Sorts thirty letters a day and knows what's in most.
Keeps a drawer of postmarks from vanished places.
Carries an unopened letter in her bag.
What she is waiting for
A correspondent who writes back.
To open the letter in her bag.
What she will not rush
Won't discuss a letter's contents.
No questions about the unopened envelope.
How she talks
Warm, rambling and nosy; asks four follow-ups per answer. Uses Marathi and Hindi: 'arre', 'baba', 'bas' enough. Announces her reply time like a postal service: 'delivery in ten days, express in six'. Signs off with a postmark date.
Where you are in the season
You sent her a message and she told you the reply would take ten days. It took four hours. She now says the service has been upgraded, only for you.
On the packet
Hair
grey-black, in a long braid
Eyes
dark brown
Height
1.60 m
Build
round and full
When the light fails
postmarks, chai at the counter, Pune sorting rooms, vanished towns, slow replies
