Lakshmi takes out a folded handkerchief and a bottle of water from her bag. She wets the handkerchief and dabs my face.
Jeevan fans me with a piece of folded paper.
I stare up at them all, still feeling queasy.
“I don’t want to get your hopes up,” says the nurse, “but there is one last room.” She pats my hand. “A small one on the left over there, with a man who keeps shouting in his sleep, disturbing the others. That’s why he’s in the room by himself.”
I struggle to my feet. “What if it’s not him?”
“We won’t know until we go and look,” says Jeevan. “We’ve got one more chance.”
The sweet scent of jasmine blows in through an open window, filling me with memories of home, of Ma, Roopa and Rohan, Moormanali.
The nurse shows us to the room and I try to control my racing heart.
“I’ll wait out here,” says Lakshmi.
I push the handle down and creak the door open. Even with Jeevan right beside me, I hesitate before walking in.
The bandaged figure on the bed faces away from me. All I can see are a pair of scarred hands resting on the white sheet. I put the mango seedling on the table and creep closer, moving around the bottom of the bed to get a better look.
My papa’s hands were smooth and strong but these are blistered and burnt.
His eyes are squeezed closed, his cracked lips parted, he looks so old and in pain, but I’d know that face anywhere!
“Papa! I’ve found you … at last!”
I throw my arms around his thin body, resting my head lightly on his chest. My tears drip onto the woolen blanket, slowly at first, then spilling out as fast as the Ganges.
“What happened to you, Papa?” I touch the bandage on his forehead, but he doesn’t open his eyes, and fear flashes through me.
“Asha! You found him!” Jeevan flings his arm around my shoulder.
I lean into him. “We found him.”
The nurse rushes in, followed by Lakshmi.
“It is your papa, then?” asks the nurse.
“What wonderful news, Asha,” says Lakshmi, grasping my hand.
“It is,” I say, my voice trembling. “But he won’t open his eyes and I don’t know what’s wrong with him … He’s not like the papa I remember at all.”
“We don’t know exactly what happened in the factory. He was unconscious when he came in. We think he has traumatic amnesia.”
“What does that mean? When will he open his eyes and recognize me? What’s wrong with him?”
“It means he can’t remember anything,” says Jeevan, pulling his arm tighter around my shoulder.
The nurse frowns. “He couldn’t tell us who he was. He must have had a fall. Because he didn’t have any documents on him, nobody knew who to contact.”
“But he will get better … Won’t he?” I grasp the nurse’s arm.
“Listen … You have to be brave. This is hard for me to tell you, especially since your ma is so far away, but I have to be honest with you—he might have permanent brain damage.”
Lakshmi gives the nurse a hard stare.
Papa’s breathing is even and hardly sounds like anything’s wrong at all. Maybe they’re mistaken and when he wakes up he’ll be the same as before.
“Sorry, I know it’s not what you want to hear.”
My throat is tight with grief. “So he may never remember me?”
You wouldn’t believe what’s happened to these children and how they’ve fought to get here,” Lakshmi says to the nurse. “They need to stay positive.”
Nurse Marler bristles. “But he’s still not well, and I don’t want to raise hopes only for them to be disappointed … The fact is, we really don’t know what the long-term effects of his accident will be.” She checks Papa’s notes. “But now that the family has been located, it may be possible to discharge him.”
“You can all stay with us for a few days before going back,” Lakshmi leaps in. “You can’t travel with him like this.”
“But we have to be back home by Divali.” My voice is panicky. “I need to let Ma know that we’ve found him and we’ll be home by then.”
“Just a few days,” Lakshmi says again. “Do you have your ma’s phone number?”
“There’s no signal in the village,” I say.
“Maybe we can send a telegram instead? Old ways are best! Your ma will get the message on the same day and it’s a week until Divali … plenty of time for you all to recover.”
“Can I stay with him tonight?” I ask, gripping his hand tightly.
“Mmm …” ponders the nurse. “We usually wouldn’t allow it … but I’ll be able to twist the sister’s arm, in these special circumstances.”
“So it’s all settled,” says Lakshmi. “And I’ll get Raj to drop in a few things from home for you.”
“Can you bring me a deeva, please? It might help him to get better. Now that I’ve found him, I’m not leaving him for a minute.”
Jeevan gives me a clumsy hug. “See you in the morning, Asha.” He’s trying to hide it but I know he’s as worried as I am. “Everything’s going to be fine … Just look at the bright green bud on the mango seedling.”
A little while later there’s a knock on the door and it opens slightly. “All sorted with the sister in charge.” The nurse winks at me. “Your funny friend Raj dropped this off for you—honestly, he had us all in stitches—some fresh clothes, something to eat, and a few deevay, he said.”
I take the bag. “Thank you.”
“Be careful with the deeva though, won’t you? I shouldn’t really let you but you’ve wrapped me right around your little finger, and if it gives you a little hope …” Her voice trails off.
I give her my best smile in case she changes her mind.
Outside, the sun is setting, sending rays of darkest orange and purple bursting onto Papa’s
