Books & Beyond

The mother's quiet morning is shattered when her cousin's son arrives to tell them that he saw her younger son in town this morning, captured and marching towards the prison with dozens of other young men to be executed tomorrow.

The mother's day is brightened by the news that her elder son's wife is now expecting a child. However, she can't help but feel a new level of anxiety, wondering if the baby will be born safe and sound. At the same time, the mother secretly worries as she continues to wait for her younger son, who never showed up after that night.

The younger son does not return until a month later and the mother could do nothing but wait in silence with the bag hidden under her bed. This day, however, there is good news from her elder son, informing the mother that she will soon become a grandmother. This sweeps away some of the gloom from the mother's heart.

One night when the moonlight is faint, the younger son returns home again, but with two young men dressed in black clothes like him and were all quiet the whole time. In whisper, the younger son delivers a bag to be hidden under the mother's bed and asks her to tell no one. He promises to return in three days to retrieve the bag but never shows up.

But the mother sees no fault in her younger son at all, only comfort and solace, despite his harsh words against his elder brother. Each of his visits became a celebration, marked by the small "store" of modest gifts and treats she diligently and secretly saves up for him.

From time to time, the younger son comes to visit and brings both hope and disappointment to the mother. His carefree nature has changed, and his fierce talks about the troubled times and social injustice puzzle the villagers. Despite his promises to return, he leaves home in secret and in haste each time, coming and going as he wishes, leaving the mother worried and hoping for his return.

In the aftermath of her daughter's passing, the mother faces the ebb and flow of her own struggles. The compassionate support of her neighbors and cousin's wife offers a glimmer of comfort, yet the weight of her perceived sins casts a shadow on her spirit. Despite the emptiness left by her daughter's absence, the mother finds solace in the everyday presence of her younger son. As time goes on, the mother clings to a newfound inner peace, acknowledging the possibility that, in some mysterious way, her daughter's departure may have spared the poor girl from all the myriad challenges of life.

Distraught with her weariness, the mother and her younger son come back to their home. The villagers of the hamlet gather to comfort her, but nothing can ease the pain for the loss of her daughter, and she weeps her heart out. In the aftermath of that day, the mother, physically and emotionally drained, seeks solace in the quiet of her home. Her younger son, worn and weary, finds respite beside her, bringing a semblance of peace to the once tumultuous evening.

The mother and her son finally arrive at the blind daughter's new home in the harsh mountains, only to be met with her dead body. Her husband’s family, looking wild and grubby, denies of ever mistreating her. Overwhelmed with grief, the mother discovers her maid's lifeless body with sorrow and anger. The son urges a hasty departure, as he fears for their own safety if tensions rise. Despite a poor attempt to confront the villagers, the mother reluctantly leaves with her younger son, haunted by heart wrenching grief.

As the mother and her younger son travel closer to her blind daughter’s new home, she notices the once lovely view of hills changing into stony and barren mountains. They come across two houses on a ridge and was fraught with anticipation and confusion, with the mother searching for her missing maid among unfamiliar faces and thinking of taking her home.