Page 154 - Leadership in the Indian Army

bulldozed you. You stood no chance against it."

A wave of affection overcame Laila. From then on, she would always

remember Babi this way: reminiscing about Mammy, with his elbows on

the rock, hands cupping his chin, his hair ruffled by the wind, eyes

crinkled against the sun.

"I'm going to look at some of those caves," Tariq said.

"Be careful," said Babi.

"I will, Kakajan," Tariq's voice echoed back.

Laila watched a trio of men far below, talking near a cow tethered to a
fence. Around them, the trees had started to turn, ochre and orange,

scarlet red.

"I miss the boys too, you know," Babi said. His eyes had welled up a

tad. His chin was trembling. "I may not… With your mother, both her joy

and sadness are extreme. She can't hide either. She never could. Me, I
suppose I'm different. I tend to…But it broke me too, the boys dying. I

miss them too. Not a day passes that I…It's very hard, Laila. So very

hard." He squeezed the inner corners of his eyes with his thumb and

forefinger. When he tried to talk, his voice broke. He pulled his lips over

his teeth and waited. He took a long, deep breath, looked at her. "But
I'm glad I have you. Every day, I thank God for you. Every single day.

Sometimes, when your mother's having one of her really dark days, I

feel like you're all I have, Laila."
Laila drew closer to him and rested her cheek up against his chest. He

seemed slightly startled-unlike Mammy, he rarely expressed his affection