May 27, 1960
"What is war?" Titi asked, pulling a smock out of the creek and onto the rock, where Cam Lan beat it with a wooden paddle.
Thanh looked down from where she stood on the crest of the creek bed, laying out the clean clothes on the bushes where they could dry in the hot summer sun. "It is when two groups of people fight with each other," she said.
Thanh was very learned. For almost three years, she had been teaching the children of the village how to write and read and cipher. Now she was almost of an age to marry, and for months Cam Lan had been assuming more and more of her duties. Cam Lan read better than Thanh, but she was less aware of politics.
At ten, Titi asked no fewer questions than she had at five. The world was large and strange, and the only way to make sense of it was to learn from others. "Why do they fight?" she queried.
"Because they hate each other," Bian said. She was in the shallows, her tunic girded up into her sash as she trampled the soiled clothing, driving out the grime and the sweat. "We hate the people of the southern cities because they are capitalist monsters and evil oppressors."
Bian was Thanh's most faithful pupil, but Titi loved Cam Lan best of the two. Cam Lan was gentle, kind and sweet, where Thanh was brave and clever, but somehow less approachable. This did not seem to bother Bian, who worshipped Thanh and delighted in gaining her approval. When the older girl nodded, Bian beamed proudly.
"In the countryside the people are faithful," she continued. "We are not the slaves of the French. We are loyal to the teachings of Ho Chi Minh."
Titi was proud. Ho Chi Minh was a visionary, a great man. He would bring peace and prosperity to all of Vietnam. Ap Tan Thoi and nearby Ap Bac were villages that followed his teachings. They would be protected when the armies of the north came to fight the evil southern capitalists and the wicked French. Yet if people fought a war because they hated each other…
"Why do the people of the south hate us?" Titi asked.
"They are afraid of us," Thanh answered promptly. "We are fearsome and our secret army is mighty. Also, the great nation of China has promised to aid us. We cannot be defeated."
Even Bian seemed impressed by this. China was a large country, much, much bigger than Vietnam. It was ruled by a man called Chairman Mao. It was a very powerful country. If China would help then Thanh was right: the north could not be defeated.
Yet it did not seem fair. Titi frowned. "Who will help the people of the south?" she asked.
A cloud settled upon Thanh's handsome face. Cam Lan seemed frightened. Bian stamped her foot angrily, so that the water splashed.
"They do not deserve help! They are evil!" she cried.
"But who will help them?" Titi repeated.
No one answered her.
Suddenly, Cam Lan screamed, scrambling backwards away from the water. "Titi! Bian! Do not move!" she cried. "A snake!"
Titi looked where the older girl pointed, and her blood ran cold. There was a ripple on the water, the black ribbon of a deadly snake. As it sped towards her, Titi could not move. The snake would bite her and she would die…
Suddenly there was a rush of movement, and Bian raised her hand high above her head. Between finger and thumb she held the serpent behind its head, so it could not bite her. The long, slender body moved like a whip, swinging from Bian's hand. Cam Lan clapped her hand to her mouth, staring in wide-eyed amazement.
Bian looked up at her prize, and a cold smile visited her lips. Titi stared in wonder.
"You saved me," she said softly.
Bian did not answer at once. Her black eyes glistened just as the black scales of the snake did, wet as they were in the brilliant sunlight. She waded to the shore and set the snake gently upon a broad, flat stone. Bewildered or afraid or held under some spell, the serpent did not move.
"You are letting it go?" Thanh asked, a note of awe in her voice. One who was fearless enough to release such a snake was worthy of honor.
Still, Bian did not answer. With a swift motion she caught up a rock and brought it down upon the black killer's head. The skull cracked and dark blood stained the rock. Titi stared at the mangled snake, at once sickened and fascinated. When at last she looked away, she met Bian's deep black eyes.
"Those who would harm my sister must die a thousand deaths," Bian proclaimed grimly. "While I live I shall protect you." She drew Titi into her arms and held her tightly. Titi returned the embrace.
"I will protect you," Bian said again. It was the bold promise of a girl but newly come to womanhood, full of youth's bravado and hubris, but to Titi it was an assurance of a long and secure life. She hugged her sister more tightly.
"I love you, Bian," she whispered fiercely.
MWMWMWMWMWMWMWMWMWMWMWMWhen the clothing was dry and sweet-smelling, the girls bundled it into the large wicker basket. Bian and Thanh carried it between them. Cam Lan bore the paddle over her shoulder, hugging Titi with her free arm as if to assure herself that the younger girl were truly unharmed. They walked towards the village, happy and carefree despite the encounter at the river. They were young and innocent together—for the last time.
For on the path near the hut was a truck. By it, Me Dè was speaking to her soldier, the bold Captain Quon whom Titi had not seen since the summer three years past, when he had brought Cam Lan and Thanh to live with them.
As the girls approached, Me Dè walked towards them. "Cam Lan, Bian, Titi," she said, "take the clothes into the house. Thanh, Captain Quon has come to speak to you."
Thanh gave her handle of the basket to Cam Lan, and stood proudly. She was not tall—already Bian could look her in the eyes—but she carried herself like the daughter of a warrior. She bowed to Captain Quon, and he bowed to her. Then they began to speak together, but Titi could not hear what was said, for Cam Lan and Bian entered the hut, and she followed.
"Why has Captain Quon come back?" Bian asked Cam Lan, frowning back over her shoulder.
The elder girl shook her head. "I do not know," she said.
Titi looked at Cam Lan's gentle brown eyes and saw fear in them. She moved to take the older girl's hand.
"Why are you frightened?" she asked gently. It did not make sense. Bian had killed the snake. There was no danger.
For a moment, Cam Lan tried to be strong enough to bear her anxieties alone, but despite the strength of her fifteen years, she could not. "I do not want to be taken away," she admitted, her voice small and frightened. "I do not want to be a jungle warrior in the secret army, and I am afraid that that is why the Captain has come back."
These words frightened Titi, too. She threw her arms around Cam Lan's waist. "I do not want you to go!" she cried. "I want you to stay always and be our teacher when Thanh marries!"
"It is honourable to fight and defend our people," Bian said, her voice hardened in chastisement undampened by the respect she owed to an elder.
"Perhaps," Cam Lan whispered, bending to hug Titi tightly. "But I do not want to fight. I do not want to kill."
"They are our enemies! They deserve to die!" Bian cried. Titi saw the hatred in her sister's eyes, and it frightened her. She had never seen such a look on Bian's face, except this morning at the river, when she had looked up at the snake. Titi drew nearer to Cam Lan, holding tightly to her hand.
"Perhaps," Cam Lan conceded. "Still, I do not want to be the one who kills them."
Bian thrust out her chest. "I do!" she said proudly. "I want to kill them. They are evil. They are our enemies. I will be proud to kill them."
"You are braver than I," murmured Cam Lan.
"Titi will fight!" Bian went on. "Titi will fight also! You will fight, Titi?"
"Y-yes," Titi said. "Yes, I will fight."
But it was not true. She did not wish to fight, either. She was afraid, like Cam Lan. Did that mean that she was wicked and cowardly? She wanted to be brave, like Bian, but inside she was frightened.
MWMWMWMWMWMWMWMWMWMWMWMWMWMPresently, Me Dè came into the hut and brought the girls outside. Thanh sat in the front seat of the jeep, hands folded neatly in her lap and head erect.
Captain Quon stood next to his vehicle. His eyes travelled over the girls, settling upon the youngest. "Titi," he said gravely. "Do you remember me?"
Titi nodded. She remembered well the night when he had come, bringing Cam Lan and Thanh to live with them. She remembered sharing his dish: pig meat and sweet greens and good white rice. She remembered how he had undressed Me Dè and with her made strange sounds.
The soldier smiled and held out his hands. "Come," he said.
Titi stepped towards him, frightened. Did he mean that he was taking her away to be a jungle warrior?
The man took her chin in his hand and tilted her head up. He looked deeply into her eyes. "Yes, Giang," he said softly. "Yes, she looks much like Tuyen."
Titi wondered who Tuyen was, but it was not her place to ask questions of so noble a warrior. The captain smoothed her hair and slid his hand down to caress the base of her neck. "Titi," he said. "Titi, has Thanh been a good teacher?"
"Yes," Titi said. "Yes, she has been a very good teacher."
"Good," Captain Quon said gravely. "I am taking her away now."
"To fight?" Titi asked.
He nodded. "Yes," he said. "To fight."
The dark eyes were grave, but the hand upon her neck was so gentle that Titi was emboldened. "Why?" she asked.
Captain Quon smiled a strange smile. It was like the expression Bian made whenever she was thinking her secret thoughts.
"Because, Titi," he said, "in times of war, even women must fight."
Then he bent swiftly and planted a cool kiss between her eyes. With one brief glance at Bian and Cam Lan, he swung himself up behind the wheel of the jeep. The motor roared to life with a sound like thunder, and in a cloud of dust the vehicle sped away, out of the village.
Me Dè stood silently, staring after the captain and Thanh. At last she turned, looking for a moment at Titi, then went silently into the house. Cam Lan, her eyes filled with strange pain, followed. Only Titi and Bian were left in the afternoon sun.
Titi moved to slip her hand into Bian's. Her sister was staring as Me Dè had, in the direction the jeep had gone. Yet her face was not impassive as her mother's had been. She wore the smile, the secret smile that had been mirrored for a moment on the soldier's face.
"What is it?" Titi whispered.
Bian squared her shoulders boldly and stood at her full height. She was very tall and very beautiful. She spoke slowly and clearly, relishing the words that her strong voice carried through the village.
"In times of war," she said; "even women must fight."