When she woke up, there was the faint murmur of evening everywhere. Guilty at having slept for so long, she went to the bathroom and washed her face. When she stepped out, she ran into Parvati, who smiled at her. Saroja wondered if Parvati knew something. What if she had seen Saroja placing the pot of kozhambu at his door or else him returning the pot later? Saroja did not want to stop and talk to her. She just smiled at Parvati and walked back into the house with her head bowed.

He was not on the cot. And his room was locked. Where could he have gone at this hour, she wondered. But then how long could he lie around on the cot? She knew he went for a little walk in the evenings. What would it be like to join him on these walks, she thought to herself. Kumaresan usually returned in an hour. He would stop at one of the many biriyani shops on the way to get his dinner. Now that he had tasted the biriyani from Bhai’s house, he went out to eat biriyani every other day. Bhai had given him extra money, telling him to eat well. When Bhai learned that Kumaresan, his mother’s only son, had come from a village to work here, his heart softened towards the young man, and he began giving him a lot of leeway.

That night, Kumaresan did not return at the time he usually did. It had grown dark and lamps were lit everywhere. Saroja was anxious about him and could not focus on her work. Perhaps someone from his village had heard about the accident and come to take him back? If that had happened, would he return? Perhaps she could ask the people next door if they knew something. Was that the meaning of Parvati’s smile? That Parvati was a shrewd one; she must have observed everything. Was she trying to tell Saroja with her smile that Kumaresan had left? No, it couldn’t be. If he was going to leave, he would have somehow given her a sign. She was certain that just as she could not live without seeing him, he too could not survive without seeing her. He must definitely have heard the sound of her ‘Hmm’. Even if it had not reached his ears, it would certainly have resounded in his heart. That ‘Hmm’ would stop him from going away anywhere.

Perhaps Periyasami has taken him to the hospital. Was it time for the sutures to be removed? If that was the case, she wouldn’t see him under the tree so much any more. She certainly wanted him to get well soon. But she could not help but wonder how things would be if the sutures were not removed just yet.

NINE

Ever since the debacle at his appucchi’s home three days ago, Kumaresan had not spent much time in his hut.

He had finalized an arrangement with a shop that sold soda. It was in Virichipalayam, some distance away from Senkundroor. Being further away, the commute by bicycle was going to be difficult, but he told Saroja that that was the closest decent shop he could find. He would have to collect soda bottles from this particular shop and deliver them to thirteen smaller street-corner shops. Since all the shops were in different villages, it was unlikely that they would run out of soda bottles quickly. This allowed Kumaresan to divide his task between roughly four villages per day. That way, he could visit each shop once in three days.