26 The nuts
Karna woke early. A little light was coming in through the shutters. He tried to shake away the jumble of memories that had infused his dreams. He heard the mule slopping at the trough in the room below. He got up and opened the shutters. Then, at the little window, he finished off the left-over rice.
The sun had only just risen. The patches of sky visible between the roof tops above him were not yet blue. He heard a dog bark, and looked down to see it scampering out of sight. In the alley below, a woman was leading some goats down to be put out on the slopes. Across on the other side of the alley the shutters were still closed.
After washing, shaving, and clearing out the mule’s straw, Karna put on a white dhoti and shirt, some strong sandals, and the white sash and headclo
