I knew that if I confessed to my dealings with my friends I would not save my own neck, and would certainly bring them to torture and death. So if one had to die, better to die alone, saying nothing.

The Japanese officers came very early the following morning. They bound my hands behind my back, and tied me against a banyan tree with branches that hung down to the ground like the tentacles of an octopus. ‘You still have time to confess. I will count to three. If you say nothing, on the third count you will be dead.’

I heard the count in Malay. ‘Satu.’ I braced myself. ‘Duah.’ Now, now it will come. ‘Tiga.’ The shattering roar of the rifle staggered me. I felt something hot and sharp hit my chest. I fell to the ground.

Several days later I awoke in an Indonesian hospital. The Indonesian doctor and nurse said the Japanese had fired their rifles into the air, and at the same moment had hit me with a stone from a catapult. The intent had been to make me think I had been shot. It succeeded only too well.

And then came August, 1945, and the final defeat of the Japanese all down the chain of islands they had won so easily. All we knew at the hospital was that the war was over. Shouting Indonesians stormed the hospital and also the camp at Ambarawa, disarming the Japanese. All of us cheered and wept, and threw our arms around each other. It was a wonderful time.

The Indonesian soldiers who took the hospital by force quickly learned my story, and that I was still in a critical condition. I was taken to the mountains to the chalet of a highly respected Indonesian doctor. I weighed less than half my normal weight. I regained health rapidly.

And what of Anak Agung Nura? I would have no news of him until communications with Bali were restored. I was sure that this would not take long and that I myself might soon travel back to the puri that had for so many years been my home.

Chapter 9

9

Grace walked along the beach in the fresh, early morning air. It was a lovely way to start the day. The tide was out and the wet sand shone like gleaming glass. This part of the beach was deserted, though once guests were in residence at the Kamasan, Grace knew this pristine strip would be ‘claimed’ for them, with beach lounges, deckchairs, sun umbrellas and staff in attendance.