CHAPTER 49

Summary

• Baby Mol, who is actually forty-one years old, is restless one day after a monsoon and becomes upset and unwell.
• Early the next morning, Elsie screams upon seeing a horrifying sight outside the window- Baby Ninan, their child, impaled on a tree branch.
• Philipose, the husband, and Shamuel, a family friend, pull Ninan's body from the branch and lay him on the ground, but he is already dead.
• Philipose tries to rush his son to the hospital, but his son is too far gone and his ankles are broken.
• A crowd of family and friends follow Philipose, watching as he finally falls to his knees, clutching his son's body.
• After Ninan's body is taken away, Philipose blames himself for Ninan's death, hating himself for not seeing Ninan climb the tree and ultimately blaming Elsie for expressing her wish to cut the tree down in the first place.
• He and Elsie face each other in anger and resentment, both blaming each other for their son's death.
• Elsie decides to leave Philipose, taking a few belongings and saying only "Let's go."