‘Why don’t they let me go? I’m not a CID agent from China. That teacher from Calcutta had asked me to keep a secret passage when I built my house. He told me to take a Red China passport. No one believes me. Not even Robin. He didn’t even talk to me. I was very hurt, you know.’

‘I’ll explain the whole thing to Robin. Don’t you worry, ako. It’s just a matter of a few days. After that everything will be ok.’

Mei Lin brought him back and went to the side of the wing that housed a row of toilets, bathrooms and water taps. Nearby, in a temporary kitchen, food was being cooked.

Tung Chin was filling his jug absentmindedly. Standing near him were Ameng and Ah Fuk’s son, Aman. They smiled when they saw Mei Lin. Giving his jug to Ameng, Tung Chin took Mei Lin’s jug from her hand and started to fill it silently.

A whistle sounded near the kitchen, indicating that lunch was ready.

The people of Wing 5 had begun filing out with their aluminium plates. They looked as if they had come from an ancient and lifeless city.

There was no one in this camp without sorrow. Everyone had lost someone. Every family had been divided. Everyone had left behind their hard-earned property. Sorrow was an inseparable load attached to their existence.

Only Ameng had accepted this load with some ease. Having learned at the Nasirabad station that his entire family had been left behind in Nowgaon jail, he had been distraught, but he had wiped the worry from his face. No one could tell what was going on in his mind.

Mei Lin returned with Tung Chin and Ameng. Mei Hang came out chatting with Yiu Yi and the other children, their faces happy. Mei Hang must have said something funny to them. Ever since they had come to this jail, Mei Hang had tried hard to keep the people of Wing 5 happy and occupied. Along with Siu, Ameng and others, she would play with the children and tell them funny stories. Mei Lin and her companions knew that behind Mei Hang’s cheerful countenance was Hong’s support and love.

‘I can’t,’ Hong had said to Mei Hang. ‘But you can. Try to make people feel a little cheerful.’

Mei Hang could do it. She knew the magic of laughter in the midst of despair.

Tung Chin’s sister-in-law, Wenling, and her children, and Liang’s sister-in-law followed Mei Hang. Wenling went past Mei Lin without a word. No one had seen Wenling smile for a while. The smallest things triggered her anger. The harsh experiences after she was caught, the ordeal of camp life and the sufferings of her children had made her unstable.

Keeping the jug inside, Mei Lin returned.