Wenling had forgotten her fear. The guards were confused. They could not decide what to do. Before anyone could say anything more, a calm-looking middle-aged person came and stood in front of Wenling and the others. Everyone fell silent. The man said with a smile, ‘Why are you fighting, brothers? Let it be. There are old people and young children here. They have come from so far. Just look at their condition. It’s pathetic. Why fight with them? Please leave. We will now take them inside.’

The situation turned peaceful. The captives went in a line to the office for registration. Some of the officials took down their names and addresses, while others frisked them. The middle-aged man sat in a corner.

‘You faced a lot of trouble, didn’t you?’ he asked Yiu Yi’s grandfather.

Yiu Yi’s grandfather’s eyes filled with tears. After staying quiet for a while, he asked, ‘What place is this?’

‘This is Deoli jail. We are in Deoli, Rajasthan. I am the doctor of this jail.’

‘Will we get some water? We haven’t had any since yesterday afternoon.’

The doctor looked at him for a while and went away. After some time, a group of people came out with buckets of water mixed with sugar and salt.

Breaking the queue, Ho Yin’s father came running forward.

‘Water. Give me water, or I’ll die.’

‘Hey. Why have you broken the queue? Go back or else –’ A guard raised his stick.

‘No! Let him be. Can’t you see how thirsty he is?’ the doctor said.

‘Why do you care if he is thirsty? Are you a friend of China?’

‘I am a friend of humanity. They haven’t had any water to drink since yesterday. They will die. What will you do then? Will you take responsibility for their deaths?’ he said firmly to the guards and passed a glass of water to Ho Yin’s father.

Ho Yin’s father started complaining again.

‘He is not stable,’ his son said fearfully.

‘Everything will be alright. I’ll look after him,’ the doctor said and returned to his seat.

The people started entering the compound after completing their registration. Without knowing it, they had become internees in wartime India.

Part Three

Part Three

One

One

It had been fifteen days since Mei Lin had come to Deoli. In those two weeks she had lost considerable weight. She looked pale and undernourished, with signs of sleeplessness. Her clothes hung loosely on her body. Still in the same clothes she had on while in the train, she came out of her room in Deoli Internment Camp, carrying a jug. All that the camp had provided was a plate, a bowl, a tumbler and a jug, along with a bedsheet, pillow and blanket. Their living conditions remained miserable from the very first day and no measures had been taken to make the situation any better.