Though she felt better that day, she still could not walk without fearing that she might fall down. She felt guilty about not being able to cook and send food with Kumaresan for the past two days. But given her condition, she just couldn’t get up and cook. There were a lot of restaurants in Virichipalayam; he could always eat in one of those. But she had to cook for herself. She was lucky that her mother-in-law had not found out that Saroja had stolen her food. But she couldn’t expect to do that every day.

At midday, Saroja woke up and completed her tasks one by one. After she was done with them all, she fell in a heap on the cot, barely conscious of her surroundings. It was only once she ate lunch that she acquired some sense of clarity, which got even better towards the evening, when she had no other work besides awaiting Kumaresan’s return. All she had for company were the birds flying back to their nests. She had discovered so many birds since coming here. Do they have worries like humans do, she wondered. Were there birds that waited for their husbands just like she was doing?

Only a few birds sought refuge in the palm tree. Along the path that led away from the rock and meandered along a brook were large trees and dense bushes. A variety of bird sounds could be heard from there well past dusk. That evening, she was so immersed in the symphony of chirping and twittering that she did not realize how much time had passed before the noises ceased. Her stomach rumbled again; she needed to relieve herself. All her schedules had gone awry since her arrival on the rock. She was accustomed to using proper bathrooms in Tholur, so her stomach refused to empty itself when she sat in the outdoors. Now that her bowels no longer followed a fixed routine, her stomach started urging her whenever it felt like emptying itself.

When she got up, she realized that darkness had gathered everywhere. A while back, she had found herself a spot within the bushes in the nearby ditch—a place that gave her a little privacy. She quickly walked towards that spot now. This was the first time she had come here in the dark. The buzz of the insects swarming about pierced her ears. She parted the darkness with her hands as she walked into the bush and sat down there. In her fear, her stomach refused to oblige.

As she got up and tried to walk away without soiling her feet, she heard whispers—snatches of human conversation amidst the piercing buzz of insects. She stood, frozen in fear, and tried to listen closely. That was when she discerned her mother-in-law’s voice. Even when Marayi murmured to herself, it sounded like she was arguing with an opponent.