1968

Chapter Ten: June 18th 1968

Jack's point of view:

Hilda and I were sitting in our room as she read a book and I assembled and disassembled a handgun. I watched as she checked the little clock beside her, reading that it was almost eleven at night. "Maybe one of us should go look for Jacob? He isn't back in his room yet and Lorelei is already asleep," she said to me after a few seconds.

"I'll go get him. You never know what's going to be out there. I'm sure he hasn't gone too far," I replied as I took my gun in hand and stepped out of the tent. My feet carefully stepped along the ground as I went to their tent. Indeed, he wasn't in there and Lorelei was fast asleep on her cot. I went off into the bush, wondering if he had gone for a walk. He was notorious for wandering off, even when he was little he would stray away from me or his mother.

"Jacob!" I called, without an answer. I sighed and kept going through the bush and hoping he was alright. It took about ten more minutes for me to see a fire in a clearing. I loaded my gun just in case it was a guerrilla group instead of Jacob. When I came through, I was lucky to see it was my son, sitting on the ground and playing guitar.

"Son," I said as he turned around and saw me. I went into the clearing and I noticed someone else sitting on the ground as Jacob stood up.

"Dad, what are you doing here?" Jacob asked. When the other person stood up I noticed it was a Vietnamese woman, about Jacob's age, tiny and pale. Was she the reason he was out so late and not in his tent with Lorelei?

"Who is this?" I asked. He turned and took the hand of the young girl. When he brought her to me, I saw that she had such a look of fear on her face that it was like she thought of me as the devil. That was a little bit why I found she wasn't bad, no matter what part of this country she was from. I just wanted to know why she was here and how my son came upon her.

"Dad, this is Mai Phuong, Mai this is my father, Jack Horowitz," Jacob introduced. I let my hand out she she could shake it, but she seemed rather hesitant. My guess was that although she was definitely comfortable with Jacob, she knew nothing of me.

"It's alright, I won't hurt you," I said as I kept my hand out. She shook it very shakily and almost hid behind Jacob as if she needed protection. Her eyes, as dark as the sky, peeked out at me with scared curiosity.

"It's just my dad, Mai, he's harmless," Jacob said. She nodded but remained next to him and away from me. Now it was time for the matter at hand.

"Where did you find her?" I asked.

"She's a runaway, she escaped south Vietnam. She wants to have a better life for herself, a life where it isn't a threat just to walk to the store. Can she come with us to the camp? Please, dad?" He asked. It wasn't my decision to make, although he thought it was. We could only keep so many people here and she didn't belong in a military base. I didn't want to see her on her own, knowing full well she was lucky she hadn't been shot by some soldier on the way here. I just didn't know if it would work out the way Jacob wanted.

"That isn't for me to say. I'll talk to the other men, you can take her to your tent and find a way for her to sleep for the night," I replied. Jacob nodded and thanked me vigorously as he grabbed her hand and led her back to the base camp. I followed far behind and went back to my tent with Hilda. She wasn't asleep yet, probably because she was waiting for me.

"Did you find him?" She asked. I let out a scoff and nodded my head.

"Oh yes, and I found a girl as well, one of which he seems keen to keep around with all he has," I replied. Her eyes went a little wide as she chuckled.

"You aren't serious? He found a girl? However did he manage that?" Hilda asked. I shrugged my shoulders and sat down on my cot.

"She's a runaway, stumbled upon him I guess. Anyway, she's staying here for the night and then I told him I'd talk to the other men about her staying for longer. I don't know how well that's going to do," I replied. She nodded and moved off the cot and onto mine, her hands going on my shoulders as she massaged them lightly.