Marayi was definitely sad that she could not find a bride from among her own relatives for her son. Sometimes she’d rant and cry, ‘Had my husband been alive, had I not been a widow, they would definitely marry their daughter to my son. But now I have become the laughing stock of the village! They think, “What kind of wealth could this wasted woman have amassed?” Why would they give us their daughter? Even love and affection need money. If you don’t have money, no one will bother with you. Never mind. I will find a girl from some poor family for my son.’ Despite her unhappiness, she never spoke ill of her relatives to others. She simply said, ‘What can they do if it is not a good match?’ She never did anything without consulting her father and brothers first. Whatever money she saved, she gave it to them for safekeeping; even Kumaresan did not know how much of it there was.

By now they would definitely have heard about Kumaresan’s marriage to Saroja. On the pretext of herding the goats away for grazing, Marayi must have gone to her parents’ place one day and cried her heart out. But until now nobody had come from there to visit the young couple. Kumaresan had thought someone would come. He’d expected his appucchi or his uncles to come and scold him and take Marayi with them. He’d thought they’d be relieved to not have to keep looking for a girl for him to marry. But when no one came, he was confused. He wondered if they had cut themselves off, but he was too scared to talk about it with his mother. So he decided to pay them a visit. After all, they wouldn’t turn him away if he went there, would they, especially if he was accompanied by his new wife?

He didn’t tell his mother where he was going. If he had, she would have complained, ‘Now that you have ruined my life here in Kattuppatti and wrecked my reputation in Vairipalayam, why don’t you climb the hill in Kunnoor and announce this dishonourable business from there for the whole world to hear?’

She had still not managed to come to terms with the situation. She continued to be in a bad mood and burst into a loud weeping song at every opportunity. So far, she had not said even one affectionate word to Saroja. Or tasted her food. At night, she made some pap for herself and ate it three times a day. When would she calm down and see reason? Would she? Kumaresan had not expected her to be so angry. Perhaps they could have stayed for a while in Malayappatti. Should they not have come here so soon?

When Kumaresan told Saroja that they were going to a relative’s place, she was a little scared. He said, ‘They love me a lot. They might shout at us. But we can’t just sit around here waiting for them to come to us. If we call on them, they can’t turn us away, can they?’