Chapter 2 1988 – Colombo Kayalvizhi opened her eyes and caught a glimpse of the eerie darkness. The stillness of the night was disrupted when somebody switched on the room light. The circadian rhythm of her usual wake up time was advanced to 4 am that day. ‘Wake up, Kayal, wake up,’ her Amma was shaking her from her sleep. Is Kayal awake?, Appa called out loud from the hall. Kayal, its 4 o’clock, you have to do some revision,’ Amma was shaking her. Gradually, Kayal got up, rubbing her eyes and went to the bathroom. She wore her neatly pressed white uniform and sat with Appa to do last-minute revision in Tamil and Maths till 6.30am before setting off to school. ‘Ah, the bell is ringing. It’s a good omen pillai, vaa’, Mr.Anthonypillai, alias Anton Sir, Kayal’s father, squeezed her hand as a passing cyclist snapped his bell . Appa was relentless, ‘Come, come’, he hurried, ‘Come soon’. Kayal had barely tied her shoe laces when he pulled her to the ...
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