The Shadow of Arms Read Online Free PDF Page B

young.”
    Inside Shoan there arose a strong urge to grab him by the neck and give him a violent shake. But she remained still. Disinclined for the moment to expand on what he had said, Minh remained silent as well. The waiter brought their drinks. Minh took a deep breath and exhaled.
    â€œThis is the first time in ages I’ve felt this light and refreshed.”
    After a few sips, Shoan asked tentatively, “Where do you plan to go? Hue?”
    â€œNo. I . . . don’t know where I’ll go yet.” Then, unable to contain himself any longer, Minh leaned in and whispered to her, “But I won’t be gone long. A friend from the jungle is supposed to meet me here.”
    Shoan felt a painful thud in her heart, like from the heavy blow of a blunt object. She picked up the drink and gulped. The rim of the glass made an abrasive sound as it grated against her teeth. Her hands were shaking.
    The two sat in silence for what seemed like an eternity. A German hospital ship was slowly steaming into the harbor. The war refugees who had crossed the narrow finger of water in the harbor streamed along Ivory Road. More people in need of food. Among them was a boy with both legs amputated. His sister, a small girl not much bigger than him, was carrying her legless brother on her back. From the medical vessel rang the joyful sound of a bell. Ever since the guerrillas had set off the C-4 bomb on the pier, military police searched everyone except for some women and small children.
    â€œThe education won’t be like what I’ve been getting at school.”
    Shoan knew what he meant. There had been many students who suddenly disappeared from home or school after receiving their draft notices. Some were later discovered as corpses in some small village or down in the Mekong Delta, their bodies sent back to their parents. She had also heard of students who’d climbed walls to sneak into their friends’ houses in the middle of the night only to vanish. Others were said to have become hawkers around the foreign army bases.
    â€œI’m going to Uncle Trinh’s tonight. I’ll see you there.”
    Shoan shook her head and said, “No, I’m not going back to school today.”
    â€œThere’s some place I have go alone,” Minh said coldly. But he did not move. It was Shoan who rose first.
    â€œAren’t you going to see your family at least?”
    â€œI already told Lei everything. And I don’t want to fight with my brother.”
    The two walked side by side, crossed Ivory Road and continued all the way to the intersection where Le Loi Boulevard began. As they approached the side street leading to Shoan’s house, she paused and turned to Pham Minh, as if to ask his destination.
    â€œI’m heading for the marketplace . . . be at Uncle Trinh’s at around seven o’clock, okay?”
    Lowering her head, Shoan was quiet a moment before speaking.
    â€œYou haven’t heard about the curfew, have you?”
    â€œI couldn’t care less.”
    â€œCivilians on the street after eight p.m. are to be arrested and anyone trying to run away can be shot.”
    Minh glared at Shoan. What she meant was that with an air strip and US Marine checkpoints on the way to Dong Dao there would be no way for her to return home at sundown, let alone by eight o’clock in the evening.
    As for Pham Minh, not knowing what the future would bring made returning to Da Nang unthinkable. Starting that day and for the next three months, he would have to survive at the center of Vietnam’s wretched reality, in the swamps and marshes. The organization might send him back to Da Nang as a civilian agent or part of the urban staff organization. But they also might keep him in the jungle. Minh saw Shoan’s big eyes moistening. He wanted to wrap his arm around her slender waist and kiss her. Instead, he shyly held out his hand.
    â€œ Ch à o co , Shoan. See you