ABSTRACT
Meena cannot remember a time when she did not dread babies. They creep up on her out of nowhere. As she walks out of her office, she fishes inside her handbag for a pair of dark sunglasses, her protection against the children from the daycare center walking around the courtyard in a crocodile. Walking towards the train station in the middle of the afternoon, she feels lightheaded. She has felt this way every since she woke up this morning and realized her resolve. She has decided to kill herself. The thought has been niggling at her for some time, since the miscarriage. For weeks, Meena told Zenobia the story of her life and for weeks Zenobia looked bored and irritated. Meena told Zenobia about men poking around her insides with sharp instruments as if she were the engine of a car. Meena told Zenobia about David's two blond girls, lying in wait at home like hungry cats.
