“But the moment Hara passed out from drink she took the baby and drowned it in a fountain in back of the house. She left the body floating in the water. Now she was in trouble. There was capital punishment back then, even for a woman. Fleeing to Vindhu’s house, she explained what she had done and begged him to help her escape to another part of India. His love for her had blinded him; he agreed to go with her. He wanted to leave immediately, but she insisted on going home—knowing that Hara was unconscious—and collect what gold and jewels she could sell on the road.

“That turned out to be a devastating mistake. Hara had already awakened and found his dead son. When Rati crept inside, he cursed her and reached for his sword. But before he could cut off her head she cursed him in turn. He had killed her child, why should she not kill his? Their marriage had turned into a nightmare. Yet in a sense they still cared for each other. Certainly they were still very attached to each other. In that instant they shared the same pain. Hara felt the sword fall from his hand as he started to cry. Rati wept as well, and to both their surprise, she reached out and gripped his tearstained hands and pressed them to her heart. They had been about to kill each other and now they were embracing.

“But the bitterness had not vanished. The tears had only given them a brief respite. Not even that, because as their tears touched and mingled together, their mutual karma of hatred and betrayal also merged, and the tears began to bite. Because Rati was shorter, and Hara’s tears were falling on her, she received the brunt of their sting.

“Something transformed those tears into a deadly poison. They not only stung, they started to burn. Rati was touching her chest when this began and the moisture of the tears stuck on her skin above her heart. She could not get the scalding liquid off, and her flesh began to peel away. She screamed in agony. Hara could do nothing but stare in shock.

“The tears ate into Rati like liquid fire. A hole formed in her chest, so deep her heart ruptured and the blood gushed out and she died. In the space of hours Hara had lost his son and his wife. Out of his mind with grief, he picked up his sword and fell on it. Only later that night did Vindhu arrive. He never did figure out what had happened. He died not knowing, many years later. He died still loving Rati. It was said the karma of the three was so entwined that they would have to take a hundred births together to resolve it.”

PROFESSOR MCKINLEY paused and waited. “Are you there, Kelly?”

“Her heart ruptured and the blood gushed out and she died.”