With Chandra gone, Koly tries to do everything perfectly so that Sass will love her, even a little. However, she soon realizes that nothing she can do will be enough. Sassur doesn’t give Koly the love she needs either. Computer installation at his school has threatened his job. He can’t keep up with the technology, so he increasingly loses responsibility. He now isolates at home and barely eats. Unable to earn love from Sass or Sassur, Koly begins caring for a stray dog. It becomes attached to her, but Sass finds out and scares it away. Koly is so desperate for companionship that she feeds and tries to tame the bandicoot—a large, rat-like rodent—living under the house. Even the bandicoot feels the effects of the household’s mournful, bitter energy and stops coming out of its hiding place.

Koly tries several times to talk to the government worker in the village about her widow’s pension, but fear turns her back each time. She finally works up the courage and tells the man that her sass is stealing her pension. However, the man is dismissive and clearly doesn’t care. He admits, at Koly’s insistent questioning, that if she moved she could have her money sent to her new address.