Kumaresan had not expected such a welcome. The bicycle fell down, and he moved aside, holding his hands to his battered cheeks. Saroja, terrified and weeping, hid behind him. Kumaresan appeared shrunk and powerless before his appucchi. His ammayi came running and grabbed her husband’s arm before he could hit Kumaresan again.

‘How can you hit the boy when he has come to visit us?’ she said. ‘You may have grown old, but you have no brains. Move aside! Come with me, my dear.’ And holding Kumaresan by the hand, she led him into the house.

Though Saroja wanted to leave as soon as possible, she had no choice but to stay with Kumaresan and so she followed him and his ammayi. His appucchi glared at her. Before Kumaresan could cross the threshold, his appucchi shouted from outside, ‘Ey! Don’t take her inside. Who knows what caste she belongs to! Our eldest son’s wife has been keeping a fast so that she can walk the fire pit at the temple festival. This might ruin all that. Let them stay on the veranda.’

Ammayi replied, ‘The festival is a month away. Do you think your daughter-in-law has started her fasts already?’

Even so, she led them to the raised platform in the front veranda and sat them down there. Kumaresan was sobbing uncontrollably. Saroja was irritated by his tears, more so because she was not sure if it would be appropriate for her to cry along with him. But she understood his predicament. He had only expected that his relatives would scold them a little. Their response had shocked him, that’s why he could not stop crying. She had never seen Kumaresan so upset before. He was always able to handle any situation. Her irritation vanished and she started feeling anxious—she had to rescue them from this situation somehow and leave this place quickly.

His ammayi embraced Kumaresan and said, ‘Please don’t cry, dear.’ Ammayi was so thin that she could easily be snapped in two. Saroja was amazed that she could walk around in that frail body. She had a feeling that ammayi was the only supportive person here, but she would have to wait and see. For all she knew, ammayi was feigning all this apparent concern. Once Kumaresan stopped crying, the older woman rushed into the house and brought out a jug of water. She offered it to Saroja, but then pulled her hand back. She went back inside again and returned with a lead tumbler. Pouring some water into it, she handed the tumbler to Saroja and gave Kumaresan the jug. Hesitantly, Saroja took the tumbler from ammayi and drank the water. It was nowhere near enough to quench her thirst, but she was too afraid to ask for more.