“A Temporary Matter”

I just finished “A Temporary Matter”, Chapter One of “Interpreter of Maladies” by Jhumpa Lahiri.)

As the story began, I was delighted to read the familiar street names like Beacon Street and found out the it was indeed a story about a couple who lived at Boston. Yet, as the pages had been spread out, I felt a sense of profound sadness. The story was a malady itself, concerning with the unbearable grief resulting from still birth.

Though I do empathize the pains of the would-have-been-mom, I also can wear the husband’s shoes of sorrow for he had lost not just his boy but also his wife from the tragedy. After all, a secretly planned departure by one’s partner is no less than betrayal. Still, with the twist of the husband’s “soft” revenge, the miserable victims of fate finally found their ways to reconciliation.