She was found. The day had come. Valar was going to see Bani, her mother. The skies were blue, but not too blue. It was the kind of blue that made the greens look greener, the earth softer; it reminded Valar of places with streams and apple trees, kids with nose leaks in sweaters and birds all puffed up. Valar was on a bus that travelled from Palghat to Calicut. It was crammed full but the wind that rushed in as they sped past stretches of paddy fields was cool and comforting. Valar had managed a seat but on her lap she had a boy of about three, his mother stood somewhere in the crowd. The boy dozed. Valar tenderly held his head in place. When she last saw her mother, Valar was about as old as the stranger boy on her lap, yet the day was still vivid in…