Harbart was unfazed. Unmoved. Now forever unconcerned with the trifling troubles of this world.

The crowds continued to swell.

Koka, Somnath, Gobindo—how-howled in grief.

“Just last night he paid for a TV. Spent so much. If only we’d known, even a little …”

Khororobi’s brother Jhaapi looked mentally unstable. Ever since his brother’s suicide, he’d been a little funny, and now he squatted on the pavement and shouted every so often, “Over! All over!”

In only a little while the police van arrived. An officer and three constables. The crowd parted to let them through.

The officer inspected the room and the body. “Any suicide note?”

No one could tell.

Pinching his nose tight, the officer went over to Harbart lying so flat and still, reached into his breast pocket and pulled out a fold of paper.

On it was written:

The tank-trapped tilapiya is off to the sea

Want to see a double chang? A double chang?

Cat, bat, water, dog, fish.

“Never read a suicide note like this in my whole bloody life,” said the officer, “Was he crazy or what?”

“Not crazy exactly,” said Hartal, “A little touched, perhaps.”

Local Dr. Sudhir refused to sign the death certificate. “He was my patient, it’s true,” he said, “but he didn’t die of dengue. Nor did he die of my treatment. He died by committing suicide, and that too in a ghastly manner. The police’ve come. Now, kindly, please do not request me anymore. We’re neighbors, don’t forget. If I could write off two lines and help you out, do you think I wouldn’t have?”

Thereafter the boys would always call him Dr. Sonofabitch.

Finally, the police officer said: “Alright. I’m going back to the station, sending a corpse car. One of you come with me. The constables will stay back, keep watch.”

“You won’t come back, sir?’

“Of course I will! Let me speak to the Sambhunath Hospital, if I can get him on their list, then from there straight to Katapukur morgue.”

“Sir, when will we get the body?”

“Let’s see, what time is it now? Quarter to twelve … Say, seven? Why don’t you come to the morgue by seven? Although with morgues you can never tell … it may end up taking longer.”

“Oh, don’t worry about that. We’ll figure out how to hurry things up there.”

“Then there’s nothing to worry about, then.”

A black corpse-car carried Harbart away. On the second-floor verandah, Nirmala and Dhanna-boudi watched him go, Jyathaima clutched between them. The sun was high in the sky and so strong and fierce that the calls of the crows dried up in their throats.

Up on the roof, beneath the scorching sun, Lalitkumar asks his wife, “Shobha! Will the film be a hit? Or a flop? It will be exactly as you say. I am happy to accept your choice.”

Shobharani laughs and laughs, shakes and shimmies with laughter.

Downstairs, the sweeper arrived, took out the bucket and threw the bloodied water down the drain. Threw away the bottles, the cutlet bones, the dead cockroaches, the razor blade, the cigarette butts, the ashes. Gulped down the last few drops of rum.