That day, even Saroja and Kumaresan were at a loss for what to say to each other. No one ventured near the rock. Even those who habitually walked past the rock to get to the other side took roundabout detours instead. Usually, even if they were walking some distance away, the villagers would stop to exchange a few words in greeting. But none of that happened that day. Saroja began to understand that being prohibited from going to the village was a serious thing. All they heard were the sounds of birds now and then.

‘What should we do now?’ she asked him.

‘We’ll see.’

She realized that he had not made any decisions.

‘Who knows what they will do if they find out what caste I am from?’ she said, fearfully. ‘Please take me back home and leave me there.’

‘That’s the only thing I do not want to hear. I married you. I will not abandon you,’ he said, looking intently at her. There was no dishonesty in his words.

Once in a while, they heard the crows cawing from their perches on the palm tree. Now and then, they exchanged a few perfunctory words. They ate without even tasting the food, and sat restlessly inside the hut in the afternoon. Suddenly, they heard a voice calling out, ‘Dey! Nōndippayya, Nōndippayya!’

Surprised by that voice, they both rushed outside to see who it was.

‘If it is so hot already in Panguni, who knows how much worse it will get in Chittirai?’ said a middle-aged woman standing outside the hut. ‘When men go astray, even the sky gets angry. Not a drop of rain.’ The woman covered her head with the end of her sari, protecting it from the sun. Saroja realized that there were still people in the village she had not yet met.

Kumaresan welcomed her: ‘Come, Akka! Chellakka, come!’

She sat down under the neem tree, sighing, ‘Oh God, how hot it is!’

‘Saroja, bring some water,’ said Kumaresan.

‘No, boy,’ said the woman. ‘I just drank some in the field.’

In her faded sari, she looked like a field labourer. Here, there was no practice of inviting the workers into the house. They could sit anywhere on the rock. Mostly, they sat under the neem tree. If they had to stay the night, they’d spread a cot on the rock.