"Yes, I see now, my Baba,[1] I was mistaken—but trial tests a person."
"Mashi!"
"Do try to sleep, dear!"
"Let me think a little, let me talk. Don't be vexed, Mashi!"
"Very well."
"Once, when I used to think I could not win Mani's heart, I bore it silently. But you"
"No, dear, I won't allow you to say that; I also bore it."
"Our minds, you know, are not clods of earth which you can possess by merely picking up. I felt that Mani did not know her own mind, and that one day at some great shock"
"Yes, Jotin, you are right."
"Therefore I never took much notice of her waywardness."
Mashi remained silent, suppressing a sigh. Not once, but often she had seen Jotin spending the night on the verandah wet with the splashing rain, yet not caring to go into his bedroom. Many a day he lay with a throbbing head, longing, she
- ↑ Baba literally means Father, but is often used by elders as a term of endearment. In the same way "Ma" is used.
