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A World War II Story
By Cynthia Chavez
Genre: Non-fiction Level: High School 10-12
Year: 2002 Category: UAA/ADN Creative Writing Contest

On December 7, 1941, the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor, leaving it in ruins as the U.S. ships slowly sank into their solemn death beds, dragging with them thousands of innocent soldiers. This attack really teetered the neutrality between the United States and Japan. After the brutal attack on Pearl Harbor, the Japanese forces left Hawaii and headed towards other countries in the South Pacific like the Philippines. On the night of December 8, 1941, the vast Japanese air fleet reached Manila and attacked the island of Luzon. After four days of constant air raids, the Japanese finally gained control of Manila, the capital of the Philippines. Many Japanese soldiers landed in Luzon, but some were sent out to gain control of other islands of the Philippines.


Tak ta raok! The familiar alarm of the remote village of Paluan, Mindoro went off throughout the area every morning at six. One rooster cries, than another one cries to beat the cry of the previous. Their cries rang through the air drifting into the Nipa huts of the native inhabitants. The morning sound always traveled to one house and migrated into the ears of a small girl who slept all curled up on her side upon a woven palm leaf mat that was placed on the bamboo floor of her grandparents' hut. Her name was Preciousa Villar. The alarm woke her from her sleep. She turned off of her side and laid flat on her back, looking up at thick layer of palm leaves that made up the roof of their stilted home as the cool morning air seeped through the bamboo floor and trickled past the dark brown skin on her back.

She rolled up off of her mat, her joints cracking with surprise from the quick, unexpected movement. She stood up on her miniature feet and raised her hands up towards the ceiling trying to shake away the stiffness from sleep. Preciousa was about sixteen years old, but was very petite for her age. She stood at four feet, ten inches and grew no larger. Her thin, black hair resulted in tangles from her night of rest and the texture of the mat imprinted itself on her smooth, tan cheek.

Lying beside her were her siblings. On her right was the youngest sibling, Betty Villar. Betty was only about two years old. She slept beautifully, taking short breaths, which were just enough to fill her tiny lungs. On Preciousa's left side lay her two brothers, Jesus and Reynaldo. Jesus was only four years younger than Preciousa, but was almost as tall as her. He was very bony and dark from being out in the sun so much. Reynaldo was five years younger than Preciousa and was one of those kids who loved to move.

Preciousa watched over them as they slept, and realized how quickly they had grown. She was so glad to be home, to be there with her brothers and sisters, to be there to take care of them. Just about a year ago, she was living in Manila with her Auntie and Uncle while she attended to her college studies. She wanted to study law, but couldn't afford it with the 22 pesos she and her siblings received from their father every month, so, she took midwifery instead. She left Manila because she couldn't stop worrying about her siblings who were left back home in Paluan. Their mother died from cancer when she was only fifteen, and after their mother died, their father left Paluan for work on some other island in the Philippines, so the children lived with their grandparents, but Preciousa still felt uneasy because their grandparents were near the age of 100 and could barely take care of themselves.

Preciousa could see her grandmother working about in the small kitchen in the corner of the hut, trying to prepare their breakfast. There wasn't any snoring to be heard, so she assumed that her grandpa was out in the bushes going to the bathroom. Grandma was very small as well, with brown wrinkly skin and solid gray hair. She was about 96 years old, but she was as strong as an ox. Grandpa had a very slim figure also covered with prune like skin, and his lips scrunched into his mouth because no teeth were behind the tissue to support it.

Preciousa placed her hand on Reynaldo's shoulder and shook him gently. He shifted around with an irritated look on his face with his eyes still shut. She shook him again a little rougher this time. He jerked awake and immediately saw his sister smiling down at him. She reached over Reynaldo and shook Jesus awake. She told them to get ready or else they'd be late for school. The two boys slowly stood up and immediately began to roll up the mat while Preciousa headed outside to freshen up. The boys placed the mat in the corner of the house and stumbled outside, following their sister.

Grandma was in the corner, standing over their wooden stove, a small wooden box filled with sand where the firewood sat surrounded by three stones so that clay pots could rest above the flame. Grandma placed an iron pan filled with coconut oil above the flickering flame then went back to cutting the fish. Preciousa helped her Grandmother by setting up the table. She walked around the wooden table bumping into the bamboo chairs as she placed down the plastic plates that they purchased in Manila. The oil was hot now and Grandma slid the first slab of fish into the pan, making the oil sizzle in fury.

The boys, including Grandpa, came back into the hut with their faces and hair dripping with water as if pulled in by the aroma of frying fish. They headed towards the rolled up mat the leaned against the wall. Next to the mat was a small wooden box where the top of it lifted open and inside the clothes of the family were arranged. The boy slipped on some dark blue pants and a white shirt. Grandpa sat down at the table and watched the two women cook.

When the food was finished, the family gathered around the table and ate their breakfast of fried fish, eggs, and rice. They had no utensils, so they scooped up their food with their hands and enjoyed their delicious breakfast. They conversed about what their plans for the day were, but a strange humming sound interrupted their meal. Each one of them heard the sound because each of them became quiet and listened. The hum was continuous, and it gradually grew louder. Each of them abandoned the table and headed outside. They walked down the steps of the entrance of their house and looked around the land. The air was cool but the bright sun quickly heated it up, making it thicker and thicker until it was so thick that one could feel it crawling on their skin. They looked to the right but all they saw was their rice field with green little plants scattered everywhere throughout the mud. Everywhere else was just tropical forests that were decorated with exotic fruit and flowers. They looked down the road that lay just in front of their hut, but nothing was to be seen.

Little Betty spotted something in the sky, pointing her finger at it and tugging at her sister's pants, trying to show her what she saw. Each of them looked up into the horizon and just above the tops of the trees and saw many grayish specks scattered in the sky. Each of them rapidly grew bigger and Preciousa stood there with surprise. The specks grew into dots and then into funny shaped objects. One of them flew very low over the Villar hut, nearly scraping off the roof as it screamed by. Each of them stood there and watched it fly by. The machines were a greenish gray and on each of their wings was a painting of a red circle. Another plane followed the same route of its predecessor but this time fired off its machine gun causing little explosions in the mud of the rice field. Preciousa's heart leaped into her throat. She grabbed Betty by the hand and ran towards a stilted rice shed that stood right along the edge of their rice field while she covered her head with her arms. She crawled under the shed dragging in Betty and the rest of the family safely crawled under as well. One by one, planes zoomed across the land of Mindoro, circling around the town of Paluan.

Meanwhile, a large battleship approached the island stopping right along a beach. A large door on the end of the boat flew open, pounding on the water. Out of the door flowed a couple thousand men all dressed alike: khaki pants, button up shirt, and a green helmet. They barged off of the boat and onto the island, charging onto the dirt roads and quickly seeping into the town of Paluan.

The Villars hid together, perfectly still under the rice storage shed waiting. The sound of the planes slowly died down, and the firing nearly ceased. A troop of Japanese soldiers marched down the road heading towards the Villars residence. They reached the home and the troop split up-some went into the hut, while the rest checked the surrounding land. The Villars lay perfectly still as they listened to the Japanese soldiers rampage through their home. Some soldiers marched around the house and into the yard where they spotted the Villars. The soldiers rushed towards them with their guns pointing down at them. The Villars shrank down deeper into their hiding space, their fear increasing with every step the soldiers took towards them. Five men in beige surrounded the shed yelling out demands in a language their soon-to-be hostages couldn't understand. One soldier built up his courage and reached under the shed, grabbed Preciousa by the arm and dragged her out. Next, Jesus was dragged out, then Reynaldo, Betty, Grandma and Grandpa. The solemn soldiers kept their guns fixed on the family like glaring eyes. They continued to yell unfamiliar commands, nudging the Villars with the sides of their guns urging them to walk. "Kora! Kora!" they yelled repeatedly.

Preciousa grabbed her brothers to make sure they were okay as they left their house, marching down the dirt road with the soldiers fully alert behind them. Jesus and Reynaldo trembled in her arms and poor Betty cried with fear. Grandma and Grandpa tried to keep up with the fast pace the soldiers set.

Preciousa looked down the road and saw her neighbors and friends in the same situation as they were, with soldiers pushing them to move forward with their bayonets like ranchers gathering their cattle. The Villars kept walking down the road and headed to the town market. When they reached the market, almost the whole town of Paluan was there, being herded by the soldiers. They walked past the market and towards the Paluan Elementary School. They reached the courtyard in front of the school and every single person who lived in Paluan was there. The soldiers began to yell a command at the large group, but the people remained motionless with nothing but fear in their eyes. The soldiers went into the crowd physically separating the men from the women and children. Grandma held tight onto Grandpa's hand as the soldiers approached them. The soldier shoved Grandpa away from them, but Grandma pulled him back. The soldier grabbed Grandpa and tried to pull him away, but Grandma held on. Then the soldier took his gun and pointed his bayonet at her. Knowing she had lost, she released her husband's hand fearing she would never see him again. Fortunately, Jesus and Reynaldo were still considered to be children so they stayed with Grandma and Preciousa. When the crowd was fully separated, the soldiers pushed the into the long one story school building, the men being in a few classrooms and the women and children in others. The people were crammed into the classrooms like a can of sardines. Preciousa, Betty, Jesus, Reynaldo, and Grandma, finally were shoved into a room. The room was filled so tightly with women and children, it felt like oxygen was running low. The children clung to their mothers some with their eyes shut tightly closed some with their eyes wide open. The women held onto their children with an expression of fear and shock painted onto their faces. The air in the room was filled with hostility, but over time the fear died down, their tension slowly released, the flow of tears slowed down, and the group settled down on the floor of the classroom. The Villars stayed close together and sat down on the floor with the rest of the group and waited.

Almost a week passed, and the people weren't given any food for that week. Fortunately they were given water, but it was rainwater that had been in big tubs for days. The door of the classroom swung open and some soldiers stood their yelling at the group, "Kora! Kora!"

Preciousa tensed up and her heart pounded loudly. The soldiers began to move the hostages out of the room. Preciousa, holding onto Betty moved along with the crowd trying to stay as far away as possible from the soldiers. They led the prisoners outside. Clouds had gathered in the sky leaving a gray shadow across the courtyard. Rain began to trickle down from the sky. Preciousa felt relieved when they went outside, it helped clear away the musty, claustrophobic feeling in the classroom. The group staggered across the courtyard and stopped right before a deep trench about thirty feet long and ten feet wide. There, a couple of soldiers grabbed the women and children one by one threatening them with their bayonets if they didn't get the answer they wanted to their question, which Preciousa really couldn't hear. A soldier grabbed Preciousa by the arm dragging her closer to the trench. He swung her around, wrapping his arm around her chest, facing her back towards him. He held onto her tight as he placed the sharp edge of his bayonet across her throat.

"America? America?" the Japanese soldier yelled.

Fear swarmed to every part of Preciousa's body, her heart nearly leaped out of her throat as tears swelled into her eyes, but she understood what the soldier wanted. She hadn't heard anything about any American troops, so she quietly responded with a shaky voice, "Ewan ko!"

The soldier placed more pressure on the blade and Preciousa gasped. "Hindi ko alam!" she screeched, "Hindi ko alam!" The soldier shoved her away and Preciousa huddled back to the group. She sighed with relief, thinking her trouble for that day was over, but she was wrong. The soldiers now began to force the women and children into the trench. Slowly, the group descended. When they were all in the ditch the soldiers again began to yell, "America? America?"

Right then, Preciousa realized why they dug up the trench. It was to scare them into giving the Japanese information about the Americans. If they didn't tell them where they were, they threatened to bury them alive. The soldiers gave up the threatening and were convinced that these people didn't know anything about the Americans, so slowly the soldiers pulled the women and children out of the trench and as a group, they headed back into the school. Preciousa never thought the school could be so dreadful, and there they stayed one more night without food.

The next day, the men, women and children were released from the school and were allowed to go back to their homes, The Villars were all reunited and they went back home safely. There, they ate food for the first time in seven days and had a good night sleep.

The sun slowly brightened the land revealing any areas that were covered by darkness. The rooster cried its familiar melody as if nothing was different in the town of Paluan. But this time, it wasn't the cry of the rooster that woke Preciousa, but the sound of the Japanese soldiers walking down the dirt road making loud crunching sounds with every step they took. Preciousa sat up on the mat listening. She shook the rest of her family awake and they sat huddled together listening as the feeling of terror became thicker in the air. The soldiers climbed up the stairs of the house, each step moaning with the weight upon them. Preciousa saw the slim figures at the doorway but couldn't make out their faces because the sun stood behind them. Little Betty began to whimper softly, but Preciousa held on to her tightly. The soldiers slowly came closer, one step at a time, and their faces were slowly revealed. Preciousa looked up at them, trying not to show any fear. "Kora! Kora!" they said as they pointed to the door. The family got up, leaving the mat on the floor and headed outside. They walked down the dirt road, passed the market and ended up at the elementary school again. Everyone in the town was there again. The soldiers began to line the people up in rows all facing the school where a group of soldiers were standing. Preciousa looked around the courtyard, she looked up the flagpole, and instead of seeing their humble Filipino flag, she saw something different, she saw a white flag with a large red circle in the middle fluttering in the air, the same red circle that was painted on the planes. The group of soldiers that stood before the rows of people began to sing loudly as they looked up at their flag. The soldiers that patrolled down the rows joined in making the song grow louder. Preciousa couldn't understand the words, but she knew it was probably their national anthem. A soldier walked down their road, watching the people closely. Preciousa began to imitate what the soldiers were singing, but did it very poorly. She nudged at Jesus and Reynaldo to try to sing the new song, even just try to hum it so that they wouldn't get into any trouble. The soldier passed by, observing every person's mouth to make sure they were at least trying to sing. The song ended quickly. The soldiers at the head of the group then began to spread themselves out evenly along the rows, once spaced out, they began to yell out short commands in Japanese. They then accompanied the command with an exercise. Preciousa, along with everyone else in the courtyard mirrored the movements of the soldiers. The first exercises were squats, and the soldiers counted in Japanese with every squat. The next exercises were arm movements. First the arms go straight up above the head, then straight out, perpendicular to the body, then straight down. Preciousa did the exercises without putting much effort into them. After the exercises, the people were signaled to go into the school. Inside, the people separated into the different classroom and they learned the Japanese language. These classes lasted about two hours every morning then the people were released and they went back to their homes.

* * *

A year passed, and the Japanese still had control over Paluan, but the Filipinos had learned to live with the Japanese. Some Filipinos have even become friends with the soldiers. The morning exercises were still mandatory, but the people automatically attended without having the soldiers stomp down to their homes to threaten them to go.

Preciousa finished eating her breakfast and the rest of the family finished eating soon afterwards. After breakfast they would head out to the school to attend the Rigataizu, but Preciousa didn't want to go. She wasn't interested in learning the Japanese language after all of the trouble they had caused them, and by not going, it would be a way for her to protest against the soldiers. She told her grandmother that she wasn't going and that she would hide by rolling up in their sleeping mat. Grandma didn't like the plan at first, but she couldn't stop her granddaughter. Jesus stood by the door to make sure no soldiers were to be seen. He looked down the road, around the neighbors' homes and if he saw a soldier close by he was told to whistle loudly. Preciousa laid down on the mat with her back to the ground, her feet close to the edge. Reynaldo and Grandpa kneeled down by Preciousa and began to roll her up. First on her back then on her stomach then on her back again. She grunted softly with every roll they made as her body loudly thudded across the floor. The mat looked bulky at first because of the shape of her body, but it smoothed out when it was all rolled up. Jesus still stood alert by the door but fortunately no soldiers were to be sighted. Reynaldo and Grandpa each took one end the lifted the mat as Grandma supported the middle area. They carried her to the corner where they always placed the mat in the morning and leaned her against the wall. Grandma whispered into the mat and Preciousa could hear her words seep through the woven leaves. "Be careful," she whispered and then the family left.

Preciousa wasn't very tightly rolled up into the mat, so she was able to move her arms around. She leaned against the wall and waited. Her nose began to itch, at first a small itch, but then it grew into a tremendous itch that seemed unbearable. Then her throat began to itch, which wanted to be relieved by a simple cough. She listened and all she heard around her was silence. She debated in her mind whether she should move to scratch her nose or even cough. Right when she was about to move her arms, she heard footsteps coming down the road, then the voices of the soldiers. The footsteps grew louder and louder and the conversation grew clearer. Preciousa froze and stopped the movement of her arm. She closed her eyes and tried to breath as quietly as she could even though her heart was racing. To make matters worse the itch on her nose and the tickle in her throat grew even more irritating to a point to where she was about to cry. The soldiers came closer to the house and continued passing it without any suspicion. The footsteps grew quieter and their voices fainter until the voices could no longer be heard. Preciousa let out a quiet sigh of relief and pursued to scratch her nose. Once scratched, she shoved her arms back to her sides and waited for what seemed to be forever. Her hips began to ache from being still in one position for so long. She thought her family would never come back, but then noise began to rouse on the roads, and they weren't the voices of the soldiers but the people of Paluan! She smiled knowing that her family would be home soon.

Grandma rushed up the steps and into the house. She ordered Jesus to lookout at the door again while she and Grandpa and Reynaldo helped Preciousa get out of the mat. Preciousa could hear her grandmother's voice and was happy her family was home. She felt her whole body shift away from the corner and parallel to the ground. Then she felt her body slowly lower and make contact with the ground. She was then rapidly rolled out of the mat, first on her stomach, then on her back, then on her stomach again. She finally got out of the mat and grandmother hurried over, to her and gave her a hug. The boys rolled up the mat again then Preciousa told them all about her stay in the mat.

Preciousa's morning was very nerve-racking, but she needed to get to work with her daily chores. Grandma told her to go to the market to buy the things needed for dinner, so she got ready. She went to the pile of clothes next to the little wooden box in the corner and slipped on some clothes that were covered with splotches of dry mud from the rice field and dirt from the road. After slipping on the grotesque articles of clothing, she didn't go outside to wash her face, but went to the wooden stove and dipped her hands into the left over ash and rubbed her face to give herself a gray tint. She hadn't washed her hair for a couple of days and didn't bother to comb it out. She had heard from neighbors that the Japanese soldiers have raped some women in the town and Preciousa wanted to make sure that these soldiers didn't want to touch her. She knew that the Japanese were afraid of diseases, so she pretended that she was sick with malaria. She stepped out of the hut and walked down the road and headed towards the market. She didn't walk with her normal straight posture, but all bent over and weak like and every now and then she would give out a contagious sounding cough. As she walked down the road, some soldiers walking the other way stepped way to one side of the road trying to stay as far away as possible from the sick-looking woman.

* * *

Another year passed, and the Japanese still had control over Paluan. The Japanese took over the schools, where most of the soldiers slept. The playground was transformed into a parade ground, and the soldiers constructed some dugouts under the stilted school. They also built a maze of trenches around the schools. The two schools were perpendicular to each other, forming a right angle that faced the beach. In the iddle of the old playground stood a radio tower that the Japanese built. On top of the radio tower stood a lookout, where a soldier always stayed and watched for any American ships that tried to land on the beach that was right next to the Japanese-controlled town.

The moon rose high into the clear, sparkling January sky, casting a light down upon the town of Paluan. In the forest surrounding the southern part of the town, something moved rapidly through the thick cluster of trees, heading closer to the town.

Peciousa slipped into her nightgown and prepared for bed, but she heard someone walking up the steps of their house. She turned around and faced the door. It was her neighbor, Ambrocio. He stood at the door and asked, "Na saan ang iyong Lolo?"

Grandpa stood up from the table and headed towards the door and told the neighbor to come inside. Ambrocio came in and following him were two unfamiliar men. Each of them were wearing uniforms that were a different color from the Japanese. One of the two men was a very tall American. He was called Major Phillips. The other man was a Filipino, but was in the American army. He was called Major Galang. The four men sat at the table while Grandpa spoke to them quietly. One of the American soldiers laid out a map of Paluan upon the table while they listened to what Grandpa was saying. The schools in Paluan taught English, so Grandpa was able to communicate with the Americans.

Apparently, the radio tower that the Japanese built by the school was helping the Japanese troops in Manila because the radio station informed them when American planes would attack. American troops were right outside the town and these two soldiers were sent to get information about the location of the Japanese forces in the town. Their mission was to destroy the Japanese radio station and that's why they were at their house, talking to Grandpa because he was a guerilla, so he helped the American soldiers in any way that he could. While the men talked at the table, Grandma and Preciousa cooked some food for the hungry soldiers to eat. They cooked some fish, rice, and pork and gave it to the men. In return, Major Phillips gave Preciousa a chocolate candy bar, the first piece of American candy she had ever gotten. She took it and thanked him, but he said, "Now you need to burn the wrapper after you eat it, or else if the Japanese find it, they will kill you."

Preciousa nodded her head, understanding what he said and went over to her siblings and shared the candy. After they ate it, Preciousa walked over to the wood stove, where the flame still flickered and stuck one end of the wrapper inside. The wrapper lit up quickly giving off an orange glow, growing rapidly as it crawled down the wrapper. She threw it in the sand of the wood stove and left it burning.

Grandpa pointed on the map to where the Japanese forces stayed. He told them that every morning the soldiers gathered in the courtyard in front of the school, where the radio tower was located, and did their daily prayers. The two men thanked Grandpa for his help and said, "You should leave Paluan tonight, because tomorrow we will attack the Japanese troops, and we don't want any civilians in the middle of it." Grandpa nodded in response, and the men left.

Grandpa turned and faced Grandma, but Grandma already knew what Grandpa was thinking. Grandma told Preciousa to get her brothers and sister ready while she packed some food. Preciousa grabbed some clothes in the corner and handed them to Jesus, Reynaldo, and Betty. After they got dressed, Preciousa slipped into some new clothes while Grandma placed the food in a small sack. Pretty soon, they were out the door, they quietly crept down the road headed south, away from the Japanese soldiers along with neighbors, hiding behind huts, and trees along the road. The moon didn't help them with their evacuation of the town, but the Villars made sure they stayed in dark shadowed areas. They quickly got off of the main road and into the dense forest. Preciousa's heart pounded so loudly she feared that the soldiers would hear it. After getting off the main road, they began to pick up the pace. Preciousa held onto Betty's hand, dragging her along as her tiny legs tried to keep up with the group. Broken twigs pricked their feet as they rustled across the forest floor. Leaves brushed against Preciousa's face, sending chills up and down her spine. She thought she heard something chasing behind them, but it was the paranoia of the night that made her hear things. They ran deeper and deeper into the forest, hopping over stumps and ducking under low branches. Once the distance from the town was safe, the group slowed down the pace. Preciousa began to ease up slightly, but she was still on her toes, and her senses were on full alert. They walked all night through the mosquito-infested forest. The air was cool but still a bit humid. There was a wet, forest smell everywhere and the buzzing of the mosquito rang in their ears.

After what seemed like ageless walking, they reached the base of a mountain, and there they found a small trail. They followed the trail up the mountain, which led to a cave. The people piled into the dark cave and sat blindly together and waited. Preciousa held Betty close to her in the darkness, and there they fell asleep.

Preciousa awoke because something hot was leaning against her. She opened her eyes, and the cave was no longer pitch black, but more of a grayish color because the sun was now up. She looked down at her sister, who slept all curled up, and her breaths were short and shallow. Tiny hairs scattered all over her limp limbs erected as her body shivered from internal coldness while sweat, beaded down her forehead. Preciousa grew worried, but didn't want to disturb the sleeping child, so she held her tight and stroked her blazing forehead. More people arose from their sleep in the damp cave as the sun lifted completely away from the horizon.

Suddenly, shots were heard off in the distance. Preciousa jumped at the sound and looked out towards the opening of the cave. It was coming from the town. The gunshots were short and loud like the firecrackers that were shot off during New Year's Preciousa remembered. The firing continued on for hours with short pauses in between.

Betty's condition wasn't getting any better. Preciousa tried to comfort Betty as her temperature rose. She whimpered in thirst, and Preciousa looked around to see if there was anything that could be drinkable, but nothing was to be seen. Nobody dared to leave the cave because everyone feared that they might run into a Japanese soldier. Preciousa looked down at her sister, as she yanked a button off of her blouse. Betty slowly pried open her heavy looking eyes with the little energy she had and looked at her sister. Preciousa told her to suck on the button. Betty didn't understand why, but obeyed her sister's command. They continued to wait in the cave listening at the constant flow of gunshots.

Grandma pulled out the food she brought in the sack and gave everyone in the family a small serving of rice. Preciousa tried to feed her sister, but she was too weak to chew up the food.

The whole day passed and the sun slowly sank down into the land, darkening the sky and taking away the light in the cave. The firing still hadn't ceased. By the time it was too dark to see, the firing stopped, but the people decided to wait until morning to see if the fighting had really stopped. The people, one by one, went to sleep while one man stayed by the opening to keep watch. Preciousa tried to sleep, but she was too worried about Betty that she stayed up late into the night. Eventually her head began to nod with fatigue, and she slowly fell asleep.

The next morning, Preciousa awoke to the sounds of the first gunshots of the morning. The people around her sighed in disappointment, fearing that it would be forever until the fighting stopped. Everyone feared that the Americans would lose and that they would never be able to leave the cave. Preciousa looked at her sister, and her health was even worse. She grew even more gray and her breaths even shorter. She needs something to drink, Preciousa thought, or else she will die. Tears began to well up into her eyes just at the thought of losing her sister. She became desperate. She looked around the cave once more, knowing that she wouldn't find anything, but in the back of the cave, she spotted a beat up old pail. She slid out from under her sister, and gently laid her head on a stone. She hurried over to the pail, towered over it and peered inside. Within the rugged metal walls sat a still yellow fluid. A strong putrid stench streamed from the substance and brought queasiness to her stomach. She knew this substance wasn't good for drinking, but Betty needed something to drink in order to live. She grabbed the pail and hurried over to Betty. The warmth from the yellow fluid reflected onto her palms, and she realized someone had just contributed to the container. She gently shook Betty awake and told her to drink the fluid. Betty pushed herself up from under her blanket with her last bit of strength. Preciousa lifted the bucket and placed the edge against Betty's lips. She tilted the bucket and the smelly liquid, little by little, flowed into her mouth. Preciousa grew more nauseous every time Betty swallowed. The smell of the urine sickened Preciousa, but Betty drank it like it was water. She continued to tilt the bucket as the urine lessened. Sorrow began to build in Preciousa's heart as she watched her sister drink the foul substance. Betty continued to drink until the last drop was savored. Preciousa placed the pail back on the floor. Betty wiped her mouth with the back of her hand, coughed, and then simply fell back to sleep.

Preciousa sat by her sister and watched her.

The shooting stopped by nightfall, the radio tower was destroyed and the rest of the Japanese troops fled from Paluan. Some of the American soldiers chased after them. Most of the fleeing Japanese soldiers drowned as they tried to sail to another island, and the rest got lost in the forest.

The civilians in the cave returned to their homes and immediately began to repair their town. They buried the dead Japanese soldiers that lay scattered around the small town.

The whole Villar family survived, including little Betty.


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