“When I told him not to go back to study, I saw him come home like that. He stayed at home for about a month. Had the school not reopened yet? Maybe the plague was another reason,” said my brother to his wife, as he gathered cow dung cakes with care.

“Why are you so upset about it? Even if he has to struggle a little, he must go back. He cannot stay here just because there is food to eat at home. And even if he did stay, I would not let him remain idle,” my mother said, taking Shyam’s side.

“When friends say they can get him a job in the railways, if he gets a job there, that would be good. These days, where does one easily find work? You and your son should accept what comes,” said my brother.

“He is still so young; I don’t want him to start working yet. He has a desire to study. He has come here only for a while. He is not the kind to sit at home and do nothing!” said Aai.

“You always see only the good in your children. But sometimes what we say turns out to be true. He came home only because the times were difficult. One day, the truth will come out. You’ll see,” my brother was not ready to give up his argument.

Shyam and his younger brother, while chatting together, both fell asleep. Suddenly, Shyam had a dream and woke up. He heard his brother talking to their mother in a low voice. Listening to his brother’s words about himself, Shyam could not remain lying there. He got up and told his brother, “Brother, I was lying here quietly, listening to what you were saying to Mother. Suddenly, I woke up and heard your words. I came home only because there was plague in the town. But you do not trust me. I did not come home to eat or to sit and eat. Truly, I had no money to go anywhere else. I had to stay here. But the other students there started to avoid me. That’s why I had to come home. Let it be. Whether there is plague there or not, I will leave tomorrow. Just give me ten rupees for expenses.”

“Shyam, do not take your brother’s words to heart. If there is plague there, let it be; you can go later. Listen to what I say,” Mother said.

“I will not stay now. If I am to go tomorrow, I will go. Do not worry. God is there. He saves; no one can kill whom He protects,” Shyam replied to his mother.

“You are so stubborn! Just like your father! Go then. If you stay well, it is good. If you slip from my hands, so be it! God gives such precious children and then makes us weep by taking them away,” Mother said, wiping her eyes with the edge of her sari.

Shyam’s younger brother,