Brandon and Emma looked at each other fearfully. Was Tian Wen's father destined to suffer from the same torture and eventual execution which had been the lot of previous Kempeitai detainees?
Brandon glanced at Tian Wen uneasily. The latter's face had lost its pallor and he had collapsed backwards on the bed, as though his legs could not take his weight any longer. Reaching out his arm in a futile effort to ward off the bad news, Tian Wen groaned.
"No, no, it can't be true, it must be a mistake. He had already been screened earlier and released. He was even given a piece of paper with the 'Examined' seal on it. He keeps the paper with him everywhere he goes," he said.
"Word on the street is that the Japanese think your father is using the printing press to produce anti-Japanese leaflets for Force 136," the youth enlightened them.
"We're wasting time here by chit-chatting," interrupted Brandon. "We should do something!"
"Oh yeah?" enquired the youth insolently. "And who's going to lead us? You? Who are the two of you anyway? I haven't seen you around before." His eyes narrowed into slits. "Maybe you're informers sent by the Japanese to find out who's against them. I'm Tian Wen's best buddy and if you harm him or his family, you'll have me to deal with. Tian Wen," he asked of the boy, "where did you pick these two up? They look too well-dressed and well-fed to have come from around here."
Too distraught to answer, Tian Wen merely shrugged helplessly.
"Look, we're wasting time here," Brandon broke in. "We should be planning how to save Tian Wen's father instead of arguing."
Awakening from his stupor, Tian Wen said, "He's right, Chong Kun. What does it matter where they're from? Besides, I told them what I do at the empty plot of land opposite Sago Street. You know, the piece of land between Sago Street and Sago Lane."
"You're nuts!" Chong Kun was thunderstruck. "How could you tell a stranger? We could get into serious trouble. We should ask them to leave, Tian Wen, and settle this matter ourselves."
Ignoring Chong Kun's continued protests, the other three children put their heads together to devise a strategy for rescuing Tian Wen's father. They came up with various proposals which sounded brilliant initially, but which had to be discarded later for reasons of practicality.
Drawn in despite himself, Chong Kun contributed to the discussion but was unable to come up with a solid plan.
After several minutes of heated debate, Emma lolled against the bed to take a breather. As she gazed idly around the room, her eyes fell on the wooden chest. She had a brainwave. Her heart beating faster, she leaned forward, asking, "Tian Wen, do you think it's possible that your father may have left his 'Examined' slip of paper at home?"
"It's unlikely, he knows how important it is to carry it with him at all times," said Tian Wen. "My father was fortunate to have been given an actual slip of paper. Some men had the 'Examined' seal stamped on their body. For many months, they did not bathe for fear of washing away the stamp. Well, there's no harm in checking the wooden chest. That's where we keep anything of importance."
He suited the action to his words and rummaged in the chest.
"No, it's not here. I didn't think it would be. But you've given me an excellent idea! He could have left it in the pocket of the shirt he wore yesterday." Rifling through the meagre collection of clothes which his father owned, Tian Wen yelled and held the 'Examined' certificate aloft.
"Come on, let's go to the Kempeitai Headquarters right away and get my father home!" Tian Wen shouted excitedly.
Fired up by their enthusiasm, the boys left the room post-haste, their shoes clattering noisily on the wooden floor boards. It was only when the group was about to leave the shophouse before Brandon noticed that Emma was missing.
Entreating Tian Wen and Chong Kun to wait for him, Tian Wen flew up the stairway two steps at a time. He found Emma squatting outside Tian Wen's room. She was shaking her head and muttering imperceptibly.
"What's the matter, Em?" Tian Wen asked.
Emma gave a hollow laugh. "Did you even have to ask? We're in the middle of a war and you ask me what the matter was. Is all this a game to you? It's not! We could very well be killed! It's not like Angry Birds where you take pot shots at a bunch of pigs, and they keel over and die, only to resurface when you restart the game. Here in real life, dead means dead. Finito! I can't, I just can't march up to a Japanese soldier, who incidentally will be holding a weapon, and calmly negotiate for the release of Tian Wen's father." She buried her face in her hands and sobbed. "I know I'm a coward but I just can't follow you to the Kempeitai Headquarters." Looking up with a tear-stained face, she asked, "Do you think I can stay here and look after Tian Ya?"
"There's Auntie Lin to look after Tian Ya. Besides, I think the two of us should stick together. I don't want you to be stranded here. Who's going to help me with my homework and remind me of upcoming tests?" Brandon grinned and held a hand out to Emma. "Just stay close to me. You don't even have to talk to anyone. Once we get Tian Wen's father home, we'll work on getting ourselves home as well," he promised.
Downstairs, Tian Wen and Chong Kun were waiting impatiently for Brandon and Emma. Checking that the 'Examined' certificate was tucked securely into his pocket, Tian Wen led the procession to the Kempeitai Headquarters along Stamford Road.
"I know that you would rather not come with me," Tian Wen said to Emma. She looked startled and started to dissemble, not wanting to affect his buoyant mood. Tian Wen persevered. "I just want to say how grateful I am for your presence. It takes real courage to do something that terrifies you."
Tian Wen smiled at Emma and moved forward with grim determination. Little did Emma and the other children know that he was quaking within. He had seen the broken condition of the men who returned from the detention centres. Strong proud men were reduced to gibbering unfortunates, damaged irrevocably from what they had seen and undergone during their incarceration. I've already lost Mother, I can't lose Father too, Tian Wen thought despondently.
Brandon and Emma spoke in low voices as they advanced, not wanting to disturb Tian Wen, who was lost in a reverie of his own.
As they approached their destination, a little girl appeared out of nowhere and collided with Tian Wen. In the distance, the children could see that a gang of hooligans was hot on her heels, and in her distressed flight, she had failed to notice Tian Wen and his friends.
Tian Wen summed up the situation swiftly. Gesturing urgently to the little girl to hide behind several baskets at a vegetable stall, Tian Wen and his friends stopped walking and began an animated conversation about the merits of various vegetables.
Before long, the hoodlums reached the vegetable stall. Baffled by the sudden disappearance of the girl, they began searching for her. After hunting in vain for a few minutes, they tired of the chase and went off to wreck havoc on some other unsuspecting passer-by.
"Little girl, it's safe to come out now. The boys have gone away," said Tian Wen, squatting down beside one of the baskets. Not receiving any answer, he pulled the baskets aside and to the group's complete surprise, the little girl was nowhere to be seen.
They were about to continue on their mission when Brandon spotted a doll lying on the floor, partially covered by a basket. Emma picked up the doll and brushed it off. It was a good quality doll, with a clay face and soft body covered with smooth fabric. The doll had long curly eyelashes and eyes that could open and shut. Emma remembered owning a similar doll when she was younger. It had been one of Emma's prized possessions, and she was sure that the little girl, wherever she was, must be pining for her lost doll. Clutching the doll in her hand, Emma continued onward to the Kempeitai Headquarters. Brandon wondered idly who the little girl was. Her dress was so clean and crisp she must have come from a well-off family.
Presently, they arrived at journey's end. The children's footsteps slowed, and they came to an uneasy halt at the entrance of the three-storey building. The children paused and Brandon peered anxiously in. The lobby appeared to be deserted.
Taking a deep breath, Tian Wen stepped over the threshold.
"Stop!" came a deafening shout in Japanese.