That belief was strong. It became stronger when a disastrous thing happened days after the Friday call. Mother had confi ded to us that father had been constantly suff ering from his knees and often fell down on the toilet. Only then did we know this was his secret and he had kept it for a long time. He couldn’t even stand up after squatting. How could he, then, have climbed the Lotus Hill that awesomely well?