Of Marriageable Age

Paul was four when the sahib took him away from the place with all the children. He would never forget that day. He awoke to the sound of banging on a big brass plate: that was Sister Maria, waking the children, while outside the crows cawed in great excitement as if they knew the day was special, flying off in a turbulence of flapping, clapping wings. He kneeled on his mat for his prayer and then, stretching and yawning, he got up and went outside for a pee-pee. - OO Next to the tap by the well stood the buckets of waiting water, | each with three metal cups hanging over the side. The children - | jostled forward chattering and laughing, and Paul was last, as usual. He ladled up a cup of water and threw it all over himself, one half down his front and the other over his shoulder, so that his skin glistened and all the pores stood out like they did on a plucked chicken. He had his very own piece of soap, now the size of a one-rupee coin, with which he rubbed himself down till he was covered in bubbles, and then he sloshed off the suds with three cups of cold water, all by himself. You had to bathe with only four cups of water, Sister Bernadette said, because water was precious and the well was almost empty and no-one knew if the east monsoon would come this year, «and if it didn't, well, they’d have to ; stop bathing and washing, and then they’d have to stop drinking ....