Restless Nights and a Heavy Heart: The Suffering of Togoo the Old Woman

Togoo the old woman felt unwell for several days. It was as if someone were pounding on her ribs like a desperate soul knocking at a fortress wall for help.
Her heart throbbed violently, struggling to contain itself in her chest, leaving her breathless and unable to sleep through the nights. For the past two years, her heart had been relatively calm, her sorrows nearly lulled into slumber—until words carried by a neighbor from a nearby household stirred them awake. Zorigt’s wife had died. Their son, now orphaned, was said to be wandering from one household to another in Tal Bulag, surviving day by day. The local official had reportedly sent a request to place him in an orphanage, but no reply had been received yet. Upon hearing the news, Togoo had first thought coldly, “Karma is a fearsome thing. A person who causes pain to others ends up punishing even their spouse and child.” But thoughts of the orphaned boy wrapped her heart in chains, torturing her for days in ways she hadn’t anticipated.