Caged Eagles by Eric Walters Read Free Book Online

glided across the night sky, their lights blazing out a path for them to follow as they passed overhead and then touched down, somewhere just out of sight, but not far away. The sources of all the other sounds were lost from view, hidden by the buildings, darkness and fog.
    I’d heard that fear heightens your senses. I didn’t know for sure, but it did seem like every little noise registered deep inside my skull.
    My father provided his own background noise — a high-pitched whistling sound as he breathed in and out in his sleep. He always seemed to sleep solidly through the night. The first few nights on board, the sound had disturbed me, annoyed me. Now it wasn’t just that it didn’t bother me anymore, but that I found it reassuring. The whistling made me feel better, safer, knowing he was close. It was good to know he was right there when I woke in the middle of the night, in the pitch black, and for a few brief seconds couldn’t remember where I was. Or, worse still, woke up and knew exactly where I was.
    Both my mother and grandmother were light sleepers and I was sure that they would have been woken up last night too. But neither got up or moved around or even made any sounds. They wouldn’t have wanted to risk waking anybody up.
    Once, just as I was getting ready to climb back under the covers after gazing out the window, I was startled to see Yuri sitting up in bed, staring at me. Just enough light trickled into the boat from the lampposts on the wharf for me to see her. Silently she waved to me and then held aloft two of her dolls. I saw a smile crease her face, white teeth glowing in the dim light, and couldn’t help but smile myself. I gestured for her to stuff the dolls back under the covers and she instantly responded.
    That certainly wasn’t the first time she’d flashed the dolls or said something to me when she thought nobody else was around. She tried to be subtle, but she was only seven years old, and wasn’t so good at keeping secrets. I knew my grandmother was aware of the dolls and suspected my parents knew as well. But I also knew that if things weren’t too obvious — if she didn’t pull them out right in front of my father’s eyes, so that everybody would know he’d been disobeyed — he might just pretend he didn’t know they were there. That way we were all okay.
    My father yawned loudly, sat up and stretched his arms. That was the signal to everybody that the day had begun. Instantly my mother got to her feet and began to prepare morning tea. Midori was soon at her side to help, and even my grandmother got up on unsteady feet and went to offer assistance.
    Activity had also started on the wharf. A half a dozen men, a couple of whom I knew, were gathered together, talking and smoking cigarettes. My father had noticed them as well. He pulled on his jacket and went over to the door, removed his slippers and put on his boots.
    â€œTadashi,” he said, motioning to me with his hand. “Come.”
    I didn’t need any further encouragement. I grabbed my jacket and pulled it on as I rushed over to the door. I kicked off my slippers and pushed my feet into my boots. I didn’t even bother to tie them up, just stuffed the long laces back into the boots. Opening the door, I was hit with a blast of cold air. The bright sunlight, which had already burnt off the fog from the night, had fooled me into thinking it was much warmer than it was. I buttoned up my jacket quickly as I crossed the deck of the boat and bounded up onto the wharf.
    My father had already joined the group of men and I quietly glided up behind them. There was an argument going on between two of the men, and I was even more determined to be silent.
    â€œSo we’re here! What now?” one of the men demanded. He wasn’t from our village and I didn’t know his name. He was younger than the other men, maybe closer in age to me then he was to my