Stopping the rickshaw-van on the side of the road, the rickshaw-puller got down, wiped his face with a towel and said, ‘Don’t go any further. The rest has to be walked. '
Mom said absentmindedly, ‘Should I walk?’
‘J.’ The middle-aged rickshaw puller pointed to the dirt road in front and said, ‘During the rainy season, when all the water is submerged, you can go by boat.’
Mom said, ‘Oh.’ Mom came here after a long time. Nowadays, wherever you go after a while, you can't recognize the place. An empty space becomes crowded in the house. There has been no change in this area, it is still the same as it was when he was young.
Rasha sat up in the rickshaw-van, this time falling down. Last night they left, spent the whole night on the train, got off the bus in the morning. Scooter after bus, then rickshaw-van. The rest has to be walked. Rasha looked around absentmindedly but didn't seem to notice anything very well. A little while ago a fisherman bird was sitting on a tree by the water, he had never seen such a beautiful colorful bird in his life, but even after that he was not happy to see the bird. In fact, the inside of him now seems to be dead, there is no feeling of joy or sorrow. It seems like the whole thing is a nightmare. Looks like he'll wake up right away, and wake up, he's sitting in front of the computer in his room. Rasha knows it's not a nightmare, it's true. So the inside of the chest is numb with a kind of complete stranger grief, frustration and panic.
Mom got down from the rickshaw-van and said to Rasha, ‘Get down, mother. Have to walk. Can't you? '
Rasha nodded and said that she could. She unloaded her mother's small bag and Rasha's big suitcase from the rickshaw van. This suitcase is packed with everything you need to spend the rest of your life. My mother repeatedly said, ‘Take everything you need, mother. I can’t take it anymore. ’Rasha didn’t think much then. A lot of inadvertently stuffed in the suitcase he got at hand. She still couldn't believe it was really happening. She has some clothes, some books in her suitcase. She could have brought her computer, but her mother said there was no electricity anywhere near where they were going. Without it, such a large computer, how to bring it? How much trouble to bring this suitcase.
Rasha pulled the suitcase from the rickshaw-van. There are wheels at the bottom, if the road was good it could be pulled. He does not know how to take this dirt road.
Mom said to the rickshaw puller, ‘But I will go back today. Remember that? '
The man shook his head and said, "I remember."
Ammu showed Rasha’s suitcase and said, ‘This suitcase has to be delivered. Can anyone be found? '
The man said, "I will deliver."
‘Rickshaw-van? No one will take it? '
‘I’ll leave it at someone’s house here. No one will take it. Everyone in this village knows everyone. '
After a while, this small group of three started moving forward, with Rasha in the front with Rasha's suitcase on her head, Ammu behind her, Rasha behind everyone. Ammu sometimes stopped and tried to talk to Rasha for a minute or two but Rasha said nothing but hu-ha, so the conversation could not go much further.
Rasha was looking at both sides while walking on the dirt road of the village. If all the school children had come here for a picnic, everyone would have been overwhelmed to see the surrounding fields, fields, canals, plants, cows, goats, birds. Everyone would run in the field together, jump into the canal water, take pictures of cows and calves. Now everything seems, completely meaningless. There are not many people on the methopath, suddenly one or two people are seen, they then turn their heads and look at them curiously. Rasha also turned around and looked at a girl, an eight- or nine-year-old dry leaky girl, with a pale black complexion, red hair on her head, flying in the rough air, bare body, wearing only a few pants. With a thin bamboo twig in his hand, he is carrying a huge bull with a bored face. The sharp horns on the bull's head, the red angry eyes make Rasha's chest tremble with fear, but there is no fear in this little girl's chest, Rasha looks at her in surprise.
Standing under a large banyan tree, Ammu said, "The palm tree you see is your grandma's house." Rasha did not say anything. Ammu said, "Before there were two palm trees, one was struck by lightning and burnt."
Rasha didn't say anything again, ‘I looked and tried to imagine what it would look like if there were two palm trees.
Gradually the road became narrower, at the very end a bamboo bridge had to be crossed. Mom took off her sandals and took them in her hand, Rasha passed after the shoes. After crossing some bushes, my mother stood in front of a faded tin house and said, "This is your grandma's house."
Rasha looked up. Sometimes when he shows the news of a village on television, he has seen pictures of such houses in the news — this is the first time he has really seen it. My mother entered by the side of the tin house outside, an empty yard in the middle, two rooms on either side of it. One room has a tin roof, the other a thatched roof. The courtyard in the middle is big and clean. There are no people anywhere, just a hen eating her chicks. Seeing them, the hen made a croaking noise and immediately all the chicks came running and took shelter under the hen. When he saw them and realized that there was no danger, he started scattering all around again.
The rickshaw puller lowered the suitcase from his head to the yard and wiped his face and throat with a towel. Mom looked around and called out, "Mom."
No one answered. Mom then went to the front of the tin house and knocked on the door, which immediately opened. My mother went in a little later and said, "There is no one inside."
Rasha did not say anything. Mom said, ‘Come on, let’s go to the back of the house. Let's see if there is a pond behind the house. '
Mom walked past the tin house to the back of the house. I didn't know if Rasha would wait or go back, but in the end she followed her mother. Lots of plants in the back of the house, big bamboo bushes. Rasha started following Ammu by trampling the dried leaves under her. In front is a big pond, the black water of the pond is glistening. Next to the pond is a shady pond. Rasha saw a woman sitting leaning on the pond. The woman is looking at the water in the pond, so her face is not visible.
Mom called, "Mom."
The woman did not look back and said, "Who?"
‘I am the mother. I am blue. '
Rasha's mother's name is Neelu. For a long time no one called him by this name. The woman sitting in the pond never looked back and asked, "Who's with you?"
‘My daughter. Rasha. '
Ammu stood beside her mother as she spoke, but her mother never turned her head to try to see her daughter. He asked in a cold voice, "Why did you come to your crazy, bad-tempered mother?"
Ammu ate a little, mumbled and said, "No, I mean yes."
‘So many years have passed, I have never heard of it. Now all of a sudden you have left with your daughter. What's the matter? '
Mom hesitated, saying, ‘I’m actually going to be a little out of the country তে in Australia. Rasha: I mean, I couldn't decide where to leave my daughter. So I thought, leave it to you. '
‘How long are you going?’
‘I mean, quite a few days, what do you mean—’
‘Are you married to someone else?’
Ammu's face turned pale, she bowed her head and said, "Yes."
‘Won’t the son-in-law take your daughter?’
Mother remained silent without saying anything.
‘So you’re leaving the girl here? Why not cut the girl's throat and float in the river? How will your daughter live in this village? '
Mom said, ‘Actually mom you just don’t understand. I had no choice. "
‘It’s true that my head is spinning. I'm crazy, that's true, but I'm not stupid Neelu! Why are you going to ruin your daughter so much? '
"I'm not going to ruin it, Mom. I'm a little tidy."
Rasha saw her grandmother suddenly raise her hand and stop her mother, saying, ‘Where is my granddaughter? I see the girl with burnt forehead once. '
Her grandmother then slowly turned her head and looked back. This is the first time Rasha has seen her crazy mad grandmother. She has imagined many times in the last few days what her grandmother will look like. Rough hair like white linen, ruffled cheeks, wrinkles of age on the face, red angry angry eyes, but he looked surprised. There is no sign of age on her grandmother's face, it looks like her mother's older sister. Her hair is a little twisted, sunburned, with only a pair of bright eyes. Rasha thought that her grandmother had pierced her with those eyes.
Nani stared at Rasha for a while, then shook her hand and said, ‘Come on. Come closer. '
Rasha stepped forward in fear, Nani grabbed him by the hand, then pulled him closer and whispered, ‘I knew you would come. That's why I'm waiting for you. '
Rasha looked at her grandmother in surprise and said, "What did you say?"
‘I said I was waiting for you. I knew you would come today. '
‘How do you know?’
‘I’m a crazy person, my head isn’t right. Contradictory things come to mind. You will come to mind this morning. That's why I took this sari out of the trunk. '
Rasha stared at this bad grandmother with a look of disbelief. Nani smiled and said, ‘You didn’t believe me? All right, open your hand. '
Rasha opened her hand. Nani opened her fist, took out something, closed her fist with her hand and said, ‘Here I am, sitting down to give it to you. I gave it to you now. '
‘What is it?’
‘My mother gave it to me. My mother got it from her mother. His mother got it from his mother. '
Rasha asked curiously again, "What is this?"
"An amulet."
‘What’s with it?’
"Come closer, I'll tell you something."
