In the wake of JoJo’s death, Big Ammachi battles grief and unsettling poltergeist-like disturbances in Parambil’s cellar, ultimately forging an uneasy truce with the resident spirit. Her husband’s urgent wish for an heir collides with her mourning; after they reunite physically, she suffers two miscarriages, deepening their sorrow.

Amid household illness, Baby Mol narrowly survives whooping cough and is baptized with Dolly Kochamma as godmother, though the child insists on being called “Baby Mol.” The little girl’s sunny nature softens her father, and the household is revitalized by the irrepressible Odat Kochamma, whose humor and labor restore order.

A tactless chemachen’s comment prompts Big Ammachi to confront Baby Mol’s developmental delays. After dismissing the village vaidyan’s generic tonic, she and her ailing mother travel with Ranjan to Cochin, where the vastness of the world tempers her private prayers.

At Dr. Rune Orqvist’s clinic, the Swedish physician, speaking fluent Malayalam, recognizes the signs and diagnoses Baby Mol with congenital cretinism. He explains it stems from a nonfunctioning thyroid at birth and is irreversible now, assuring Big Ammachi it is no one’s fault. He cannot explain the family Water Condition but believes future children need not share Baby Mol’s affliction.

As they depart, Dr. Orqvist discreetly examines Big Ammachi’s mother and detects advanced stomach cancer with spread to liver and neck nodes, advising opium to spare her pain. Back home, Big Ammachi tells her husband, who, moved by their daughter’s joy, says her remaining “an angel forever” is not the worst fate. Big Ammachi prays for mercy for her mother and for someone who can one day cure the Water Condition.