Mami paces. She’s so upset about my becoming a miner that she doesn’t say a thing about my reading a Janosik comic at the table. When the soup grows cold and there’s still no sign of Tati, Mami sets the pot on the stove and covers it with a lid. The three of us go to the couch, but none of us flicks on the television. “Why is Tati so late?” Bela wants to know. “Shhh,” Mami says, urging Bela’s head onto her lap. “Sleep now, dear heart.” Stroking Bela’s yellow hair, she sings a lullaby about little birds going to a nest. When Bela falls asleep, Mami carries her to bed. I turn off the lights and go to the window, scanning the blackness outside. I’m looking for the two policemen. For the man with the beige hair in his VW Beetle. For the men with the walkie-talkies. For who knows who. Maybe everyone will go away now that my punishment has been assigned. I think again of being locked inside of black caves. When Mami comes back, I switch the lights on and see that her cheeks are streaked with tears.
