Amil and the After by Veera Hiranandani

Author:Veera Hiranandani [Hiranandani, Veera]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Penguin Young Readers Group
Published: 2024-01-23T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter Thirteen

Finally, that Thursday, Dadi came home with Papa. Papa carried her right up the stairs as though she were a young girl. He set her down on her feet, handed her a cane, and helped her hobble to her chair. Amil and Nisha brought her some chai, a bowl of rice, and sat near her on the daybed. Then Nisha asked if Dadi wanted her sewing or letters. Dadi shook her head.

“No,” she said, smiling with her mouth but not with her eyes, her skin still sallow. “I’m just happy to see your sweet faces. You don’t need to watch me like a child. Will you turn my chair toward the window?”

Amil got up and gently turned the chair. Dadi nodded and patted his hand, and he left her staring quietly out at the buildings and streets below.

Kazi was busy making biryani. Kazi only made biryani on special occasions, and Amil guessed that Dadi being home was a special occasion, even though she probably wouldn’t eat it. She had a very plain diet these days, mostly rice, roti, and yogurt.

The biryani took hours. Everything was seasoned and cooked separately and then layered together with the rice and cooked again. Amil wondered how Kazi had the patience to make it, but it was delicious to eat. Kazi used to make it with mutton, but now mutton was hard to find. The other thing about biryani was that it reminded Amil of their farewell party in Mirpur Khas. It was the last time they saw any of their friends and neighbors. He worried that the biryani might only taste of sad memories. It smelled so good, though, he would still want to eat it.

Just as Amil predicted, Dadi didn’t eat the biryani at dinner, and she retired to her room early. At midnight, she woke everyone up moaning loudly. Nisha first, of course, because she slept in the same room, but when her moaning reached Amil’s sleeping brain, he dreamt at first that it was Piku yowling in the night. He finally snapped out of his dream and went into Dadi’s room to see what was going on. Nisha had brought Dadi a cold cloth and sat by her side, placing it gently on her forehead.

“I’m such a burden,” Dadi moaned. “Go back to sleep.”

“No, Dadi,” Nisha said. “We just want you to feel better.”

Amil went over to her feet. They stuck out, small and wrinkled, from the shawl that covered her. Even though the night was warm, Dadi’s feet looked cold. He started to massage them, kneading her ankles and the bottoms of her feet firmly with his forefingers and thumbs. He wanted to distract her from the pain in her hip.

Papa had woken up from the noise as well. He came in and gave her two pills and some water. After a little while, she started to get drowsy, and they returned to the living room. Nisha decided to sleep there, too, to give Dadi a little space. She put her pillow and old bedroll down near Amil’s daybed.

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