The petite girl wakes up when it’s evening time because she heard people talking around her, she is still sleeping in the living area after all. At first she tries to listen who is speaking without opening her eyes, but when she realize it’s not the person she hope it is, her heart become cheerless. It’s not that playful voice she used to hear.

“Aom is very lucky you know, didn’t you see all the trees that got hit and also the machine guns too. My heart almost jump out of my chest yesterday” said Ta Pol

“How is Kimhan doing?” the old lady sincerely ask with concern.

“Probably injured badly, he was sent to the hospital in the city after they did the checkup, something about his head” Ta Pol continue to explain.

As Aom heard that she quickly sit up.

“Aom, how are you? You can get up now?” ask Ta Pol without a trace of malaria left in his system.

“How are you?” Aom asks, but she still feel dizzy because she feels like the room is spinning.

“I’m good now, all the malaria is gone, and didn’t get hit at all yesterday. What about you? I heard you got injured pretty badly yesterday. There are a lot of injured people at the camp too, luckily they bomb in the middle, if they go a little left or a little more right, it could be the end of your house or the camp”

Aom listens with worry. She quickly turn around as she heard a heavy footsteps coming up the stairs with new hope. But the greeting that come with the footsteps isn’t that playful voice, but the voice of a middle age man.

“Mrs.Orn…are you here?”

“Isn’t that Mike’s dad, oh hi Mr.Gumnan” Ta Pol was the first to recognize the voice.

Mr.Gumnan walks in and sit not far away from Ta Pol.

“I heard that this house almost got bomb, how are you Mrs.Orn” ask the middle age man.

“I’m ok, I was at the temple when all these happened, but Aom was hiding in the trench in the orchid, so she got hit a little”

Mr.Gumnan look over at Aom, the petite girl greet him weakly because her body isn’t fully heal.

“How are you doing Sweetie?” the middle age man voice show so much concern for Aom, which cause Aom to have a teary eyes with appreciation.

“I’m much better now”

“Go back to sleep, you shouldn’t get up yet. Mike’s Mom wants to come and visit you too, but it’s already late, her eyes sight isn’t that good, so I just let her stay home. So, are you here long Pol?”

“I just came not long ago, I think I’m going to go home now, if I go back late, Bua would probably lock the door”

“Ohh…you didn’t came from your house, so where are you staying right now?”

Ta Pol give Mr.Gumnan a faded smile, “I was sick, so I was staying at the hospital in the Japanese camp”

“Careful, don’t you go steal anymore of the troop’s stuff”

“Oh no no, I quit all those thing already, now that I’m all heal, I’ll try to find honest work from now on”

“I’m glad to hear that, warn Bua too, right now its war time, and I can’t help you guys if anything happen. It’s a good thing that the troop is very nice to people around here, so we shouldn’t do anything to change that”

“Yes Sir, I’ll go home now”

Aom quickly look at her mom as a signal to warn Ta Pol.

So Mrs.Orn warn him, “Ta Pol, going home, if you see anything out of the ordinary don’t be alarm, calm down and ask your friend first ok?”

Ta Pol blink his eyes rapidly, “What had that stupid Bua done this time?”

“Nothing, just go see for yourself”

Now Ta Pol is curious even more, so he quickly excuse himself and go home.

“What is going on Mrs.Orn?” ask Mr.Gumnan

“Nothing much Sir, please have some betel nuts”

So Mr.Gumnan grab the betel nut to eat, but his face shows that he’s thinking about something as well.

“What’s wrong Sir?” ask Mrs.Orn as she sees Mr.Gumnan’s face.

“I came here because I have urgent matter”

“What is it?”

Mr.Gumnan slowly chew the betel nut before continuing to speak, “I don’t know where to start, Mike’s mom is also very worry about this. If it’s not already late she would come here herself, I was gonna come with her tomorrow, but she just can’t wait another second. I want you to know that I’m sorry if what I’m about to say offend you guys in anyway. Mrs.Orn, Aom, please don’t be mad at me”

Aom press her lips together knowing what Mike’s dad is going to say but Mrs.Orn still keep calm.

“Please say it, we have known each other for a long time, I know you have good intention for me and Aom, and our family have much respect for you”

“Well the thing is my wife heard some awful rumors about Aom, you know she loves Aom like her own daughter so she can’t help but be worry. She doesn’t go out much, but people still bring this news to tell her at the house. So, we just want to know what is really going on, with everyone talking, we know it’s getting away from the truth every time it’s passing along”

“Well, this is what really happen…”

“I’ll tell him myself Mom” Aom cut in with an emotionless voice

“I know that what Uncle said is all about me, so let me tell him myself…”

“Go ahead Sweetie, I’m listening. The rumors are getting worst and worst, sometime I just want to beat up all those people that talk bad about you”

Aom sits up straight before speaking, her eyes show confident, and tell Mr.Gumnan everything. Everything flow out of the petite girl’s mouth without any interruption, she even tells him about the prisoner that escape into her house, except two things. The first is about the gender of that person, because if he knows, he would also be harm if this would get out, she doesn’t want anyone else she respect to be involve in this secret. The second…

 “Hideko…I love you”

Aom meant to keep those words to herself, in the deepest part of her memory. Maybe one day…that person and herself can completely forget about it, it might take a long…long time that’s all.

For all these time the middle age man listen quietly. His mouth still slowly chewing on the betel nut.

“And that’s the truth that happened, the troops are probably nice to us because they just see that our whole family only have women or maybe they are just lonely and tries to find friends to talk to. But how can I tell people around here about the escape American prisoner, it’s a life and death situation. I don’t even know what to do with him, but I can’t live with myself if I didn’t help…”

“I understand” Mr.Gumnan said it while pulling a small trash can to spit out the betel nut juice while wiping his mouth because of the red juice from the betel nut.

“Now I understand what’s going on, and there is nothing to it at all. Hurr…what could we do about people’s mouth, if Mike was here, all this wouldn’t happen. I don’t even know what is going on with him now. Every time I mention this, my wife blame me for it, she said I was the one who support him to go”

Aom got chill down her spine thinking about Mike, what is he going to say if he ever know about this.

“Mike is a good person, god wouldn’t let anything happen to him” Mrs.Orn tries to soothe the middle age man

“That’s what I keep telling my wife, but he is our only child after all. She said if anything would ever happen to him, she would die too”

An only child, Mike isn’t the only one that is an only child but that person as well. Aom can’t imagine how that person’s parents must feel, waiting for their only child to come home. As she is thinking that, her body become uncomfortable. How is that person doing? She just heard from Ta Pol that the tall figure has to get transfer to the city hospital…what if it’s serious…

“It’s bad because now everyone are talking about it in a worst and worst rumor, we shouldn’t just leave it up to faith”

“I don’t know what to do either” Mrs.Orn said it while giving a long sigh

Mr.Gumnan spit again with a worry face. After he heard what’s really going on from Aom’s mouth, he knows that the people in his house doesn’t know how bad the rumors get.

“I have seen it with my own eyes, when there is no adult supervision, the ty daughter went to do inappropriate stuff with the head engineer in the trench, in