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56 7 Afierce April sun burned the sky. Dust devils chased dust clouds in the shimmering heat. At the peak of the tinder-dry season, Cambodia lay on the brink of anarchy, complete and total chaos. Everyone waited to see what the new regime, the Khmer Rouge, would do next. One of the many wild rumors going around was that the new regime would order all single females to marry former Khmer Rouge soldiers, particularly those who were severely disabled by war injuries. Mother took special care to keep Mealanie in the house, and she told Mona to lay low. Mealanie had just turned seventeen; Mona was twenty-three. I had been cooped up in the house for so long that I could no longer stand it. As everyone else sweltered and prayed for things to become less uncertain, Serey decided to move his wife Sa-Oum to neutral ground. Sa-Oum’s father and siblings were staying in a village called Krobey Riel (Wild Buffalo Roam), so named because most of its residents raised buffalo. The village had traded hands between the Khmer Rouge and Lon Nol forces during the war, but Serey heard that it was now outside the fighting zones. Serey thought he would avoid some of the chaos of Siem Reap and take this opportunity to try his hand at fishing and trading. “We’re heading west, Ah Nak,” he told me. “Why don’t you come with us until things settle down?” “You mean, you’ll take me with you?” “Sure, why not?” he smiled. “If you give me any problems, I’ll just send you back.” “Oh Mae, may I go with Bawng? Please?” I knew that if my mother agreed, Father would not object. Mother wasn’t so easily swayed. “Oh, I don’t know,” she said. “I’m not so sure it’s a good idea right now. I think we should stay together. We don’t know what’s going to happen next.” An Empty Village Krobey Riel and Siem Reap AN EMPTY VILLAGE 57 “Mae, I’ll be with Bawng Serey and Bawng Sa-Oum. I’ll be fine. I’m dying a slow death here; I need to get out of the house!” She sighed. After a long pause, she relented. “Well, you know where we are. Come back when you’re ready.” I joined Serey in preparing to head for the countryside. I thought I’d tag along with them for a couple of weeks. I only wanted to get away from the city for a while. The things I’d seen had frightened me very much. The rumors of forced marriage intensified as Serey, Sa-Oum, and I made our preparations to leave the city. Those who had been to the liberated zones swore that they had seen the Khmer Rouge order civilians to marry disabled cadres. Mother was so disturbed that she gave her only daughter away to Lim Voeun, the man across the river who’d had his eye on Mealanie for some time. Just as quickly, she married Mona off to one of our cousins. The whole city experienced a wave of quickly arranged weddings that summer. On April 25, 1975, we left the city, traveling west for about 15 miles until we arrived at the house of Sa-Oum’s father in Krobey Riel. The village was ringed by rice paddies. I thought it was beautiful—and peaceful, even if it wasn’t exactly neutral. Angkar was here, but the village had not seen the looting we had in Siem Reap. The people here seemed more at ease. I went around town to make friends. Soon I was playing a game of marbles with some country boys. Their “marbles” were softball-sized bombs and dismantled grenades. I thought it was very clever of them to turn something so deadly into something fun. After a few short hours of marbles, I was deep in debt. It was easily paid. All I did was collect some of the money littering the roadside. I enjoyed the company of my new playmates. One of the boys was especially friendly. His name was Laive. He was close to my age but a little bigger. He took me around and showed me how country folks did things. We shared whatever we had. We defended each other against other kids. We were inseparable. Three weeks went by quickly, and it was time for me to return home. Laive said he...

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