Cutting for Stone

The coup fails, and Mebratu and his men flee. Emperor Selassie returns to Addis Ababa, and the city celebrates, but at the hospital, they are subdued. Marion realizes that he will probably never see Zemui or Mebratu again. One morning, Gebrew reports that the men were discovered, and Zemui was killed. Mebratu’s brother, Eskinder, shot Mebratu and then himself, but Mebratu is still alive.

Rosina and Genet are mourning for Zemui, but the school is open, so the twins return to class. Ghosh drives them to school, and on the way, they see three men who were publicly hanged. The crowd is still there, and they surround Ghosh’s car and begin rocking it. At Ghosh’s instruction, Shiva and Marion smile at the crowd, and the tension dissipates. When they safely get to school, the three hug and cry. Ghosh promises to pick them up after school.

While they are at school, soldiers come and take Ghosh away. Hema does not know what to do but decides to wait for the twins to come home. She drinks a glass of water, then Almaz bursts into the room to tell her that the rebels have poisoned the water supply. Hema is already ill.

Marion is 12 when they take Ghosh away and considers it the end of his childhood. When they come home from school, Almaz is caring for Hema, who is very ill. Matron arrives and reports that the poison is a rumor, and Marion learns a lesson: “[S]ometimes if you think you’re sick, you will be” (312). Hema finds that she feels fine, and Almaz decides it is time to go to the prison and find Ghosh.

When they get there, there is no information, so they settle in with a large crowd to wait. They are the only foreigners in the crowd. After dark, a man in disguise comes out to tell Matron that Ghosh is alive. The man is helping them because the hospital saved his wife’s life, and he will meet them the next morning to smuggle money, a blanket, and a dish to Ghosh. They all return home except Almaz, who wants to stay and wait. That night, Shiva and Marion sleep with Hema in Ghosh’s spot in bed.

Almaz returns in the morning without having seen Ghosh. Matron and Hema leave at 10 o’clock to meet the man from the prison and then go to the embassies. By noon, they have not returned. A man who knew Zemui comes to take his prized BMW motorcycle. Rosina and the children go outside, and the man hits Rosina and Genet and threatens them. He cannot start the motorcycle and floods the engine. The twins offer to help him, and they steer him off a cliff.

Marion feels guilty and climbs down to the man, who is alive. In trying to remove his gun, however, Marion accidentally shoots and kills him. Rosina, Gebrew, Shiva, and Marion hide the motorcycle and dump the body in the old septic field. When they go home, Rosina swears them to silence.

Although most of Mebratu’s friends have been hanged, Ghosh has not because he is an Indian citizen. Marion wants to help but does not know how. Almaz waits every day at the gates. One day, a patient arrives in a diabetic coma, and Marion observes the man as Ghosh would have. After he is told about the condition, Marion learns everything he can about diabetes. A few days later, he diagnoses the condition in another patient. Marion begins to help at the hospital and educates himself with Ghosh’s books. He has finally found a passion to follow, which makes life bearable while Ghosh is imprisoned. Marion begins using his keen sense of smell to diagnose patients. He puts all his faith in medicine but thinks about his birth father, Thomas Stone, a great deal.

Marion goes to Sister’s old desk and prays to her, asking her to help Ghosh. An hour later, a message from Ghosh comes asking Matron to call in favors to get him out of prison. Marion returns to Sister’s desk to thank her.

Almaz, who is loyal to the Emperor, questions her beliefs as she waits outside the prison gates. Each time a car drives past, Almaz stands and smiles, holding a photo of the family in case Ghosh is in the transport. Every day, the family takes a meal to be delivered to Ghosh, and now they know everyone else who does the same. There are hundreds of people in prison who are not guilty but cannot be released without the Emperor’s permission. Finally, they are allowed to see Ghosh. He thanks Almaz for her presence, telling them that it meant a lot to see her outside the gates when they moved him by car. He reports that the government has asked him to treat Mebratu because the Ethiopian doctors have refused—they are afraid of being blamed, either for his death or his recovery.

After he operates on Mebratu, he is returned to prison, where he treats Mebratu once or twice each day. From then on, the family is allowed regular visits, and Ghosh begins treating members of the royal family again. Three weeks after their visit, Mebratu is put on trial, but he is not repentant and is sentenced to hang. Ghosh is released after 48 days in prison. The next morning, Mebratu is hanged, and the next generation begins planning another uprising.

The hospital has a welcome home party for Ghosh. A soldier arrives and asks about Zemui’s motorcycle, Marion thinks he looks like the man who came to take it, whom he accidentally killed. The man leaves, and Ghosh knows that something is wrong but does not ask Marion. After the celebration, Hema and Ghosh discuss leaving Ethiopia. Marion is disturbed, but he realizes that Ethiopia is not their home. When Shiva and Marion go to bed, Ghosh tells them the story of Abu Kassem, which a fellow prisoner would tell at night. The story goes that Abu Kassem cannot rid himself of his slippers—every time he tries, something terrible happens. One of the other prisoners who died in prison said Abu Kassem should just accept them.

That night, Genet comes to Marion and asks if he told Ghosh about killing the motorcycle man. She wishes she were the one to kill him, and she and Rosina worry that he will tell. He promises not to tell, and she urinates on him to seal the promise. He is angry, but Shiva holds him back and runs him a bath.

Although Zemui died two months ago, Rosina is still in mourning, and Genet is not allowed to leave the house. One day, Marion hears celebrating and sees blood on Genet when Rosina opens the door. He returns with Hema, and they see that Rosina has cut Genet’s face in accordance with Zemui’s tribe, at her request. Hema tries to get Genet to leave, but she refuses. Hema is upset and says that Genet is their daughter, too. One day, Hema and Ghosh force their way into Rosina’s rooms and remove Genet.

Hema bathes and dresses Genet, and they all go to the Merkato to buy her new clothes. She stays in Hema and Ghosh’s house, sleeping in the living room. Hema tells Rosina to come back to work, and Rosina curtly agrees. The Missing family falls back into a routine. Shiva attends school but does not complete assignments. He still shows exceptional math ability. He becomes interested in Hema’s operations and clinics and begins to study medicine, specifically gynecology and obstetrics. Marion visits and assists Ghosh. Genet is upset about the injustice of her father’s death and hates the Emperor.

Rosina asks for permission to visit her home in Eritrea, to take Genet to meet her family and Zemui’s parents. They are all afraid she will not return, but Genet says she will be back in three days and wants to go. Marion continues to become more involved in the hospital. He spends time in the “croup room,” where the babies with croup are sent, and he gets to know Tsige, one of the mothers. When her baby dies, Marion experiences it with Tsige. Ghosh trains an American doctor on how to perform a vasectomy, then asks him to perform one on him.