The night is inky black and thick with humidity. Anju is in bed reading, occasionally wiping the sweat off the back of her neck, when there is a sudden crashing and banging on the roof. She jumps up and runs into the living room and sees water streaming down the windowpanes. She steps onto the porch and, sheltered by the overhang, hears the muffled shouts of men. Devjani’s pig is squealing, and Baby is braying hysterically. The monsoon has begun, and the earth is going mad. 

     She sees that Baby has broken through the fence and is moving down the slope to the ravine. Amir and some other men are trying to pull him off his course, but Baby is panicked and not yielding to them. Amir sees Anju and yells, “Go to the shed and get a flashlight.” She moves through the downpour and finds one, tests the batteries, and runs across the yard, which has become a carpet of mud. The water in the ravine is swirling and rising.

     Amir shouts through the rain, “Get in front, shine the light in his face!” Anju tries but loses her footing and drops the flashlight. Amir reaches for her, but she slips away from him and slides a few yards further down the slope. Baby, with his big muzzle and huge bulk, moves towards her. At the last moment, Anju finds the flashlight in the mud and shines the light in Baby’s eyes, and he stops, confused. The men grab his halter and pull him back to the yard. Ann walks towards the porch, badly shaken, her heart pounding

     She sees Bijul sitting on the ground waving his pudgy arms and screaming. Anju runs to him, picks him up, and carries him to Amir’s porch. She sits, the child on her lap, warm against her skin. She croons to him, and it calms them both. She hears Bijul’s mother calling for her child. Anju steps into the light and yells, “I’ve got him, I’ve got him.” She holds Bijul up so Devyani can see him and crosses the yard, which has become a field of mud, to deliver the child to his mother. As she walks back to Amir’s, she lifts her face to the sky and lets the rush of warm water run down her body and wash the mud out of her hair. An inexplicable joy comes over her, and her tears flow into the rain