Part 3 Section 10 Summary

The date is March 10th. The narrator has been working on her Hindi and can now carry on basic conversations with Ritu (who is shy). It is hot enough now that no one sleeps inside. The narrator had been reluctant to sleep outside but joined Inder Lal's family and the others in the courtyard. It usually takes the narrator several hours to fall asleep: she enjoys those peaceful hours. The night before she had woken to a high pitched wailing sound, which she was sure was not human—but was: it was Ritu, who, for unknown reasons, had screamed out. By the time the narrator got to her bed, her mother-in-law already had her hand clamped over Ritu's mouth. The two helped Ritu inside and Inder Lal's mother sprinkled some rice on Ritu's head and uttered some incantations. Ritu is...