She wanted to make use of this moment and plunge further into the bush. Thorns tore at her palm. Until she’d found this bush, she had suffered immensely. In the mornings or during the day, she could not go out into the fields to relieve herself. She’d wait for it to get dark and then she would ask Kumaresan to take her and wait at a distance. Even then, despite the engulfing darkness, she felt exposed, as though she was sitting inside an open room. Also, with someone standing not far away, how could she relieve herself?

One morning, when Kumaresan was away, her stomach churned and she had found this bush. At first, she had been scared to enter it, but soon she realized there was a safe spot inside. From then on, she had made this her spot. But each time she went there, Kumaresan warned her.

‘It is full of karuvela thorns. Even if they scratch you, they’ll cause great pain. If a thorn pierces your flesh, it is poisonous. We are all used to this place. We know where to place our feet. We will sit down, safely out of the way of the thorns; but you don’t know enough to do all that. So please don’t go too far into the bush. Don’t worry, no one comes here.’

If he was at home, he’d wait for her near the rock until she was done relieving herself in the bush. On most days, she used the spot only when he was at home. Now his warnings returned to haunt her. You told me not to go further into the bush, but today you have left me to fend for myself. Why don’t you come back? Couldn’t you have forced me to go to Virichipalayam with you? You’ve left me, cast me into a poisonous nest. Kumaresa! Can you hear me? Where is the sound of your bicycle?

Once again, she heard voices right outside the bush. Flashlights started tearing into the darkness. She heard more voices now parting the bush. Had they been waiting patiently for just this moment all these days? All that kindness she had heard in some of the voices—was all of that false? Were none of these people true?

‘If I get hold of her, I will catch her by her hair and thrash her. Look at how much trouble she is causing us!’

‘Looks like she’s not blessed with a painless death. She seems destined to die by getting torn about by the thorns here.’

‘She must be sitting huddled somewhere like a wet chicken. She could not have gone too far.’