Let’s move from shoe repair work to household items repair work. And from Karachi, Pakistan to Jashore (as Jessore is now officially known), Bangladesh. There’s a young woman here too. Only, she’s all of twelve years and needs her doll mended by the repairman. And, oh yes, we have a couple of disappearances in this story too. About halfway in, the story takes a chilling, harrowing turn where the repairman is called on to do the biggest job of his life and you will hold your breath hoping for him to succeed. The narrative has a lovely folktale-like cadence and even uses some of the usual folktale tropes in how the characters are introduced and the scenes progress. A story with a timeless charm.

First published in translation in Words Without Borders, January 2013, and available to read here