Nothing went to waste. Even seafood that would ordinarily be thrown away found its way into soups and other tasty meals. The South Korean government was being very strict on whom it would let out of the harbor each day, but they allowed the old man to continue fishing because they knew what he was doing with the catch. On two occasions they sent along a soldier to make sure there was no espionage going on. In both cases the solders came back worked to death and filled with the old man’s many years of stories of the sea. After that, they simply inspected his catch each time and let him continue on.
Su Lynn had been working her assistants all afternoon, and the sweat was pouring from each of them. Gone were the days when she sat silently in the back of a Jeep. Over the weeks she grew more assertive and more outspoken. She had been given a great responsibility and was determined not to let down the people who counted on her. Yet she was one of the most pleasant people in the facility. Although the work was hard, she tried to make all the chores more bearable and often led the cooks in singing while they worked. The people assigned to Community Shelter Number 2 thought the world of her.
She was busy scrubbing out a pot when a very haggard looking man appeared at the doorway. Most of the people in the kitchen couldn’t tell who he was because of the bright evening sun coming through behind him. His shoulders were slouched and his whole body had a very tired look. The uniform was dirty and wrinkled, with what appeared to be bloodstains on it. His hands hung from his sides like two pieces of meat on a butcher’s hook. They were filthy and calloused.
But it was the face that seemed to tell most of the story. It too was dirty; the eyes slightly sunken and barely open. Deep bags under each eye told of long days without sleep. They were almost lifeless — devoid of feeling or understanding. Even the cheeks seemed hollow and pale. The lips were devoid of color and stretched in a thin line across the front of his face. Wrinkles lined his brow, yet the thick, dirty hair didn’t have a trace of gray in it. It was the hair of a young man.
The eyes scanned the room and rested on Su Lynn. When they did, life sparkled back into them and his lips slowly spread wider, even if just a millimeter. Several people looked up to see him and then got Su Lynn’s attention. At first, she didn’t recognize him. Suddenly she jumped up from where she was to run to his side. Her face was a mask of joy and great concern.
“I had to come see you again,” Ricks said through his exhaustion. This was the third time Ricks had come to see Su Lynn. The people of the shelter had been wary at first, but gradually accepted him.
“You no be here,” Su Lynn said with concern. “You go bed!” she said as she led him to a chair in one corner of the kitchen. He sat heavily into the chair and drank thirstily from a cup of water offered by one of the workers.
“I just got here,” he said. “They gave us 72 hours before we have to go back. I’ll go to bed, but just had to visit with you first.”
She pulled up a stool beside him and took his hand. It felt coarse and rough in her own, but that didn’t bother her. “I know, but I fine. I can wait,” she said warmly.
He smiled at her. “I know that, but I couldn’t,” he said.
She smiled and looked him over. She had no way of knowing that just a few hours earlier he had been in the thick of battle. “You fighting hard?”
He nodded. “They’re getting closer every day. We are having a hard time keeping them back, but we manage,” he said. An older woman brought him a bowl of the food they had prepared for the evening. It mainly consisted of cabbage and some meat in a broth. Some rice was in it as well. He ate as the people asked him questions about the war and he shared his more recent experiences. All the while Su Lynn stayed by his side. When he finished the bowl, he thanked the old woman and handed it back to her. She smiled and scurried away.
The few minutes he sat talking to the group seemed to draw more out of him. Su Lynn noticed. “You need go bed,” she said in her broken English.
He nodded. “I’ll head back to base,” he said.
“No. You too tired,” she said as she took his hand and pulled him from his chair. She led Ricks across the kitchen to a small room that had been set aside for her as the head of the kitchen staff. Opening the door, he saw only enough room for a small bed, a table at one end with some shelves, and one small chair to sit in. She led Ricks to the bed. “You go too hard. I glad to see, but you rest. Come, sit,” she said. Ricks almost fell on the bed.
Su Lynn placed her hand on his cheek. “I like you here, but you hurt yourself,” she said with some concern.
Ricks smiled at her. “I feel much better now,” he said tiredly.
Su Lynn smiled. “Just rest. I clean up some,” she said. She began helping him remove his shirt and pants. She then laid him back on the bed as she went to get a large bowl of warm water and a wash cloth. The clothes she handed over to the man who cleaned the kitchen towels each night and asked him to clean them as best he could. The man nodded and left. When she returned to her room, Ricks was dead asleep. She laid the bowl on the floor and soaped up the cloth. Beginning with his face, she gently cleaned the grime and sweat from him. Then she pulled the cover back and washed his chest and torso. She liked what she saw. Ricks had lost much of the boyish look and had developed well-defined muscles on his arms and chest. He wasn’t muscle bound or overly developed, but more of a youthful, very masculine look. His chest even boasted a small tuft of hair, something she really liked.
Su Lynn continued to wash Ricks even though he didn’t wake as she worked. His hands were the hardest to clean. It was as if the dirt from crawling 1,000 miles had been ground into them. Taking her time, she slowly worked the grime from the hands and even from under the fingernails. Then she rolled his body toward her and cleaned his back, down to his underwear. Next she covered his upper body and exposed his legs. They too were well-defined from miles of running and walking. She lifted and washed each leg until nearly his entire body had been cleansed. Then she gently laid each down and covered them with the blanket. Ricks hadn’t stirred. His breathing remained steady and deep. She tucked him in slightly and lightly kissed him on the forehead. She turned to see an older woman watching her. She had kept the door open the whole time so that no one would suspect anything outrageous. The old woman smiled at her.
“This is the one you talk about?” she asked.
Su Lynn smiled and nodded.
The woman smiled and bid her to follow. “Then we must treat him very nice. After all he fights for us,” she said. They went to a small closet and the old woman pulled out a straw mat. “This is my son’s, but he will not mind you using it,” she said.
They went back to Su Lynn’s room, moved the chair to the far end, and lay the mat down beside the bed. “You stay here with him,” she said. “He may need you.”
Su Lynn was surprised. Such things were not proper and would be frowned upon. Her fears were reflected in her face.
The old woman laughed. “Child, he is exhausted. Nothing will be wrong. You sleep on the mat. I will sleep in this chair outside the door to make sure you are not disturbed,” she said.
Su Lynn nodded and laid some sheets on the mat. The old woman produced a pillow. Su Lynn changed into a sleeping gown and lay down on the mat. She left the door open and watched as the old woman walked over and switched off the kitchen light. She then pulled back the blackout curtains from the windows to let the breeze through. It was now dark outside and only a little light seeped into the room. Su Lynn heard the woman sit in the chair and lean it back against the wall. Within minutes she was snoring.