CHAPTER 8

Summary

• The chapter opens with the protagonist adjusting to motherhood. She deals with a lack of sleep, being constantly demanded by her newborn daughter and feels a strong connection to her home.
• Dolly Kochamma moved in to help with the household tasks and with the protagonist's son, JoJo. She also comforts and nurtures the protagonist during her confinement period.
• The protagonist's husband would come into their room every evening to hold their baby daughter and to ask about her day, which gave her a sense of warmth and connection.
• The protagonist, however, is not ready for her husband on a physical level. She is still healing from the labor and the birth of her daughter.
• JoJo has trouble adjusting to his mother's divided affection and threatens to relocate to Dolly Kochamma’s house out of jealousy. He ends up spending his first night away from home.
• Georgie’s twin brother, Ranjan, comes down the mountain with his wife and three children, and they prepare to build a new home with their savings.
• JoJo becomes known for his daring tree climbing feats in the community. However, his antics turn tragic as he accidentally falls into a water-filled ditch and drowns.
• The protagonist and several other characters attempt to save JoJo but he fails to revive.
• The protagonist is split between coping with JoJo's death and tending to her crying newborn. She feels an alarming sense of resentment for the newborn as she mourns JoJo's death and makes a desperate plea to trade the newborn's life for JoJo's.
• The protagonist reaches out to her stoic husband, who is grieving silently in his own way.