Asrar gave details about his family, and she happily remarked that she was acquainted with his mother. Sometimes, they met at the fish market. Asrar had no prior knowledge of this. She also said that she and Asrar’s father were classmates in school. Two girls in school uniform entered the house that instant. The woman introduced them as Maryam and Rukhsana. They were Ali’s younger sisters who studied in sixth grade at the English-medium school. They wished Asrar. The phone rang. The woman picked up the receiver from the corner of the showcase and started talking. It was Mohammad Ali on the line. The woman told Asrar that Ali wanted to talk to him. They spoke and Ali insisted that he should have lunch at his house. Asrar had to give in to Ali’s persuasion.

During the conversation, Asrar came to know that the name of the beautiful woman was Rehana Begum, and she was Ali’s father’s second wife. Ali and Saira were children from his first wife, while Maryam and Rukhsana were Rehana’s children. But it was the result of Rehana’s good nature and compassion that the kids never felt this difference. They had food after the noon prayers. He ate surmai fish and fried bombil to his heart’s content. While biding adieu, Rehana gave a small parcel for Ali which Asrar took with him.

The weather outside seemed pleasant. Clouds were rushing to cover the sky again. People were enjoying the weather in their courtyards. All shops except the ones selling cigarettes and paan were open. Asrar saw one of his schoolteachers and stopped to wish him and chat with him. When Asrar returned home his mother had already slept.

He lay down next to her.

By the evening relatives started arriving. Amusing stories were being exchanged. The people of Mabadmorpho were experts at telling stories when they got together.

Asrar told one of his relatives about Rehana Begum’s good nature and warmth. The relative added to those praises. He also said something about Ali’s mother Rashida, which left him grief-stricken. He started seeing the manifestations of this tragedy in Mohammad Ali’s personality. He realized that Ali had a huge wound in his heart which he tried to cure through his wanderings in Mumbai. These thoughts about Ali made him wonder about himself. Was there any part of his life which he couldn’t recollect or did not have the strength to recollect? Could it be that the incident had been submerged so deep into the subconscious that he had to put in extra effort to dig it open? He tried pondering it over but each time his mind travelled to some other thought, and he tried in vain to bring it back. He was at an argument with himself about why he could not focus on what he really wanted to think.