoner. Patsy proceeded to leave the tent but Delia had sparked curiosity inside her, the urge to fool the guard was overwhelming but the pain caused by the butt of a gun was enough to scare that idea out of her mind however she couldn't help the unconscious actions of gazing back at the kind woman, her eyes found Delia's before the white tent was shut off to her by the guard.
