Brotherless Night

Sashi finds that she cannot bring herself to leave. She worries about Aran’s reaction when she does not arrive in London. She goes to Hasna, who helps her return to Jaffna, disguised in a burqa.

On the journey back to Jaffna, Sashi writes as much as she can about what she has witnessed. She goes straight to Anjali Acca’s house upon her return, only to find that Anjali has been taken into custody by the Tigers. Though Varathan wants to hold out hope that she is still alive, Sashi can only half-heartedly keep his spirits up. He receives a call from an anonymous former detainee, who claims that Anjali is still alive. However, Varathan knows that this could merely be a way of luring him to the detention camp. Sashi decides that she will accompany him, thinking that her work at the field hospital will give her some authority with the Tigers.

They are met by T—, who demands that they cease writing the Reports. Seelan is also present. In that moment, Varathan realizes that Anjali would want him to protect the truth and their Reports more than she would want him to save her. Sashi notes, “For the rest of his life, he would get a look in his eye when he was back in this moment” (313). She comforts him as best she can. Varathan and Sashi know that Anjali will be killed; Sashi knows that Seelan will not provide any help.

Later, the two hear the story of how Anjali died. She was led into the woods and likely executed there. Both Varathan and Sashi fill in the blanks of what she said, of how she steadfastly held to her principles. Sashi likes to think that Anjali told the Tamil soldier who killed her that he would never forgive himself. She imagines a story wherein the solider is, indeed, haunted by Anjali’s death; he emigrates to Europe and eventually becomes a priest.

Varathan writes the Report detailing his wife’s detention and death. He tells the secretary who will type and distribute it to add a byline with his name.

Sashi mourns Anjali, though there is no body to bury or burn. She and Varathan plan a memorial service for her at the university, where the latest Report, with his name on it, will be distributed. Thousands of people attend, and all of them read about what happened to their beloved Anjali. Sashi is saddened that she cannot attend the memorial; she is busy packing a small knapsack. She will leave the country while the service is ongoing.

Varathan listens to everyone say their words of tribute to his dead wife and then he slips away from the service, carrying with him a copy of the compiled Reports. He hides at a friend’s home when the Tigers come knocking; they burn what they believe is the only copy of the manuscript. Sashi recalls that though Anjali did not leave behind any love letters to her husband, Sashi herself wrote a letter about Anjali and left it among Varathan’s things for him to find. He would be able to take a piece of Anjali with him as he fled.

Sashi visits her parents’ house, but she does not go inside. She hears a voice behind her and sees Seelan. He threatens to take her back to the Tigers and asks if she has a copy of the Reports. She says that she does not, and he lets her leave—but only because, he says, of her former work with the movement.

Niroshan—her first patient with the movement—helps her escape. He has been keeping the book safe until her arrival. Sashi leaves, carrying the book with her, though she knows that she will never be able to leave this war and its devastation behind.

As Sashi flees Sri Lanka, she reads the book on the plane, recounting all the terrors and all that she has lost—including her only living older brother, Seelan. She thinks of Anjali, as well. Sashi would have gladly sacrificed herself if it could have prevented the war, brought her brothers (and K) back, and restored her family. However, she can only move forward and start anew.

Aran retrieves her from the airport in London, but she will only stay a couple of weeks. She meets with former friends and colleagues of Anjali’s when she once lived in London. She listens to the news and takes notes about what is accurate and what is not. Then, she leaves for New York, to take the book to the United Nations.

Sashi has done this work for the past 20 years: She delivers information to the United Nations, which rarely intervenes. As 2009 commences, the Tigers are cornered by government soldiers, with reports of up to 300,000 civilians caught in between. She and Varathan trade accounts, and Sashi discovers that Seelan is now in New York. This is the terrorist to whom she writes the letter at the beginning of the novel. In her desperation, she hopes that Seelan still has sway with the Tigers and that he can help her prevent the slaughter of civilians.

She goes to see him, and he seems like a stranger to her. He now goes by a different name. Seelan tells her that he has already spoken to the Tigers, by which he means T—, and that they will not surrender or release the civilians. Only the United Nations may be able to help, and he asks Sashi to plead with them. She refuses to do anything for Seelan, who still defends the Tigers and their actions, but she will try for the sake of the innocent people who are under threat. As she leaves, she tells him to remove K’s name from his door—this is the alias that he has been using. Sashi is infuriated by his audacity.

Sashi gets nowhere with the United Nations. The reports contain conflicting numbers of civilians, and the officials argue that there are not enough people to warrant a rescue mission. Sashi thinks of all the people she has lost and all who have been left behind. She thinks of Varathan, in particular. He has stayed behind in Sri Lanka to continue his work on the Reports. He has been Sashi’s most valuable source, risking his life to keep amassing the evidence. Sashi is numbed by her helplessness.

Sashi returns to the hospital where she works, but she cannot care for the sick and injured people before her. She feels that she must leave.

Later, she hears from Varathan about how violent the supposed end of the civil war was: At least tens of thousands of civilians were killed, and tens of thousands more were placed in prison camps. People coerced into fighting with the Tigers placed quiet calls to friends or family outside the country, revealing that if they allowed any civilians to go, then their own families would be slaughtered. The Tigers forced civilians to burn their money, as well.

Sashi eventually returns to Sri Lanka and visits the old man Varathan has become. The No-Fire Zone, where the final battle took place, is left unmarked, and the hospital that was destroyed nearby is the site of new construction. Sashi knows that even though the sites may not be marked, the stories are no less real. This book itself is evidence of that.