9 Lack of feelings Late afternoon on the third day, we got off the train. The train station was very noisy. I tightly held on to ammamma’s hand. We started walking to the front of the station. And there it was. The engine. Huge. Black. Steam was coming out from everywhere. It formed a thick mist around us. Then I saw them. Through the steam. Two people walking towards us. Young. Well dressed. Ammamma bent down and whispered in my ear. She said, ‘These are your parents.’ I didn’t understand. What did that mean? How were they different from ammamma and ammachan? They were just people I had never met before. I felt nothing. Nothing at all. I went back home after the holidays. When I started telling my friends about the trip, I began to understand. There was a difference. A big one. Ammamma and ammachan were my grandparents. Ammamma bent down and whispered, “These are your parents.”
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