Archive · 6 Sep 2026
Family Secrets Surface Amid a Doctor Visit and Digital Irritation
The narrator takes her aunt to a doctor because the aunt has diabetes and a worrying sore on her foot.
At the clinic, another woman plays loud videos on her phone.
This makes the narrator very upset because loud sounds already bother her.
Later, the woman’s daughter, Alvira, asks to meet the narrator privately.
Alvira thinks something that happened earlier may have been her fault.
While waiting at the clinic, the aunt explains that she helped pay for the family party.
She also says the narrator’s parents made fixed deposits using money the narrator had sent them.
The narrator is surprised and begins to wonder what else her family has kept secret.
The narrator takes Chhoto Mashi to a diabetologist after an infected foot boil and rising blood sugar.
At the clinic, a stylish woman initially refuses to lower the volume of her smartphone videos, upsetting the narrator.
Chandana Banerjee calls to arrange a secret meeting between the narrator and her daughter, Alvira.
Chhoto Mashi says she funded the narrator’s parents’ party and offers to make the narrator a nominee on her pension account.
She reveals that the parents’ fixed deposits were created with money the narrator regularly sent from Singapore.
- Who
- The narrator, Chhoto Mashi, Alvira, Chandana Banerjee, and the narrator’s parents are central to the account.
- What
- The narrator takes her aunt for medical care, learns of a planned secret meeting with Alvira, and discovers information about the family’s finances.
- When
- During a monsoon evening; the meeting with Alvira is arranged for the following day at 4 p.m.
- Where
- Kolkata, including a diabetologist’s chamber in a community building and a café previously visited by the narrator and Anish.
- Why
- The doctor’s visit is prompted by Chhoto Mashi’s rising blood sugar and infected foot boil, while the meeting is intended to discuss an earlier incident and undisclosed matters.
The Narrator’s Concerns
The Family’s Explanations
Phone use in public
The Narrator’s Concerns
The narrator believes loud smartphone videos disturb others and asks the woman to turn down the sound.
The Family’s Explanations
The woman initially ignores the request and appears to regard it as unreasonable, though she later reduces the volume.
Family party and finances
The Narrator’s Concerns
The narrator is upset that her parents seem unconcerned about Chhoto Mashi’s health and questions how they paid for the party.
The Family’s Explanations
Chhoto Mashi says she voluntarily paid for the party because the narrator’s mother has cared for her, and says the parents’ fixed deposits came from the narrator’s remittances.
Chhoto Mashi’s support
The Narrator’s Concerns
The narrator believes she is the person caring for Chhoto Mashi and managing practical matters such as her pension renewal.
The Family’s Explanations
Chhoto Mashi says the narrator’s mother gave her a home and that she would otherwise have stayed in an old-age home, while also offering the narrator access to her pension funds.
- Medical concern
- Chhoto Mashi has climbing blood sugar and an inflamed boil on her left foot.
- Doctor’s appointment
- The narrator immediately arranges a visit to a diabetologist.
- Clinic incident
- A woman watches Reels loudly on her iPhone in the waiting room before reducing the volume.
- Planned meeting
- Alvira asks to meet the narrator secretly at the café where the narrator met Anish.
- Meeting time
- The meeting is scheduled for the next day at 4 p.m.
- Financial revelation
- Chhoto Mashi says the parents’ fixed deposits were made with money the narrator regularly sent from Singapore.
- Pension account
- Chhoto Mashi offers to make the narrator a nominee so she can access the pension funds when needed.