Chellathayi’s excitement knew no bounds. She waded into the pool up to her knees and swirled the water joyously with her hands. She cupped water in her palms and poured it over her face. She took a mouthful and spat it out, as far as she could. She felt a sudden urge to have a proper bath, so she ventured farther. There was no one around as far as she could see. Right in front of her, a low-hanging branch of the tamarind tree sliced the moon in two. She savored this sight as she enjoyed her bath, making herself quite comfortable by removing her clothes.

Only when she began to shiver, her body having gone as cool as a banana stem, did she realize how long she’d been there. “Just one more plunge,” she murmured, taking another dip. As she lifted her face above the surface of the water, she saw the tamarind tree in front of her. Even though the tree had always been there, and even though she was fully aware of this, she still found it incredible that a lone tamarind tree should be standing on a mound that looked like the back of a giant, sleeping elephant. She felt a sudden urge to swim up to the tree and back. So she slid deep into the water and started swimming.

When she stopped at a spot closer to the tree and looked around, she felt as if she had arrived at a distant and unfamiliar land. The casuarina trees swayed madly in the wind. Far off in the distance, the very field in which she had toiled from dawn to dusk now looked like a green shawl that had slipped from the shoulders of a hurried passerby. Her gaze drank in the landscape. She laughed in delight. Stretching her arms high over her head, she let the water trail down her body.

Then, suddenly, she heard footsteps behind her. She turned in alarm. A tall, powerfully built man stood there. He wore his hair in a knot at the back. Studs in his ears. A silk shirt. And his arms were long enough to reach his knees.

Her arms crossed and covered her chest. She couldn’t speak. She stood, frozen. He gazed into her eyes for a few lingering moments. Then he walked toward her confidently, taking his time, and lifted her up as if he were lifting a child, carried her over to a spot beneath the tree, laid her down, and fell on top of her.