The World We Found Read Online Free PDF Page A

softly that Kavita was unsure that she’d heard her correctly, “I should’ve been the one who landed in the hospital.”
    Kavita took her eyes off the road for a second. “What do you mean? She’s not in the hospital. She’s home.”
    “Not now. Then.”
    “What?”
    “Don’t you remember? After the march? She was in the hospital with a concussion.”
    It took her a minute to realize what Laleh was referring to. “You mean in 1979? After the laathi charge?”
    “Exactly.”
    “Huh.” Kavita waited, wondering why Laleh was bringing up ancient history. When she realized that Laleh was not going to amplify, she asked, “What’s making you think of this now?”
    Laleh looked at her, a furtive expression on her face. “I’m just wondering if the tumor happened because . . . she had that awful concussion, remember? And the amnesia?”
    As pragmatic as she is, Laleh can be so damn dramatic at times, Kavita thought. Thank God she married someone as even-tempered and easygoing as Adish. “That’s crazy talk, Lal,” she said.
    “Is it?” Laleh said noncommittally. “In any case, if I’d been there that day, I could’ve protected her.”
    “Protected her? From those police goons? The bastards went crazy that day. Believe me, I know. I was there.” An image of the dank jail cell and the humiliation that followed rose in Kavita’s mind, but she pushed it away. She had spent a lifetime running away from the room of laughing men and she wasn’t about to reenter it now.
    “And I wasn’t,” Laleh was saying. “That’s just it.”
    Why were they talking about an incident from thirty years ago? Now, when they had more urgent things to talk about? “Laleh, this is silly . . .” she began.
    “I know. I know.” Laleh shook her head. “Just forget it.”
    Kavita looked at her for a moment, puzzled. It’s the shock about Armaiti, she told herself. She’s not thinking straight. She cleared her throat. “Anyway. When do you want to go see Nishta?”
    “As soon as possible.”
    “It’s too bad they’re not listed in the phone book,” Kavita said. “This address sounds like it’s out in the boonies. It will be maddening to go all the way there if she’s not home.”
    “I know. But it can’t be helped. I promised Armaiti we would try.” Laleh stared out of the window for a moment. “I still can’t believe we’ve lost touch with Nishta and Iqbal so completely. I didn’t even know they’d moved from Mazgaon.”
    “Now, don’t go blaming yourself for yet another thing.” Kavita’s tone was teasing but firm. “ They pulled away from us. Remember how weird Iqbal acted at your house-warming party?” She entered the gates of the medical building, parked the car, and leaned over to give Laleh a kiss. “Today was a lucky day,” she said. “We’re going to see Nishta soon. Focus on that.”
    “You’re right. Listen, how about if I call you tonight and we figure out a time to go see Nishta this week? I can go any day except Thursday—that’s my day at the women’s shelter.”
    “Righto. Call me before ten, okay?”
    Laleh frowned. “Oh, wait. I just remembered, I have a stupid party to go to tonight. I’ll call you tomorrow. First thing.”
    “Okay,” Kavita nodded. “See you.” She was anxious to get away now, to be alone in the car, to savor the memory of the brief phone call to Armaiti earlier today. How happy Armaiti had been at the news of Mrs. Lokhanwala’s unexpected help. “Oh, thank you, Ka,” she’d said, and Kavita had shivered, remembering in a flash the first time Armaiti had shortened her name and how it had felt like a feather brushed across her face. The four of them had gone to Juhu Beach for the day and she and Armaiti had lain on the hot sand, their hands occasionally touching each other’s, staring up at the newly scrubbed sky. Kavita had felt languid, lulled into sleep by the heavy, salty sea air, and then singed into wakefulness every time Armaiti’s