" Say ah…" Megumi urged gently as she peered into the child's throat. "
Good girl… wider… all right…" she murmured as she made her diagnosis and
turned to the girl's mother who was standing anxiously behind her daughter.
" She's all right. Her throat is just a little sore. Probably too many sweets over the festival? I've prescribed for her some syrup, you can collect it at the counter"
" Thank you doctor…She just started coughing this morning, and none of us knew what was happening? Oh… by the way, here's some vegetables for you, please accept this."
From the mother's side appeared a small basket of vegetables and she held it out to Megumi who took it with a grateful smile
" Thank you very much."
" You'll…um, find it very useful…" the mother said, as she smiled uncertainly and before Megumi could wonder about that, the mother was out of the room.
Megumi thought about it for a few seconds, then she shrugged the thought out of her head and went back to writing her report. Presently, the nurse poked her head into the room
" Megumi? That was the last patient and it's almost closing time already. Is it ok if I make a move first?"
" Sure, I'll lock up." Megumi replied cheerfully and gave a jaunty wave to the nurse.
Half an hour later, Megumi rose from her chair and took off her white coat. In her hurry to do so, she accidentally pushed the basket of vegetables from her table to the floor. Megumi muttered a cry as she bent down to pick up the vegetables. In the midst of all the green leaves, she spotted a small piece of paper, carefully folded among the vegetables. Megumi picked it up and opened it. Her heart gave a big jump as she realized that it was from Sano.
It was written in Japanese, so that only she could read it. And it read
Megumi,
I can't tell you where I am now, for safety reasons, but right now, we are all doing all right. We suffered huge casualties, but everyone is recovering and we are now planning our counter attack. I managed to get this letter to Lee, and he's going to give this to someone in town, who is probably going to pass it to you from there. I'm afraid to write to much, as far as I know, there's heavy patrol going on nowadays in town, and apparently the government has a list of the names of people who are in the rebel group, including my name and they even know how some of us look like. I just want to tell you that I'm all right. Don't worry about me, if not you'll give yourself away to the government. Carry on with your life, as present and one day I'll come for you.
Sano.
Tears appeared at the corner of Megumi's eyes and she hastily wiped them away with her sleeve. She had to listen to Sano and carry on with her life as before. She couldn't cry, not now anyway.
It had been almost two months since the government soldiers had stormed the rebel camp in a sudden surprise attack. Back then, in order to help Megumi escape, Sano had rubbed mud all over her and tore her clothes, so as to make it seem that she was a prisoner of theirs. The ploy worked.
Minutes after Sano had left her, a soldier had come across her and she had been brought to the captain in charge, where by she told him her 'story', that she had been captured while dining with the magistrate and that she had been held captive by the rebels since then, starved and bullied. It helped too that the magistrate helped to prove her story right except for the fact that he still kept inviting her over to his place for dinner, but she always put it off with some excuse or another.
The story that had been told to the villages was that she had been kidnapped at the same time of the magistrate, but she had been held for a longer time, so as to satisfy the rebel's needs. However, the majority of the villagers, who were actual supporters of the rebels, knew more or less the true story. Some of the villagers even knew about her relationship with Sano, even though they kept quiet about it.
As a result of the raid, more soldiers had been brought into the town to protect it; for fear that the rebels would come back for another revolt. Even the magistrate's house was surrounded with at least twenty over guards. Every hour of the day, there would be groups of soldiers patrolling the streets. Occasionally, houses and shops were searched in the hope of finding anything related to the rebels, and sometimes people were caught, but most people were careful and the government was unable to find any clues to the rebel's next move.
Megumi dried her tears and picked up the vegetables, carefully hiding the letter in her clothes. If the soldiers ever found it, she would immediately be put in jail. After locking up the clinic, she quickly made her way to the market, she purchased a few ingredients for her dinner, and then she quickly made her way back to her small apartment above the clinic. However, just as she was about to enter her apartment, a few soldiers stopped her.
She turned around with a questioning look on her face
" Ms Megumi? The magistrate wishes you at his residence for a meal with him. He would like to inquire about your state."
" Um, could you please tell the magistrate that I do not feel very well, and that some other time perhaps?" Megumi replied and took a step forward, but was stopped again by the soldier
" The magistrate wishes you at his residence." The soldier emphasized the words again and Megumi understood the true meaning the message. It meant that she had to go whether she liked it or not. Quietly, she nodded, at the same time, reaching to touch the letter that was hidden in the folds of her clothes.
*********************
At the magistrate's place, Megumi kept quiet most of the time and nodded and smiled whenever needed, but most of the time keeping to herself while the magistrate chattered on and on, oblivious to what Megumi was feeling.
That was until the magistrate asked her about her stay during the rebels.
" They didn't hurt you in any way did they?"
" Huh? Oh… they didn't."
" I thought it weird when they didn't put you in the same room as me. I demanded to know where you were, but they just ignored me."
" I guess that I was put in another room. I saw no one for the first two days." Megumi replied, taking a sip of tea in order to calm her nervousness.
" I see. I thought it was funny, but did they use your services as a doctor?"
" Er… they did ask me to help them in some injuries…" Megumi allowed
" I see, and did you manage to get any idea about who those people were at all?" the magistrate asked
" No, I knew no one. Most of the time I was kept in my room." Megumi replied, averting her eyes in purpose.
During this time, the magistrate had been silently stroking her hand and Megumi pulled away gently.
" Don't worry, I'm not going to hurt you… I promise you that I will hunt down those bastards…" the magistrate assured her.
" Um, I have to get going now, it's quite late."
" Well, all right, but would you follow me for a moment, I would like to show you something." The magistrate said, with a leer on his face as he stood up.
Megumi nodded silently, and stood up to follow the magistrate. He brought her to a bedroom at the far back of his mansion and closed the doors behind Megumi as she stepped in, bolting it as he did so.
Megumi turned around and frowned
" What are you doing?"
" Go and look. The dress is over there." The magistrate pointed over to the bed, distracting Megumi for the moment. She walked cautiously over to the bed and stared down at a pale green cheongsam with a high slit leading to the thigh.
" Go on, try it…" the magistrate invited.
" Oh no… it's too pretty." Megumi protested
" Try it…" the magistrate insisted
" No… it's all right…"
" I asked you to try it!" the magistrate raised his voice a little
Megumi shuddered at the tone of his rising voice and made a move to pick up the cheongsam. " Would you leave the room please?"
" No… just try it here."
" What! No way!" Megumi protested
" When I say you try it on, you try it on!" the magistrate shouted and came over to grip her wrist tightly. For a fat man, he had amazing strength.
" Let go!" Megumi shouted.
" No way, I've waited too long… too long…" the magistrate gasped as he started pulling at her buttons.
" Go away!" Megumi screamed as she pushed hard at the magistrate's shoulders, but he would not budge.
The buttons on her blouse were almost torn apart in the struggle and the magistrate was spreading slobbery kisses all along Megumi's neck. Suddenly, a piece of paper fluttered to the floor and the magistrate paused in his actions as he picked it up.
Megumi realized in horror that it was the letter from Sano and she tried to snatch it out of the magistrate's hands, but to no avail.
" What is this?" the magistrate asked as he opened up the letter.
His features deepened as he read the letter, after which he turned to Megumi with a face full of hatred
" Sano is the mastermind of the rebel group right. You bitch! How dare you collaborate with him! You will pay for this!"
He shouted as he lunged for Megumi, throwing her further into the bed. When she struggled, he slapped her twice.
" You bitch you bitch!" he kept shouting, as he tore her blouse off her.
'Sano, where are you!' Megumi cried silently as she struggled with the Magistrate. Everything seemed all hopeless now.
" She's all right. Her throat is just a little sore. Probably too many sweets over the festival? I've prescribed for her some syrup, you can collect it at the counter"
" Thank you doctor…She just started coughing this morning, and none of us knew what was happening? Oh… by the way, here's some vegetables for you, please accept this."
From the mother's side appeared a small basket of vegetables and she held it out to Megumi who took it with a grateful smile
" Thank you very much."
" You'll…um, find it very useful…" the mother said, as she smiled uncertainly and before Megumi could wonder about that, the mother was out of the room.
Megumi thought about it for a few seconds, then she shrugged the thought out of her head and went back to writing her report. Presently, the nurse poked her head into the room
" Megumi? That was the last patient and it's almost closing time already. Is it ok if I make a move first?"
" Sure, I'll lock up." Megumi replied cheerfully and gave a jaunty wave to the nurse.
Half an hour later, Megumi rose from her chair and took off her white coat. In her hurry to do so, she accidentally pushed the basket of vegetables from her table to the floor. Megumi muttered a cry as she bent down to pick up the vegetables. In the midst of all the green leaves, she spotted a small piece of paper, carefully folded among the vegetables. Megumi picked it up and opened it. Her heart gave a big jump as she realized that it was from Sano.
It was written in Japanese, so that only she could read it. And it read
Megumi,
I can't tell you where I am now, for safety reasons, but right now, we are all doing all right. We suffered huge casualties, but everyone is recovering and we are now planning our counter attack. I managed to get this letter to Lee, and he's going to give this to someone in town, who is probably going to pass it to you from there. I'm afraid to write to much, as far as I know, there's heavy patrol going on nowadays in town, and apparently the government has a list of the names of people who are in the rebel group, including my name and they even know how some of us look like. I just want to tell you that I'm all right. Don't worry about me, if not you'll give yourself away to the government. Carry on with your life, as present and one day I'll come for you.
Sano.
Tears appeared at the corner of Megumi's eyes and she hastily wiped them away with her sleeve. She had to listen to Sano and carry on with her life as before. She couldn't cry, not now anyway.
It had been almost two months since the government soldiers had stormed the rebel camp in a sudden surprise attack. Back then, in order to help Megumi escape, Sano had rubbed mud all over her and tore her clothes, so as to make it seem that she was a prisoner of theirs. The ploy worked.
Minutes after Sano had left her, a soldier had come across her and she had been brought to the captain in charge, where by she told him her 'story', that she had been captured while dining with the magistrate and that she had been held captive by the rebels since then, starved and bullied. It helped too that the magistrate helped to prove her story right except for the fact that he still kept inviting her over to his place for dinner, but she always put it off with some excuse or another.
The story that had been told to the villages was that she had been kidnapped at the same time of the magistrate, but she had been held for a longer time, so as to satisfy the rebel's needs. However, the majority of the villagers, who were actual supporters of the rebels, knew more or less the true story. Some of the villagers even knew about her relationship with Sano, even though they kept quiet about it.
As a result of the raid, more soldiers had been brought into the town to protect it; for fear that the rebels would come back for another revolt. Even the magistrate's house was surrounded with at least twenty over guards. Every hour of the day, there would be groups of soldiers patrolling the streets. Occasionally, houses and shops were searched in the hope of finding anything related to the rebels, and sometimes people were caught, but most people were careful and the government was unable to find any clues to the rebel's next move.
Megumi dried her tears and picked up the vegetables, carefully hiding the letter in her clothes. If the soldiers ever found it, she would immediately be put in jail. After locking up the clinic, she quickly made her way to the market, she purchased a few ingredients for her dinner, and then she quickly made her way back to her small apartment above the clinic. However, just as she was about to enter her apartment, a few soldiers stopped her.
She turned around with a questioning look on her face
" Ms Megumi? The magistrate wishes you at his residence for a meal with him. He would like to inquire about your state."
" Um, could you please tell the magistrate that I do not feel very well, and that some other time perhaps?" Megumi replied and took a step forward, but was stopped again by the soldier
" The magistrate wishes you at his residence." The soldier emphasized the words again and Megumi understood the true meaning the message. It meant that she had to go whether she liked it or not. Quietly, she nodded, at the same time, reaching to touch the letter that was hidden in the folds of her clothes.
*********************
At the magistrate's place, Megumi kept quiet most of the time and nodded and smiled whenever needed, but most of the time keeping to herself while the magistrate chattered on and on, oblivious to what Megumi was feeling.
That was until the magistrate asked her about her stay during the rebels.
" They didn't hurt you in any way did they?"
" Huh? Oh… they didn't."
" I thought it weird when they didn't put you in the same room as me. I demanded to know where you were, but they just ignored me."
" I guess that I was put in another room. I saw no one for the first two days." Megumi replied, taking a sip of tea in order to calm her nervousness.
" I see. I thought it was funny, but did they use your services as a doctor?"
" Er… they did ask me to help them in some injuries…" Megumi allowed
" I see, and did you manage to get any idea about who those people were at all?" the magistrate asked
" No, I knew no one. Most of the time I was kept in my room." Megumi replied, averting her eyes in purpose.
During this time, the magistrate had been silently stroking her hand and Megumi pulled away gently.
" Don't worry, I'm not going to hurt you… I promise you that I will hunt down those bastards…" the magistrate assured her.
" Um, I have to get going now, it's quite late."
" Well, all right, but would you follow me for a moment, I would like to show you something." The magistrate said, with a leer on his face as he stood up.
Megumi nodded silently, and stood up to follow the magistrate. He brought her to a bedroom at the far back of his mansion and closed the doors behind Megumi as she stepped in, bolting it as he did so.
Megumi turned around and frowned
" What are you doing?"
" Go and look. The dress is over there." The magistrate pointed over to the bed, distracting Megumi for the moment. She walked cautiously over to the bed and stared down at a pale green cheongsam with a high slit leading to the thigh.
" Go on, try it…" the magistrate invited.
" Oh no… it's too pretty." Megumi protested
" Try it…" the magistrate insisted
" No… it's all right…"
" I asked you to try it!" the magistrate raised his voice a little
Megumi shuddered at the tone of his rising voice and made a move to pick up the cheongsam. " Would you leave the room please?"
" No… just try it here."
" What! No way!" Megumi protested
" When I say you try it on, you try it on!" the magistrate shouted and came over to grip her wrist tightly. For a fat man, he had amazing strength.
" Let go!" Megumi shouted.
" No way, I've waited too long… too long…" the magistrate gasped as he started pulling at her buttons.
" Go away!" Megumi screamed as she pushed hard at the magistrate's shoulders, but he would not budge.
The buttons on her blouse were almost torn apart in the struggle and the magistrate was spreading slobbery kisses all along Megumi's neck. Suddenly, a piece of paper fluttered to the floor and the magistrate paused in his actions as he picked it up.
Megumi realized in horror that it was the letter from Sano and she tried to snatch it out of the magistrate's hands, but to no avail.
" What is this?" the magistrate asked as he opened up the letter.
His features deepened as he read the letter, after which he turned to Megumi with a face full of hatred
" Sano is the mastermind of the rebel group right. You bitch! How dare you collaborate with him! You will pay for this!"
He shouted as he lunged for Megumi, throwing her further into the bed. When she struggled, he slapped her twice.
" You bitch you bitch!" he kept shouting, as he tore her blouse off her.
'Sano, where are you!' Megumi cried silently as she struggled with the Magistrate. Everything seemed all hopeless now.