The One That Got Away - Short Story Blog 4 (Interpreter of Maladies)

"When she whipped out the hairbrush, the slip of paper with Mr. Kapasi's address on it fluttered away in the wind. No one but Mr. Kapasi noticed."

~Jhumpa Lahiri, Interpreter of Maladies

I think it's much better that the address flew away. If Mrs. Das had kept it, Kapasi would have just gotten a couple pictures and then never heard from her again. He would eventually have to accept that she has a husband and doesn't really like him that much. His life obviously sucks, and does he really need that right now? Or ever, for that matter? Because he saw the address fly away, he can at least pretend someone wants to communicate with him, but she just never got the chance. Sometimes, I think we need to be able to imagine things are the way we want them to be. Even if it's not true, he got a little bit of hope from the situation which can keep him going for a while. It sounds harsh, but at least there is some positive in this story.