“Shyam, why didn’t you come to see me? When I left, didn’t your world go with me? That day I went away in anger, but didn’t I return? My little boy, you were so young then. How did you manage without me? Come, see me.”

Shyam saw this in a dream. Even before he woke up in the morning, the memory of it lingered. Leaving aside everything else, he kept thinking about his mother. He was learning to serve his mother whenever he could. Thoughts of his mother filled his mind. At night, Shyam dreamt that his mother was calling out to him with love. He felt a strange happiness.

But then a worry crept in—Is mother well? The thought kept coming to his mind, and he felt an urge to leave home and go see her. But there was a lot of money needed for the journey, and the question of money was always there.

Shyam had a friend named Namdev. He was just as sensitive and understanding as Shyam. Shyam told him everything. The previous day, Namdev had received a money order of ten rupees. He gave that money to Shyam and urged him to go home and see his mother.

Shyam didn’t have much luggage. He took only what was necessary and set out. Namdev came to see him off at the station. He helped Shyam—

He told Rao Pavn about the letter. “If I had money, I would have come with you,” he expressed his regret.

The train departed. Memories of his mother filled Shyam’s eyes with tears. He leaned out of the window, lost in thought. He got down at the Boribunder station. On his way to Girgaon, he lost his way after meeting Rao. Instead of turning, he went straight towards the boat dock. He boarded the boat. With him, he carried a copy of Rabindranath Tagore’s “Gitanjali.” The feelings Tagore wrote about for his mother resonated deeply with Shyam’s own emotions. For a while, he closed the book and gazed at the sea. As one wave follows another, so did one memory of his mother follow another in his mind—memory upon memory, each one coming before his eyes. Immersed in these memories of his mother, he lost himself completely.

The boat reached the Harnai port. The passengers prepared to disembark. Shyam readied himself. He thought, “In seven or eight hours, I will see my mother again.”

The boat reached the harbor. The passengers were dropped off at the camp. Shyam too got down. The camp dispersed. He saw someone walking ahead as if searching for their own path. But he paid no attention to them, his mind fixed on his mother.

As soon as the camp ended, Shyam quickly got down and arrived at the port. He began to walk briskly. Just then, he saw his aunt. She asked, “Aunt, is that you here? Weren’t you going back to Pune? Is mother well?”

Aunt came, weeping. Through her tears, she said, “Shyam, your