- Koly thinks about how foolish she's been. Mrs. Mehta didn't want anything to do with her, so of course it was only a matter of time before she got rid of the extra mouth to feed.
- The rickshaw boy is named Raji and tells her that many people dump their widows in the city. Nice. Most of them end up chanting prayers in the temples all day, and the monks give them a little bit of food so they don't starve.
- Koly wanders the streets looking for a place to stay.
- Soon she figures out that she doesn't have enough money to pay for room and board, so she finds a house where she can stay for free—on the porch.
- She heads to the government office to see about her widow's pension, but can't get it without an address. Guess what else she can't get? An address without her money. Let the good times roll.
- Koly figures she'll have a life of chanting in the temple.
- This doesn't exactly excite her, though, so she decides to head to the train station and look out for Mrs. Mehta. She knows her mother-in-law isn't coming back, but she wants to go just in case.
- At the station, she sees Raji and asks him about what she should do. He tells her that he'll take her to a woman later in the day who can help, but Koly's not sure she believes him.
- He also tells her to be careful—there are lots of dangerous people in the city.
- Later, as Koly's waiting for Raji to return, a man comes up to her and offers to give her a pretty sari if she comes with him. Wink, wink, gross, gross.
- Koly remembers what Raji said and tries to get away from the man, but he grabs her arm. She bites down on him as hard and he can, and he slaps her before running away.
- When Raji finally returns at the end of the day, Koly is relieved to see him.
- He takes her to meet a woman named Maa Kamala, who lets widows live with her.
- She's a plump woman with a round waist and an even bigger heart.
- She introduces herself to Koly and tells her that she can get a job in the bazaar. It's tough work, but someone has to do it.
- Koly is so excited that she hugs Maa Kamala.