The thought fizzes in his chest. “Daughter. You said you had a daughter.”
Xiongmin nods.
“She was born inside? Is she still here?”
For a moment Xiongmin hesitates, almost fearful. But what does it matter now? “You spoke to her earlier. She works here with me. Behind the counter at the entrance.”
Her? Henry stares at the woman, now bent over arranging the little Chairman Maos. Her long hair swings over her face. When he can see her again, Henry thinks: Yes, of course. She is a few years younger than him, nut-brown from the sun, crinkled around the eyes from laughter.
Xiongmin is calling out to her, pointing at Henry. “Your half-brother is here!” he is shouting. His voice is wild. It seems impossible these words could exist.
The woman turns to look at them, gaping, then smiles with painful intensity, the same wide smile as in Siew Li’s photographs, becoming unbearably like her. It’s her face, Lifeng’s, Siew Li’s. She has Janet’s nose, she has Henry’s eyes. Before she opens her mouth, he knows what she will say.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
State of Emergency has been in the works for more years than I care to remember, and I couldn’t have done it without the kind support of many, many people. Apologies to anyone I have inadvertently left out below; my memory, like most memories, is all too fallible.
I owe particular thanks to Yu-Mei Balasingamchow. Not only was her Singapore: A Biography (co-authored with Mark R. Frost) a vital source, her wisdom and knowledge throughout this process have been invaluable.
Too many other books were consulted to name them all, but particularly useful were: Poh Soo Kai’s Living in a Time of Deception, Teo Soh Lung’s Beyond the Blue Gate, Han Suyin’s And the Rain My Drink, Ian Ward and Norma Miraflor’s Slaughter and Deception at Batang Kali, Agnes Khoo’s Life as the River Flows, Chin Peng’s My Side of History, Fong Chong Pik’s The Memoirs of a Malayan Communist Revolutionary, and Tan Jing Quee, Tan Kok Chiang and Hong Lysa’s The May 13 Generation.
I am indebted to the excellent journalism of Kirsten Han, and to the films To Singapore, With Love by Tan Pin Pin, The Last Communist by Amir Muhammad and 1987: Untracing the Conspiracy by Jason Soo.
Gratitude also to those who agreed to be interviewed in the course of my research, including David and Janice Wong; Richard Lee at Seminyih New Village; Ling Yi, Liao Xiongmin and the other inhabitants of Friendship Village 2 at Betong; Father René Nicolas; Chua Shop Fong; and my parents.
Many others provided help and encouragement along the way, including Lydia Shah, Aditi Shivaramakrishnan, Dan Koh, Zhang Ruihe, Teng Qian Xi, Fikri Alkhatib, Christie Chua, Deanne Tan, Sarah Day, Kate McNaughton and Diana Wong. I’m particularly grateful for the inspirational support of Jim Crace and Maggie Gee, who saw an early draft of this novel come to life during an Arvon course they led.