‘Mei Lin’s husband is Assamese. How can she go? She is pregnant. You will have to let her stay back,’ Ho Chang Ho stood up now.

‘I told you before – everyone who is on this list will have to go.’ Ignoring the protests, the commander looked down at the list again.

After reading out all the names on the list, the camp commander stopped.

‘There are no more names. The rest belong to another batch. The families that were left behind in Assam will all be taken to Madras Port.’

People began to move back to their rooms. Suddenly nausea overcame Mei Lin again and she rushed to the side of a wall and began to throw up. Siu, Yunlin’s mother-in-law, Koneng Lotha, Wenling and a few others stood near her helplessly, well aware of what it meant.

Mei Lin was pregnant!

In their house in Makum, Akong’s wife Phulmoni was sobbing madly, ‘No. I won’t go. I won’t go to China. That’s not my country. This is my country!’

Her mother-in-law was trying hard to convince Phulmoni to accompany Akong to China, wiping her own tears.

‘Whose children are these? Tell me – whose children are these? They are not yours alone. They belong to their father as well. How can Akong live without you and the kids? He will die. How will you live without him?’

‘Oh mother – please forgive me. I have no answers to your question. I won’t go. I won’t go to China. China is not our country.’

The same tussle was going on in Tung Chin’s house with Xonpahi.

‘You can’t go. Do you understand? We didn’t oppose your getting married to Tung Chin. Now you want to follow him to China! Do you realise what kind of a country China is?’

After discovering that Xonpahi was leaving with Tung Chin, her elder brother, who had come to take her back, became furious.

‘You can’t go. Get ready to leave with me. Right now.’

‘No, I won’t come with you. I’ll go to China with him. If his mother can go, why can’t I?’

‘Don’t you compare yourself with her! Her people have allowed her to go. We are not allowing you to go. I have already put in an application to that effect. Now get ready and come with me.’

The tussle and the crying and wailing was playing out in innumerable homes.

Far away, in the courtyard of Wing 5 of Deoli camp, the internees sat in utter confusion. The fiery sun was scorching them. They felt extremely thirsty. But no one felt the urge to leave the courtyard, as if they had lost all the strength of their bodies and minds.

Mei Lin sat with her head in her hands, dumb and scared.

Ameng and Lee Chang came and stood near her.