Sarah looked out of the window at the familiar scenery and found it hard to believe that it had been four years almost to the month since they’d left the plantation. So much had happened that it felt much longer.

She felt Amah’s head resting softly against her arm and realised she’d gone to sleep, so shifted slightly so Amah’s head was in her lap, and she could stretch out. With the windows open to garner the slightest breeze, and the deep dark shadows of the surrounding trees blotting out the glaring mid-morning sun, it was surprisingly comfortable

Even so, she was all too aware of the hearse leading the way, and the fact that Philip was making his final journey home. What they would find there, no one knew, but it was a terrible irony that both men had been forced to return as slaves to work for the Japanese, and she could only pray that Philip’s soul would find peace.

The entire journey was conducted in silence as Sybil chain-smoked, sitting rigidly upright in the front seat. Sarah met Jim’s gaze in the rear-view mirror and realised he was finding it as hard as she was, and her heart went out to him. He was such a good man – and Peggy was so lucky to be loved by him.

As the cars slowed and the hearse turned off onto a narrow beaten track, Sarah’s pulse quickened and she sat forward, eager to catch her first glimpse of the home she’d fled all those years ago.

And there it was, standing on stilts high above the canopy of trees. She took in every detail, noting that the fly-screens over the veranda were in good condition, the shutters over the windows were sturdy, but painted a different colour, and the flight of wooden steps leading up to the single-storey house had been quite recently repaired. She gave a little sigh of relief, for it seemed the Japanese commander had taken care of it.

As Jim brought the car to a halt behind the hearse, Amah woke and looked around her with some awe. ‘It’s the same,’ she breathed. ‘And look, they have come to welcome us. We have truly come home.’

Sarah gasped as a group of Malays emerged from the neat rows of rubber trees. There were women, babies and small children amongst them, and their smiles broadened as they recognised Sybil.

‘They must have returned once the Japs surrendered,’ murmured Sarah, recognising one or two of the men. ‘Thank goodness some of them have survived.’

She helped Amah out of the car while Jim and Jeremy unloaded the luggage and boxes of food and water to carry them into the house.

The hearse was driven deep into the shade of the trees, and the driver alighted to have a smoke and quietly converse with the padre. Sybil drifted away from the house and signalled to the two men to accompany her, unaware of everyone else as she decided on the best spot for Philip’s burial and Jock’s headstone.