too.
âKolkata dirt,â I said, holding the cup out again. âItâs on me and in me.â
He gave up. A stream of hot tea flowed from the kettle into the cup in my hand.
âDrink it quickly,â he said. âMy brother could come back.â
The tea was too hot, so I took it away and sat among the roots of a banyan tree. The tree had come up through the sidewalk, pushing the slabs of cement to the side as it grew.
I sipped my tea next to the clay statues of two gods that had been left there during the Durga-puja. The statues were crumbling a bit. The fingers on one had turned to dust, and part of the nose on the other had disappeared. Their painted-on clothes had once been bright blue and yellow, but the colors were now hidden under a layer of grime.
Still, the gods were smiling and friendly looking. I sipped my tea, held the cup up to their lips in case they were thirsty and asked them if they had enjoyed the festival.
They didnât say anything, but they kept smiling. I smiled with them, and we sat in the sun and enjoyed our tea.
For a few short moments, I didnât feel lonely.
For a few short moments, I almost had friends.
7
The River
I could make things happen.
Just by staring and concentrating hard, I could sometimes make things and people do what I wanted.
It was not a gift I used very often. Only when I needed to.
After I left the tea seller, I needed to.
I was hungry.
By the middle of the day, the full belly feeling of the tea had worn off. It felt like my luck was taking a holiday.
I went down to the river to try to get it back.
In Kolkata they call it the Hooghly. North of Kolkata itâs called the Ganges. South of Kolkata it empties into the Bay of Bengal.
I know this because I saw it on a map in a bookstore before the owner threw me out.
I went down to the river and went into the water. People threw coins into the river to be blessed by Mother Ganges. My plan was to pick up some of those coins and use them to buy something to eat.
I had done it many times. Many.
But today I had no luck. I kept diving and feeling around in the mud. I kept coming up with nothing.
I climbed up on an old cement pier to take a rest. When I donât eat for a long time, I canât move as fast or for as long. I get tired faster.
While I was sitting there, I decided to try to use my powers on a little girl who was also sitting on the pier a short distance from me.
She had been lucky. She had a little pile of coins beside her, and she was playing with them, clinking them together over and over and driving me quite crazy.
âDirvala, come and eat!â A woman waved to the girl from the steps.
âIn a minute,â the little girl answered.
âNot in a minute. Come now.â
The little girl turned her head, pretending not to hear.
The woman went back to arranging food on a cloth. There were a few other people around helping â an older woman, a man, a few more children. They all looked happy and relaxed.
The bathing ghat was busy. The sun was shining and the day was a little warmer than recent days had been. The broad stone steps down into the water were full of people having picnics, doing yoga or soaping themselves before diving into the water. Others scooped up mud from the river bed, smeared it on their bodies and let it dry in the sun. A couple getting married were performing a ceremony on shore. People were saying prayers and giving offerings of fruit, flowers and incense. A lot of children were diving for coins.
Turn your head, I silently ordered the little girl. Leave your coins alone and turn away. Just for a moment.
I kept concentrating.
The girlâs mother called again for her to hurry up. It was time to eat. The girl kept ignoring her.
Then the girlâs granny got into the act. One shout from the old lady, the girl dropped her coins and turned her head.
And I pounced.
I had the coins in my hand and was under the water before the girl
âKolkata dirt,â I said, holding the cup out again. âItâs on me and in me.â
He gave up. A stream of hot tea flowed from the kettle into the cup in my hand.
âDrink it quickly,â he said. âMy brother could come back.â
The tea was too hot, so I took it away and sat among the roots of a banyan tree. The tree had come up through the sidewalk, pushing the slabs of cement to the side as it grew.
I sipped my tea next to the clay statues of two gods that had been left there during the Durga-puja. The statues were crumbling a bit. The fingers on one had turned to dust, and part of the nose on the other had disappeared. Their painted-on clothes had once been bright blue and yellow, but the colors were now hidden under a layer of grime.
Still, the gods were smiling and friendly looking. I sipped my tea, held the cup up to their lips in case they were thirsty and asked them if they had enjoyed the festival.
They didnât say anything, but they kept smiling. I smiled with them, and we sat in the sun and enjoyed our tea.
For a few short moments, I didnât feel lonely.
For a few short moments, I almost had friends.
7
The River
I could make things happen.
Just by staring and concentrating hard, I could sometimes make things and people do what I wanted.
It was not a gift I used very often. Only when I needed to.
After I left the tea seller, I needed to.
I was hungry.
By the middle of the day, the full belly feeling of the tea had worn off. It felt like my luck was taking a holiday.
I went down to the river to try to get it back.
In Kolkata they call it the Hooghly. North of Kolkata itâs called the Ganges. South of Kolkata it empties into the Bay of Bengal.
I know this because I saw it on a map in a bookstore before the owner threw me out.
I went down to the river and went into the water. People threw coins into the river to be blessed by Mother Ganges. My plan was to pick up some of those coins and use them to buy something to eat.
I had done it many times. Many.
But today I had no luck. I kept diving and feeling around in the mud. I kept coming up with nothing.
I climbed up on an old cement pier to take a rest. When I donât eat for a long time, I canât move as fast or for as long. I get tired faster.
While I was sitting there, I decided to try to use my powers on a little girl who was also sitting on the pier a short distance from me.
She had been lucky. She had a little pile of coins beside her, and she was playing with them, clinking them together over and over and driving me quite crazy.
âDirvala, come and eat!â A woman waved to the girl from the steps.
âIn a minute,â the little girl answered.
âNot in a minute. Come now.â
The little girl turned her head, pretending not to hear.
The woman went back to arranging food on a cloth. There were a few other people around helping â an older woman, a man, a few more children. They all looked happy and relaxed.
The bathing ghat was busy. The sun was shining and the day was a little warmer than recent days had been. The broad stone steps down into the water were full of people having picnics, doing yoga or soaping themselves before diving into the water. Others scooped up mud from the river bed, smeared it on their bodies and let it dry in the sun. A couple getting married were performing a ceremony on shore. People were saying prayers and giving offerings of fruit, flowers and incense. A lot of children were diving for coins.
Turn your head, I silently ordered the little girl. Leave your coins alone and turn away. Just for a moment.
I kept concentrating.
The girlâs mother called again for her to hurry up. It was time to eat. The girl kept ignoring her.
Then the girlâs granny got into the act. One shout from the old lady, the girl dropped her coins and turned her head.
And I pounced.
I had the coins in my hand and was under the water before the girl
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