Resumo de Go Placidly Amidst The Noise And The Din-4

It rained all through the night. A cool breeze blew.
"Where did the old woman live all these years?"Sudhakar thought, obsessed as he was with her. He lay on the bed, gazing at nothing. He could not get sleep even with effort . He slept fitfully and woke up at four o'clock in the morning. The various images of the old woman clad in dirty rags, her legs paralyzed, and her feeble efforts to move down the risky slope appeared before her mind's canvas, one after the other. She possessed him, becoming his thought centre, as it were.
Sudhakar woke up abruptly as he heard the harsh sound of the buzzer. The milkman had arrived. He pressed the push-button hard and long, though he was advised not to do so. The sudden, grating noise was quite a nuisance in the early hours.
Mother woke up, put the light on and took the milk. Sudhakar too got up.There was no point in stretching himself over the bed when he could not get any sleep. He opened the door and looked out from the gallery. It was raining. Over the sky, he noticed a few stars, still twinkling but fading out.
Sudhakar liked the breeze and he felt delighted. From the tulasi plant, drops of water fell on the glllery intermittently. They looked like melted silver.
It was Saturday. The office opened for half-day only. It was a day when every one did the work quickly and enthusiastically so as to reach home early and prepare for the Sunday.
But then, alas, Monday followed again. Like so many others, Sudhakar was caught in that unchanging routine. The compartment was overcrowded and he managedn to squeeze on to a half-seat. He held on firmly to the packet given to him by his mother.
Getting down at the Bombay Central Station, he looked in the direction of the station canteen. As expected, Venkat was standing there and a cigar dangled between his lips. Venkat signalled his presence. Sudhakar raced gowards his friend. He shook his shoulders vigorously and, without returning Venkat's beaming smile, he asked,"Venkat, how's your daddy?"
Venkat's smile faded, as he heard his friend's anxious querry. In fact, the smile was a camouflage. He looked sad. The atmosphere at his home had been getting depressing day by day. Remembering that, he felt miserable for a while. His father would hold a book and sit out whole day quietly, making an effort to read it. His mother did the household chores mechanically. On the previous day, Venkat had entered the kitchen unexpectedly. He had found his mother bathed in trears.
Venkat held Sudhakar's hand firmly and said,"Since yesterday, a Malayala Pandit has been giving treatment to Daddy. He says he is feeling better."
......As usual, beggars squatted in rows on both sides of the bridge. In a corner, a woman was cooking some food over an oven improvished out of bricks. Two nacked childfren were quarreling.
A mangy dog, its tail folded, was lying, beside.
The friends walked briskly and Sudhakar was eager to reach the fig tree. Venkat just could not make out why his friend felt so much for the old woman. But he did not want to disconcert him in any way. He, however, planned to borrow some money from Sudhakar for his pocket expenses, for the remaining ten days of the month. This was not unusual. It was his practice at the fag end of every month and Sudhakar helped himout willingly.
Reaching the road, they looked out for the old woman below the fig tree. She was not there. Sudhakar stood still, transfixed. Venkat was also confused. They approached the tree. Sudhakar recognized the two broken pieces of the glass that belonged to the old woman.
They tarried there for a while, questioning each other with their eyes.
Venkat swept the glass pieces with his shoes to a corner of the footpath.
"What could have happened to the old woman?" asked Sudhakar mechanically.
"What is the worst that could happen to her?" said Venkat surveying the visible corners. And, there lo! He saw the old woman sitting in the outer circle of the station. He shouted, "she is! Your old woman wthn the hyptonic powers!"

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