Most people are packing up and leaving. There is no gainsaying the danger that lurks. The lifeless nights belie the tragic dawn that looms. The alleys are laden with omen, the streets, morbid. Hush pervades everywhere. No one seems to want to even remember the recent past much more relive it. They just seem to want to be as far away from it as possible. Not even calls to the spirits of the land helps. Too much pain it seems lingers to have to add more.
The countdown is long and dreary. In fact, no one seems to know when it would happen. Rumours spread fast and seem only to intensify the horror many can no longer but wear around. This in turn accelerates the depletion that threatens to turn Iludun into a ghost town. Some pockets of resistance conjure scheming, the desire to remind all of which witnesses seem unrepentant. Yet, that people seem to recognize the irony in leaving town being acquiescence to the very tyranny they so abhor is evident on literally every lip.
There has even been talk of an implosion. The permeation into the fabric of society by its varied interests however clearly negates that tendency. Besides, some argue that perhaps even the survival of the shylocks may be what would guarantee perpetuity of their peoples with the arena more even.
Joe and his family are at the crossroads. They lack the resources to dare the imminent virulent rage. They want to leave too but they seem stuck. They hear that it may even be a ploy that some sort of purge is necessary for the town to be viable, to which some say the events leading up to the impending crisis bear out. Joe must know. He is also now jobless, as is his wife. Perhaps, this is why some want him to lead the protests, which they argue is the answer to the crisis.
One asks at the penultimate meeting at Joe’s why medicines should only be available to some and not all. The response is unanimous, decisions on specific actions deferred. The final meeting though never takes place. With just a few days to go before what many consider the town’s Armageddon, the decision over whether or not to live apparently prevails. Many of those that clamour for change leave town presumably to fight another day.
Joe also finally decides, but to stay. His family supports him. Bose seems even more resolute than her husband. She says she is staying as Joe is but for a different reason. They both agree that the system continues to fail Steve, their eight-year old son who is brain damaged and paraplegic. However, and unlike her husband, Bose also believes Steve when he says what he calls the curse would spare the town this time. In fact, she tells everyone who cares to listen to stay. They in turn beg her to leave. They remind her about what Steve is going through. They even ask who would care for them if she and her husband were afflicted this time.
To some, Joe is a rabble-rouser on a suicide mission, and they wonder aloud why he should want to take his family along. Bose tells them he only wants justice. They tell her he cannot win. She says even the shylocks would eventually cower to the people. They seem to understand her point that someone has to do other works. She says that is why they cannot afford to decimate the populace. It seems though that she is unable to convince her audience not to leave town. The stories others peddle about a conspiracy appear more persuasive. This is more so given the debate weeks earlier on the need as some, incidentally the conspiracy theorists, contend to limit the inflow of people into the town.
Bose often tells her husband that different interests would sometimes clash, evidence of which she insists is their grievance over Steve’s predicament. Yet, she always adds that interests also often find common ground. Joe blames the authorities for not adequately preparing the people before the scourge strikes, and is angry that they do not provide care for many who cannot afford it, for which he says his son now suffers. But he says he has recently been meeting with the authorities to effect policy changes that would extend care to all. Bose seems pleased that he is, after all.
She often asks Steve why he talks about a curse. He tells her it is retribution for the very ills some complain the shylocks perpetrate. She admits to being amazed at Steve’s coping ability, and at that rather than feel sorry for himself, he exudes hope. When she asks him about these things, he merely smiles. Steve often talks about matters his mother openly considers too complicated for the mind of a child, but remembers his doctor once saying his illness may change him in profound ways as his damaged brain adjusts to its new realities.
Steve seems to have unusual perceptual abilities, to which he ascribes some of the many messages from those he calls, his friends. Many of these messages Bose however, says bother her as they do not appear to be from anyone of those that call Steve. Yet the messages are not often just predictive, but accurately so. When one day Steve says he has an urgent message for her, she is understandably anxious. She puts off the stove and hurries to his bedside. Joe is just back home and fuming over officialdom.
Steve is outwardly calm. His eyes slowly navigate the room as if he seeks something. His radio is off this time. At first he says nothing. Bose sits near him, and asks to ensure everything is ok. He answers in the affirmative and smiles. His message this time is unequivocally grim. Shivering, he apologizes for being wrong about the curse, which he says has now arrived but he is glad spares his parents. His eyes start to close. Bose hollers for Joe. By the time he arrives, Steve is gone.
