Withering Hearts: Letter 1

20 / 08 / 1946

Dear Amelia,

I hope this letter finds you well because I am not.

No one of us here is.

The news of the Partition has become a reality now and every day we get bad news. It feels like… like maybe that’s the only solution—to separate Hindus from the Muslims.

Like you always said, we’re all humans and we must learn to stand united together. Believe me, I completely agree with you – I always did. But I don’t think that’s ever going to work now… not when politics is at play at the highest level. Maybe we should all be Gandhis and try to reason with each other…

Maybe we should stop each other and talk things out – do a lecture on humanity and kindness.

Maybe –

But, none of that is going to work.

We just got the news that Uncle Madhav has disappeared and was last seen on the outskirts of Calcutta. We haven’t heard from him since July, when his last letter came.

In a way, I’m glad your family left before all of this started. I have a feeling that it’s going to get worse here, so I’d advise your parents not to plan any trips to India for a long, long time. I don’t know when this situation will end… or whether it’ll end at all. We thought the Second World War would end the world, but it seems like this religious turmoil will instead. I mean, the World War ended and we’re still alive. I don’t think the angry mobs will be that considerate.

I just realized that I’ve been so negative in my letter so far… I actually cannot find a single decent event or news these days, forget about positive news. I feel so sad lately. I know you’ll tell me that’s not like me at all. And I will agree with you on that. You’re the fierce one, I’m the blissful one—it’s always been that way since we met. The situation seems to have reversed now, eh?

Anyway, that’s all I’ve got to say to you. I hope this letter reaches you without hassle.

Yours with lots of love,

Your best friend and partner-in-crime,

Fatima Afzal