They had to stop at a station to refill the water tank. They didn’t. Maybe they had no permission to stop. The news of the passengers in that ghost train was not published in any of the newspapers. Still, somehow, people living close to the stations got wind. At every station where the train stopped, people would gather. Some watched in silence, others turned violent. They pelted stones and shouted abuse.

The news in the papers was different – news of torture by the Chinese forces dealt out to the retreating Indian soldiers and civilians, and news of Indian martyrs and the returned POWs.

The general populace was in a state of hysteria.

Inside the train was an indescribable hell. The smoke from the coal engine and the coal dust had made the people black and dirty. Fever spread and many complained of stomach trouble. There was nothing one could do. The captives were turning into spectres. Barring the yelling and crying spells by Ho Yin’s father, the feeble weeping of the children and the sighs of the elders, there was no other sound. People had forgotten to talk. The sound of Mahjong had stopped. Four days had since the opium had finished. Chi Fu Hai was manic with withdrawal symptoms.

Wai Kwan was crying in pain.

‘What happened, Wai Kwan?’ Yiu Yi’s grandmother asked.

Lee Chang came and sat next to Wai Kwan, worry on his face.

The elders realized that a great problem was about to befall them now. Amidst this darkness and filth Wai Kwan was going to deliver a baby.

‘I want some water. I am very thirsty,’ Wai Kwan said weakly.

There were only a few mugs of water in the bucket. Yiu Yi’s grandmother brought a mug and, letting Wai Kwan drink first, she distributed a little to each of the children.

Wai Kwan cried out again. The pain was slowly becoming unbearable. The gaps between the contractions were decreasing.

‘Please switch on the torch, Baishya dada,” said Lee Chang.

Baishya turned on the torch and handed it to Lee Chang.

‘No one look this way,’ Yiu Yi’s mother said.

Lee Chang stepped aside. Yunlin’s mother-in-law and Chi Fu Hai’s wife came forward. Siu and the others surrounded Wai Kwan. Khagen Baishya passed the hot water flask and said, ‘There isn’t much in here.’

Ameng offered his clothes. The women moved Wai Kwan towards the door. Khagen Baishya along with the other young men went to the other side and sat down.

Wai Kwan’s cries grew louder. The children started wailing in fear.

When she finally delivered the baby, it was dawn. Wearing Liang’s sister-in-law’s clothes, Wai Kwan came and lay on her bed.

‘I need water. Give me water or I will die.’

‘There is no water, Wai Kwan. Please try to be strong,’ Lee Chang said.