When Sarina came back from Mount Abu, she and Neel came to see me. They brought a green coconut and a bouquet of roses. When I saw Neel my heart jumped twice, the first time because he was there, the second time because I was afraid of what Mummy would say. If Mummy was upset or mad, she hid it very well, and was polite, especially when Sarina said Neel was her cousin.

The green coconut was from Sarina’s courtyard. One end was shaved off into a cone shape. Sarina got a knife from the kitchen and Neel cut off the top of the cone and stuck a straw in it and handed it to me. With all the medication I was taking I was afraid that the coconut water would taste bitter, but it was sweet and flavorful. After I finished the water Neel took out a thin layer of coconut meat from the empty cavity with a knife and piled it on a small plate. Unlike the heavy, thick coconut meat from a brown coconut, this was soft and thin. It was a challenge to pick up the slippery pieces that slid away from my fingers when I tried to put them in my mouth.

We didn’t talk much. With Mummy right there, we had to be careful about what we said, but it was fine. At least I was able to see them both.

“I hope you’ll feel good enough to come and stay with me in two weeks,” Sarina said softly when Mummy went in the kitchen to get a snack for them.

“I don’t think I can.”

“By that time you’ll feel fine,” Neel said.

“You promised to stay with me when my parents go to Goa for the conference.”

“I’ll try,” I said, remembering that I had told Sarina that I’d spend a weekend with her in late May. I’d asked Mummy a long time ago, too, but now I wasn’t sure if I wanted to go. Just this short visit of theirs had made me tired.

I was afraid that Mummy would notice the way I looked at Neel, or the way he’d touched my hand before leaving, and scold me, but she didn’t. One thing about Mummy was, unless she suspected something, she didn’t notice much. I was grateful for that.

The second I saw Sarina Tuesday afternoon I knew something was terribly wrong. I sat up in my bed with two pillows behind me. When she brought the chair closer to me to sit down I saw that her face was all red. She sat down, put her book on the table, changed her mind, picked up her book, and put it on her lap. I looked at the cover and thought, she must be pagel, crazy, to carry her books now.

“Sarina, what would you like to drink?” Mummy asked.