The text mentions a nine-year delay in telling a story. What were the circumstances behind this long wait?

The nine-year delay concerned the story behind a portrait of Sai Baba. According to Chapter 41, after the narrator and a priest named Ismu decided where the portrait should be kept, the narrator presented it to its intended recipient. However, at that moment, the recipient's meal was ready, so the narrator had to return quickly. There was no time to explain the long history of the portrait. The narrator left with the intention of telling the story 'later at leisure,' but as time passed, he kept putting it off, saying 'today or tomorrow.' This continued for a full nine years until an unexpected meeting finally provided the opportunity to recount the past history.