When Inaya tiptoed into the kitchen, she saw someone standing by the gas stove. She squinted in the semi-darkness to get a better look—just then, the person turned around. In the feeble light of the gas flame, a pair of glasses glinted and Inaya recognized the silhouette. It was her grandfather. Was he sleepwalking again? Why was he near the stove? Why was he wearing his spectacles if he was asleep? Should she wake him?

Inaya flipped on the switch for the kitchen lights, ‘Daada?’

There was no response. She looked at her grandfather’s face. His eyes were wide open, but he didn’t seem to be aware of her presence. When she drew closer, she noticed that his spectacles were fogged up—and then realized with a shock that he was holding a saucepan filled to the brim with boiling water. She quickly took the pan from him and switched off the gas flame.

‘Daada, are you okay?’ Habib looked at her and then reached into the pocket of his dressing gown and patted around.

‘It’s not there,’ he said, almost to himself.

‘What’s not there, Daada?’

‘My ro—’

But before he could finish his sentence, Humaira entered the room.

‘There you are, Habib!’ she said. ‘I woke up and your side of the bed was empty.’ It was then that Humaira noticed what Inaya was holding. She swiftly took the pan of boiling water from Inaya and emptied it into the sink.

‘He does that sometimes. He tries to make tea—I’ve told him time and again to use the electric kettle,’ said Humaira. ‘He forgot his medication again, Inaya. Don’t worry—go back to bed. Everything is just fine.’

It was ‘that voice’ again. Everything was far from fine.

‘That boiling water was about to fall on Daada’s feet, Daadi . . . ’

‘It looks that way, but it never happens,’ said Humaira dismissively. ‘You have an important match tomorrow, my kishmish. Go, go and rest now.’

Inaya reluctantly left the room, tumultuous thoughts crashing through her head, making her even forget about her craving for cake.

What was going on with Daada? And why was Daadi brushing everything aside as if it was so trivial?

Glorious Uncertainties

The stadium, if you could call it that, was the cricket field of the Paddington Recreation Ground. A large billboard announced: ‘Tapeball4All League Tournament, sponsored by Nabeel’s Kitchen’. Inaya sat with the rest of her Curry Cruisers teammates, chewing at her stubby fingers as she awaited her turn to bat.

‘And tape-ball cricket is even more gloriously uncertain than regular cricket is!’ declared the commentator who seemed either to have had too much coffee, or was generally an overexcitable sort. ‘Eleven-a-side, 8 overs per innings and no fielding restrictions—really sets the scene for some fast-paced entertainment. And so, in this game of glorious uncertainties, let’s see if the Curry Cruisers from Asia—comprising players from India, Pakistan and Bangladesh—can save the day. The Chippy Champs team from Europe—comprising players from the UK and Ireland—have batted first and raised an impressive score of 141 from 8 overs. That is an absolutely brilliant score in this Under 16s tournament. Will the Curry Cruisers be able to beat that total?’