Previously, there was a sense of urgency and want to get to know her all over again. That was no longer the case. ‘Will it happen at least this time?’ his mind began to worry as he moved his face closer to hers. That was enough to put out the fire, and the embers of his ardour were reduced to ashes. He started going about it methodically in an attempt to douse it all with water. ‘Please, God, bless us this time.’ ‘Make it happen in some way,’ he insisted. Everything went up in flames. There had been talk of a second marriage for seven or eight years, both openly and secretly. As a result, a large number of people had become targets of Ponnayi’s wrath. Chellapa Gounder, a cattle dealer, once visited the barnyard. Despite two or three attempts to mate her with a bull, one of Kali’s cows had failed to produce a calf. He’d intended to sell the cow to Gounder in order to get rid of it. Ponna was cleaning the floor, removing cow poo, while they conversed. When she came to the farm, she never stayed put. Even if Kali had only removed the manure, she would immediately clean the livestock shed’s floor. She’d bathe the calves and tether them somewhere else before feeding them. She was mostly responsible for cleaning up the goat faeces. While Kali was talking to Gounder, she was focused on her work. Gounder, on the other hand, kept his gaze fixated on her while tying his hair in a knot. ‘It’s fate, mapillai,’ Gounder remarked, using a colloquial form of’maapillai,’ or’son-in-law,’ which is also a friendly word between two men. ‘Some cows are just like that. They never become pregnant, no matter what you do. Simply shift the cow in a subtle manner. If you answer yes, I’ll go get one for you right away.’ With a smirk on his face, he stated it, but Ponna quickly realised what he meant. Her heart felt as if it had been pressed against a gigantic rock. She wanted to yank him by the hair and whip him mercilessly. Instead, she grabbed a stick from a corner of the cowshed and smacked the cow in the legs and back. What a miserable creature. It rushed around the shed, panicked, attempting to avoid this surprise onslaught. ‘It doesn’t know when or where it is.’ Shouldn’t it be aware that I was picking up faeces? It continues to step on my foot. It’s just come to arouse my rage. Are you attempting to outsmart me? ‘You horrible monster, I’ll chop off your tail!’ ‘All good, mapillai!’ Gounder said as he rushed away. ‘I’ll see you later,’ she says. He never returned. ‘That is how some cows are,’ he replied when Kali met him elsewhere. They assault you with their horns if you walk in front of them. They kick you if you walk behind them. It’s a difficult situation you’re in.’ ‘Mapillai!’ he’d say now and then. ‘Should I look for a new cow for you?’ ‘Come to the farm, uncle,’ Kali would say. We’ll have a conversation about it.’ ‘Oh no!’ says the speaker. Do you believe you can start a fire and then sit back and watch the riot? It’s all about you and your cow. ‘Please leave me alone!’ And Gounder would quickly change the subject. Despite Kali’s best efforts, these chats made him incredibly sad. He bemoaned the fact that he had become the village’s laughingstock. Ponna never got weary of yelling at anyone who brought up the subject at the farm. She did everything she could to keep them from being thrashed with the broomstick. As a result, no one mentioned anything when she was around. When they caught him alone, however, they never failed to do so. ‘Maama, are you planning to abandon me and marry another woman?’ Ponna would inquire at intimate moments. ‘Please tell me.’ He’d try to persuade her. ‘You are the apple of my eye, my gem, my treasure,’ says the narrator. ‘How could I ever abandon you?’ ‘That’s exactly what I want to hear.’ She’d melt if she said it. He also felt compelled to tease her. ‘I will never desert you,’ says the narrator. I won’t desert you even if another woman appears.’ ‘Chee!’ she would scream as she pushed him away. For her, this was no laughing matter. ‘Was this about a marriage alliance?’ she’d wonder as she watched individuals come and depart. He’d nod and say, ‘Hmm.’ ‘Has the problem been resolved?’