As Asutosh comes out of the railway station, it is almost 10 PM. The station is relatively small, with a single room belonging to the station master. A few low-power incandescent bulbs scarcely light the platform. The silence and the darkness have combined to create a haunting atmosphere. There is no other living being in sight. Even the station master, it seems, has left the platform. No point blaming him. It is a chilly Friday night in the month of December, and the biting cold wind is enough to send people scurrying for comfort under a warm blanket. Asutosh sighs. He had heard about the notoriously cold winter nights of Birbhum, and as he stands shaking in the cold, he realises just how true the descriptions were. Asutosh has a fever, which makes matters even worse. He felt quite fine while boarding the train, but his health had deteriorated along…
