That room wouldn’t have stood a chance against Korok’s house, which was just this one room and the kitchen. There was Korok’s bed, a small chipped mirror on the far wall, a wooden shelf on another wall, and some clothes heaped on a knock-kneed stool in the corner. That was it.

It was the barest room she had ever seen, but also, in a way she thought she should try to understand, the most complete. Like Korok. He was sitting there, with his bandaged foot hanging over the bed, eating, in a room with all his possessions, which she could put in a single bag and take away in a minute, and he seemed perfectly calm and content.

Then Anchita thought she should ask Korok why he didn’t have flowers inside the room, but didn’t ask him. Which reminded her of something.

‘Also, Korok, I watered all the flowers, so you need not worry about them,’ she said.

Korok dropped the morsel he was trying to stuff in his mouth, and on his face there spread such a look of complete horror that Anchita began laughing but stopped.

‘No! I was just joking. You know, a joke? Something funny? I am so sorry. I would never touch your flowers. Okay? But if there is something that needs to be done today in the garden, something very simple and easy to do, please tell me. I can help. You can come back to the garden tomorrow if you feel like, and eat with us.’

Korok thought about the many complex things he had to do around the garden, and whether he should take her help. Perhaps with a few things here and there. Only the simple things.

‘And after you have lunch, you must eat the cake.’

Not the kek, please, Korok thought. But he couldn’t run away now. Besides, with his injured foot, he wouldn’t reach very far.

‘Korok?’

He looked up.

‘You don’t have a bathroom. Where do you take a bath?’

‘We go to the river.’

‘Every day?’

Korok didn’t take a bath as far as he could help it, so if he said ‘yes’, he would be lying. But he didn’t want Anchita to think he was strange because he didn’t like taking a bath, so he just nodded.

‘Umm, what about, you know, toilet?’

Korok grinned. Nobody talked about such things with him.

‘We go to the river,’ he said again.

‘Every day?’

‘Yes.’

Anchita thought about it. She had never really considered the fact that there were people in the world who did not have a bathroom or toilet of their own. Of course, she knew about it, but hadn’t really thought what it would be like to live like that.

‘You know, the government is building toilets for everyone, all across the country. We were taught this in school. It is a very important project,’ she said.