Cinnamon Gardens by Shyam Selvadurai

Author:Shyam Selvadurai
Language: eng
Format: mobi, epub
ISBN: 9781551997186
Publisher: McClelland & Stewart
Published: 1999-09-23T04:00:00+00:00

13

Swift as one’s hand to slipping clothes

Is a friend in need.

– The Tirukkural, verse 778

Time was running out. Paravathy and Muttiah would be here in two days.

At the end of the morning session the next day, Annalukshmi asked Miss Lawton and Nancy if she might have a word with them. Standing in the headmistress’s office, Annalukshmi told them of the arrival of Parvathy and Muttiah and the marriage that was being forced upon her.

“This is terrible,” Miss Lawton cried. “You cannot allow yourself to be married to a man you dislike, Anna. You simply cannot allow it. And a Hindu at that.”

Nancy looked at her friend. “You have some plan up your sleeve, don’t you?”

Annalukshmi nodded, then turned to Miss Lawton. “I am thinking,” she said, “of your friend Mary Sisler.”

She then told them of her notion. Her idea was to run away to Mary Sisler’s and stay there for the two weeks that Muttiah and Parvathy were in Ceylon. Mary Sisler was an old school friend of Miss Lawton. The three of them had often spent time together during their school holidays at the tea plantation in Nanu Oya where she lived with her husband. It would not be as if she were staying with a complete stranger. The month-long Christmas holidays began at the end of the week, so Miss Lawton would only have to arrange a relief teacher for a short while.

Miss Lawton placed a telephone call to her friend and explained that Annalukshmi was in a “spot of bother” and needed to stay with her for two weeks. Mary Sisler immediately agreed.

It was decided that Annalukshmi would take the morning train on Wednesday, the day that Parvathy and Muttiah arrived. Now that her escape was more of a reality, Annalukshmi felt a great sense of relief, a lightness within her.

It was further decided that afternoon that Mr. Jayaweera would chaperon her. At first Annalukshmi was reluctant to put him to such trouble, as he would have to take the train there and then immediately return, a seven-hour journey each way. Mr. Jayaweera was, however, insistent, pointing out that it was not safe for a young woman to travel alone.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.